Slow checkout process often annoys people, due to which many people abandon their cart. Many WooCommerce store owners ignore this issue. Imagine, a customer added products to the cart with great effort, but in the end the checkout was so slow or difficult that he did not make the purchase.
The good thing is that if you make your WooCommerce checkout fast and easy, then you can achieve both more sales and happy customers.
In this post, we are going to give you 9 expert tips that will make your checkout fast. And in the end you will also get some easy ideas which you can try from today.
Want to stay ahead with AI-driven in WordPress insights and stay updated with the latest trends? Subscribe for daily search insights at wpguidepro.com to improve your WordPress strategy.
Table of Contents
Why Speeding Up the Checkout Process Can Boost Your Sales
Time is not less than money in online shopping. If the checkout is too long or difficult, people leave the site without completing their shopping. According to research, about 70% of people leave their cart, and the main reason for this is slow or confusing checkout.
If the checkout is fast, what is the benefit:
- People drop less: When the process is easy and fast, people complete their shopping.
- Customer experience is better: People are happy with easy checkout and come back again.
- Mobile sales increase: Mobile users leave their carts faster than anyone else, so fast checkout is important.
Making checkout fast is not just for convenience, but it is a way to get more sales.
Tip 1: Audit Your Current WooCommerce Store Checkout
Before making any changes, check your current checkout process. You can use tools like Google Analytics or Hotjar to understand how people are behaving.
Find these common problems:
- Too many people go back to the checkout page.
- People take too long to fill out the form.
- People leave without completing the checkout in between some steps.
Where people have problems, you will understand how to make the process easier and faster.
Tip 2: Choose Fast WooCommerce Store Hosting and Plugins
Speed of your website depends a lot on hosting and plugins. If the server is slow or the plugins are not working properly, then the checkout also becomes slow.
Hosting:
Get a hosting that is specially made for WooCommerce store like SiteGround or WP Engine. This hosting is optimized for WordPress and WooCommerce.
Plugins:
Use such plugins that are light and do not make the website heavy. Like the caching plugin WP Rocket improves the loading speed.
Good and fast hosting gives a strong base to the website due to which the checkout is also fast.
Tip 3: Reduce Payment Form Fields and Checkout Steps
Nobody likes to fill in long forms during checkout. If you keep fewer fields and fewer steps, everything will be done quickly and easily.
Do this:
Keep separate parts together. For example, if not necessary, keep billing and shipping address in one place.
Ask only those things which are important. Like name, email and payment information.
Install tools that make checkout easy and complete in one step. Like WooCommerce Checkout Manager.
This way checkout will become fast and simple.
Tip 4: Offer Guest Checkout
If you ask people to create an account first and then checkout, many people skip shopping. Providing a guest checkout option eliminates this problem and makes the process faster.
It is very easy to turn on guest checkout in WooCommerce:
- Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Accounts & Privacy.
- Check the option Allow customers to place orders without an account.
If you want, you can ask people to create an account after purchasing
Tip 5: Add a Slide-In Side Cart
Slide-in side cart means a small cart that opens from the side of the screen when the user adds a product. This allows people to see their cart and also make changes without going to another page.
This saves both clicks and time, and the shopping process becomes faster.
You can use plugins like WooCommerce Side Cart or Iconic’s WooCommerce Cart. This feature can be installed easily
Tip 6: Enable One-Click Checkout
One-click checkout is a very good way to make checkout fast. This feature has been made popular by websites like Amazon. In this, the customer can complete his shopping in just one click, because his payment and address details are already filled.
If you want to install one-click checkout in WooCommerce, then try these plugins:
- Direct Checkout for WooCommerce
- Stripe for WooCommerce
This way your customers can make payment quickly and easily.
Tip 7: Allow Customers to Save Credit Card Details
Customers find it boring and difficult to write payment details again and again. If you give them this option so that they can save their card details securely, then they can easily shop again.
With this feature, repeat shopping happens fast and customers start coming again.
If you are using payment gateways like Stripe or PayPal, then this option is available in WooCommerce.
It is just important that your website is secure and follow PCI rules so that card details remain safe.
Tip 8: Make Sure Your Checkout is Mobile-Friendly
Nowadays more than 60% people shop from mobile. If your mobile checkout is slow or difficult then people stop shopping.
To make mobile checkout better:
- Use a theme that is made for WooCommerce and runs well on mobile.
- Make the images small and fast loading so that they open quickly on mobile.
- Keep fewer fields for mobile users so that checkout can be done quickly.
Tip 9: Test and Optimize Your WooCommerce Checkout
To keep the checkout fast and easy, it is important to check it from time to time. See if everything is working properly or not.
You can do it like this:
A/B Testing: Try different designs, button placement and form styles. You can see with a tool like Google Optimize which design works better.
Performance Check: Check with a plugin like Query Monitor where the checkout is slowing down.
Take feedback from users. Sometimes even a small change can make the checkout much better.
Bonus Tips: Quick Wins for a Lightning-Fast Checkout
Save time, make checkout easy:
Use autofill: Allow autofill for address and payment details so that the customer does not have to type everything again and again.
Previously filled forms: For returning customers, the form will already be filled, so their work becomes easier.
Install progress bar: If there are more steps in the checkout, show a progress bar so that the customer knows how far he has come.
These small things can be implemented quickly and can make the checkout much better.
Frequently Asked Questions About Speeding Up WooCommerce Checkout
Q: How to reduce cart abandonment on WooCommerce store?
A: Keep the checkout simple, enable guest checkout, and provide fast payment options like one-click checkout. This helps people complete their order quickly and easily.
Q: Which is the best plugin to improve WooCommerce checkout?
A: Direct Checkout for WooCommerce, WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway and WooCommerce Checkout Manager are great plugins. These make checkout fast and easy.
Q: Is it beneficial to invest in fast checkout?
A: Yes, definitely. When the checkout is fast and smooth, more people complete their purchase. This increases sales and keeps customers happy, which is a very good thing for business.
