Features that make a true one page checkout

You might have come across various one page checkouts as of now. Each of them having their own look and feel and providing different ways to complete a purchase. The Magento platform too provides a built-in one page checkout that comes with every installation. Question is, does this default checkout provide a true one-page checkout experience?   

If we take a look on this checkout interface, despite all the checkout steps being shown on a single page, it is not a true one-page checkout in various aspects:

• It’s not one-page: You cannot go to the further steps until you complete a preceding step. If you do not complete and submit the ‘checkout method’ , you cannot move to the ‘Billing Information’ and so on.  

• Shopping cart update: The ‘order review’ is a static page which just allows the customer to see the order summary. The customer cannot remove or update a product quantity in the cart from the same page. To edit the cart, it takes you to a new page, breaking the checkout process in the middle.  

• No Social login: There is no option for the customer to use a social login so that he/she can be spared from manually registering a user account. It’s not a necessary requirement for a true one page checkout, but having this option will provide some upper hand in various cases.   

• No information saving: If checkout process breaks in the middle, there is no way to recover the already filled forms. You have to start the whole process again.

 Now, if we compare the checkout page of a custom one-page checkout extension we would be able to understand these drawbacks in a clearer way. 

The checkout page shown below is an example to explain what a premium one-page checkout extension should necessarily offer.  

If we contrast the drawbacks that we see in default Magento checkout, we can see that the customized one page checkout eliminates all of them.  

• Everything on one page: Unlike the default checkout, the one page checkout handles all the checkout steps on a single page structure. You can switch between any of the steps whenever you want. 

• Ajax based shopping cart: The Ajax based shopping cart makes it very easy to update the cart during the checkout. The shopping cart here is dynamic and user can remove a product, or update a product quantity from the same page itself. The benefits of Ajax allow the users to do this without a need to refresh the whole checkout page.      

• Social login: The default checkout lagged this functionality. However, it can be considered as an additional feature in a customized one page checkout that allows a user to login to the customer account without manually creating it. It uses the Google and Facebook Social login option.   

The reason behind this small comparison is to shed a light on how you can make your checkout, even more engaging by implementing some user-friendly tweaks. The default Magento checkout page is a well organized one, but with some tweaks as in a premium one-page checkout extension it can be made even more engaging and conversion friendly.  

Good news is you do not have to knock your head with the codes to make your checkout engaging. Experts have already done this in the various customized checkout extensions. The Knowband-Magento one page checkout extension is one such implementation that you can install on your Magento site to get an already optimized one page checkout for Magento.

Related Blogs:

• Why do you need a One page Magento Checkout Extension?
• One-page checkouts: A customer’s viewpoint
• Why you need a one-page checkout extension for Magento?

What are the pros and cons of having a One-Page Checkout for your website?

A single page checkout is what that has been working effectively in combating the menace of cart abandonment. By cutting the time and energy to be invested by the customer, it makes the process smoother and easier for the customer. Most of the eCommerce websites have already restored to the same and many are in the line of adoption. However, as each thing has it’s pros and cons, so is the one-page checkout. Before you should go on to adopt the feature for your website, we will here provide you with a critical analysis of the one-page checkout.

Pros of one-page checkout 

You can adopt the feature by simply installing an appropriate module.

Let us first take a look at the benefits of one-page checkout.

1. Ease of operation: The one thing it brings in for sure is the ease of operation for the customer. More often than not, we have seen a cart going into abandonment mode at the transaction stages. The reason being lengthy checkout process and the long wait for loading. A one-page checkout thus saves a certain portion of your abandon carts.

2. Simplification of the process: Another thing which the one-page checkout ensures is the simplification of the entire process. Most of us like to have a clear cut and simplified process when we are transacting online. Moreover, it is also the motto of online shopping to make transaction quick, smooth and easy. Thus, a single page checkout keeps up the spirit of this motto.

3. Consumer satisfaction: By taking care of the above-mentioned things, it generates an environment where the customer can feel satisfied with his/her experience on your website. This one thing is what every business set-up in the world wants to achieve as it lays a path for their conversion to latch on.

Cons of one-page checkout 

Though not many, the cons of the feature are what you should be aware of before making a move.

1. Compatibility with javascript: Some of the one page checkouts use JavaScript as a major constituent of their ingredients of coding. They would not work without JavaScript. If the JavaScript is disabled on your browser, then it might not be able to perform as fluently as expected.

2. Time and cost: Implementation of Ajax will require some sufficient time in development. Like JavaScript Ajax is used in one page checkouts to relieve the pain of frequent page reloading. This would escalate the cost of investment and effort of the coders. Thus, some out of pocket arrangements have to be done in case you are having a fiscal strain.

3. The Function won’t behave as expected: Since Ajax does not reload a page to update content, the browser’s back button will not bring the user back to an early step in the checkout as might be expected. There is work around, but it requires more development time.

Final say 

The above discussion might have provided you with a critical analysis of having a Magento one-page checkout feature for your website. You can now make informed decision to enhance the usability of your website. On the whole, the cons in one page checkout does not seem to give any fatal issue while missing a one page checkout might cost you conversions. Because, the benefits of an one page checkout can easily overlap the cons. Moreover, there are a large number of researches already going on to eradicate these cons.

How one page checkout optimizes your conversion rates?

One page checkout is an effective CRO strategy.

While grabbing more visitors on your website is the first priority, their contribution in optimizing your conversion rates is what that exactly counts. In order to ensure a seamless experience for the visitor it is important to make sure that his/her entry and exit should be as smooth as possible. In this regards, the effectiveness and efficiency of a one page checkout is what we will be discussing here.

What is one page checkout? 

Before we learn about how a one page checkout optimizes your conversion rates, we need to understand what actually it is? A one page checkout refers to a smooth online purchasing process where the visitor on your website after deciding to purchase a product fills certain necessary information like name, address, pin code, mobile number etc. to complete the final product purchasing process. The whole checkout process is compacted into a single page architecture, unlike the generic checkout pages with multi-page architecture.

How it can help you in conversion rate optimization practices ? 

To understand the effectiveness of a one page checkout, we can visualize the analogy of a supermarket where customers are seen attracted towards the counter with shortest queue or the one with an efficient and fast cashier. In a similar way a one page checkout act as that counter which attracts more visitors to its side and thus optimizes the overall conversion rates for you store.

It is normal human tendency to follow the path which is less turbulent or smooth. In e-commerce where the whole idea is only to make the visitors, experience as smooth, adoption of these effective checkout techniques plays a crucial role. Here you can deploy various plugins for your website based on the CMS platform you are using for your website. Say, there are extensions like Magento’s super checkout, OpenCart’s one page checkout and other checkout plugins of various other CMS platform’s that can help in optimizing the online shopping experience of your web store.

One page checkout and conversion rate optimization practices 

After doing away with the basic understanding about the one page checkout process, we will now look into how it actually optimizes your conversion rates.

• Allows the visitor to easily track his progress through the checkout process which allows him/her to transact more freely and effectively. 

• Prevents the user from the hassle of frequent redirects and multiple page checkouts. which can create user frustration and cart abandonment. 

• Eliminates the scope for unnecessary information which usually is of no use in most of the cases. 

• Better customer satisfaction as he/she enjoys a smooth sail throughout your website. 

• More customer visits and conversions will automatically add to the popularity of your websites on the internet which will result in higher search engine rankings and further scaling of profits. 

Conclusion 

Keeping an eye on the fierce battle in the e-commerce sector today, one can not overlook the importance of making the visitor’s experience on your website a worth remembering one. Here the importance of a smoother checkout can’t be bogged down as it is the critical link in the conversion rate optimization chain.