A smooth checkout flow makes or breaks your WooCommerce store. If the checkout is too lengthy, slow, or confusing, customers will bounce and probably never come back to complete their purchase.
More than 70% of online shoppers abandon their carts, resulting in heavy losses for eCommerce brands. And most of the time, it’s not your product or service, it’s your checkout process. So, how do you fix that?
You create a custom checkout flow that guides buyers from cart to confirmation, quickly and efficiently. Let’s find out how.
Why Bother Customizing Your Checkout Flow
While the WooCommerce checkout is good enough, it treats every store the same. That’s a problem because no two online stores are the same. A custom checkout flow means you’re not stuck with the default WooCommerce layout.
You can change the order of fields, remove steps to offer a one-page checkout, add upsells, or tweak the design to collect fewer details. This not only sets your store apart but also boosts your conversions. In fact, a well-optimized checkout process can help the average large-sized eCommerce site increase conversions by nearly 35%.
Steps to Create a Custom WooCommerce Checkout
While design is critical, when creating a custom checkout flow, you must focus on giving your customers a faster, better way to pay for their orders. Here’s how:
Step 1: Plan What You Need
Don’t jump straight into plugins or code. First, map out the checkout journey your store really needs. This typically includes cutting down the puff, and keeping what’s most important.
Most checkout pages are bloated with unnecessary fields. This slows down your customers and kills conversions. Keep it short and sweet. Only ask for the details that matter. If you don’t need a company name or second address line, remove it. Likewise, break long checkouts into fewer steps or combine sections where possible.
Also, look at where you can speed things up. For instance, you can auto-fill fields, remove distractions (if any), and keep forms shorter. With the right customization plan, you’ll guide your shoppers to the finish line without losing them halfway through.
Step 2: Use a Plugin or Custom Code
Once you have a plan, it’s time to put it into action. You can do this two ways – with the help of the right plugins or by customizing everything from scratch. However, if you’re not a developer, use WooCommerce checkout plugins to make customization quick and easy.
- Checkout Field Editor (ThemeHigh)
This plugin helps you add, remove, or rearrange checkout fields. Whether it’s getting rid of a company name or adding a custom phone field, it’s all done with a simple interface. No code is needed. It’s compatible with both classic and the modern block-based layout. It also comes with developer-friendly custom Hooks, which allow you to add customized features.
CartFlows lets you build multi-step checkout flows and add upsells or order bumps. It’s perfect for stores that want to increase average order value while keeping the process user-friendly. With this plugin, you can optimize your checkout flow with upsells, downsells, and dynamic order bumps.
This plugin offers a distraction-free, mobile-first layout that loads lightning-fast and reduces cart abandonment. With pre-designed templates, built-in address autocompletes, and optimized field layouts, it helps you convert more visitors into buyers. It also supports express checkout options like Apple Pay out of the box.
While plugins do help, they still offer limited customization. If you’re comfortable with the code, you can take full control of how your checkout flow looks, feels, and works. Here’s a simple code snippet to remove the “Company Name” field:
Like this, you’ll need custom code to add, remove, or optimize every element of your default checkout flow. This can be a demanding job, and messing with the checkout code can break your store if done wrong. You’re better off hiring custom WooCommerce development services.
They know how to create custom checkout experiences that are fast, mobile-friendly, and error-free. But most importantly, they can do this without breaking your store or losing sales.
Step 3: Test the Checkout Flow
After building your custom checkout, be sure to test it thoroughly. Testing is the only way to make sure everything works. Here’s what you need to test it for:
- Mobile Responsiveness
With more than 60% of the global web traffic coming from mobile phones, your custom must work perfectly on phones and tablets. Make sure buttons are easy to tap and fields can auto-adjust to screen size.
- Field Validation
Check if all form fields validate properly. Required fields should show errors if left empty. Validation should be clear and fast and should not frustrate your buyers. Remember, bad field logic is a silent killer of sales.
- Broken Payment Gateways
Setting up multiple payment gateways works in your favor. However, don’t forget to test every payment method you’ve added to your WooCommerce store.
A failed gateway, whether a digital wallet or PayPal, means frustration for customers and zero sales for your store. Be sure your customers can complete payments without errors or unnecessary redirects.
- Email Notifications
Almost all stores send instant order confirmations by email. You should test email triggers for successful orders, failed payments, and refunds. Broken email flows confuse customers and hurt trust, resulting in dwindling sales.
Conclusion
Your checkout is where the money changes hands. If it’s slow, confusing, or overloaded with unnecessary steps, your customers will leave. However, you can create a better experience that leads to more sales by planning your flow, using the right tools, and testing it thoroughly. Of course, you can use plugins for customizing the checkout. But if you want full control and a truly unique flow, it’s a smart move to work with pros who know WooCommerce inside and out.
