Why your checkout page kills sales

Your traffic looks good. People are adding products to cart. Then they vanish at checkout and you have no idea why.

We see this constantly. Store owners obsess over getting more traffic when the real problem is that their checkout experience makes people give up. The fixes are often simple but most people never look at them.

Forced account creation kills momentum

Making people create an account before they buy is one of the fastest ways to lose sales. They wanted to buy something, not join your email list or remember another password.

Guest checkout should always be an option. Yes, accounts are valuable for marketing. But you know what's more valuable? Actually making the sale first. You can ask them to create an account after they buy, when they're already invested.

Hidden costs breed distrust

Nothing kills trust faster than surprise costs at the end. Someone thinks they're paying $50, gets to checkout, and suddenly it's $67 with shipping and fees they didn't expect.

Show the full price as early as possible. If shipping varies, give an estimate on the product page. If you charge handling fees, mention them upfront. People hate surprises when they're trying to give you money.

Too many form fields

Your checkout form probably asks for information you don't actually need. Every extra field is another chance for people to bounce. Every click is another moment to reconsider.

Strip it down to what's required to ship the product and process payment. Phone number optional. Company name optional. Second address line optional. If you don't absolutely need it, cut it.

We cut one store's checkout from 14 fields to 8 required fields. Completion rate went from 62% to 78%. Same products, same traffic, just less friction.

Mobile checkout is probably broken

Most people shop on phones now but most checkout flows still feel like they were designed for desktop and adapted poorly. Tiny tap targets, weird zoom behavior, forms that don't play nice with autocomplete.

Test your checkout on actual phones. Not just resizing your browser window. Actual devices. Try to buy something from your own store while standing in line at the grocery store. If you get frustrated, your customers definitely are.

Payment options matter more than you think

If you only take credit cards, you're losing sales. People want options. Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, buy now pay later services. Each one you add captures customers who prefer that method.

This isn't just about convenience. Some people literally won't buy if their preferred payment method isn't available. They'll just go find someone else who accepts it.

Security signals build confidence

People need to feel safe giving you their payment info. Trust badges, SSL certificates, secure payment icons. These things matter even if they seem obvious to you.

Don't hide this stuff in your footer. Put security indicators right where people enter payment details. Make it visible without being obnoxious about it.

Error messages need to be helpful

Payment declined. Address invalid. Something went wrong. These vague error messages don't help anyone fix the problem. They just create confusion and frustration.

Tell people exactly what's wrong and how to fix it. Card declined? Be specific about why if you can. Address doesn't match? Show which fields need correction. Don't make people guess.

The back button shouldn't be scary

Sometimes people need to go back and check something. Make that easy. Don't make them restart the whole process or lose their cart contents.

Save their progress. Keep items in cart. Make navigation between checkout steps smooth and reversible. Fighting against natural browsing behavior just frustrates people.