Because your customers will abandon online purchases if they encounter a tedious checkout process, it's critical to make your e-commerce functionality simple and efficient. In a post at the Conversation Marketing blog, Ian Lurie offers recommendations like these:

• Never make a customer log in before checkout. "If you show any kind of form requiring a password on the first checkout page," he says, "you're losing customers."
• Display shipping costs on the same page as shipping options. There's almost nothing more frustrating than getting to the confirmation page and discovering the two-day option costs much more than anticipated. A surprised customer might abandon the purchase, rather than going to the trouble of choosing a cheaper alternative.
• Request information you actually need. "Don't need their phone number?" says Lurie. "Don't ask for it. Don't need their full ZIP+4 code? Don't ask for it! Are 99% of your customers in the USA? Have that pre-selected in the billing and shipping form."
• Make it quick. Small conveniences count—for instance, let customers check a box if billing and shipping addresses match, and make any edit from the order confirmation page.

The Po!nt: "If your developer says they can't make these changes, or even tries to bill you for it after swearing they could build a great site for you," says a tongue-in-cheek Lurie, "slap them. When they fall down, kick them. When they stop crying, tell them to fix the damned site."

Source: Conversation Marketing. Click here for the full post.

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