Good user experience is a crucial element in a website’s success, not only for SEO purposes, but for simple brand reputation as well. When a customer likes using your website, they’re going to use it again – it really is that easy and effective.
And user experience is all about meeting customer expectations. Give them what they want and you’ll ace the experience factor every time.
The key area to focus on when aligning your website experience with customer expectations? The checkout. When a customer can make their way through this with ease, at their own pace, with no security issues, and a proper order confirmation on the other side, it’ll increase your business’ legitimacy and popularity.
So without further ado, here’s a quick guide on meeting customer expectations at the checkout.
Offer Multiple Payment Options
Customers want to see payment options in droves. They want to know there will be a choice, and the more choices there are, the more likely you are to offer their preferred payment type.
This works both online and in person too. Say you want to take your online business to a trade show; having a bluetooth card reader on hand is better than accepting cash only. If people want to pay for your product, let them do so in a way that’s mutually beneficial.
Many people like to use just the one way to pay and stick to it like glue. Whether that’s simply entering their card details, going through PayPal, or opting to use a temporary credit solution for online purchases, try to put together a good mix.
Keep the Checkout the Same Across Devices
Anyone who wants to surf the web using a mobile device can be at a disadvantage. Not every website offers a mobile friendly version, and some that do don’t seem to apply this to their checkout.
That can make it harder to buy something without being at a desktop, and that could lose you a lot of custom without you even realizing it.
Mainly, try to ensure your checkout remains static. If someone needs to close out of their mobile browser to check their card details on another app, and the site reloads in the background, it’s going to be incredibly frustrating to go through the whole process again.
You should also look into potential accessibility issues such as font size, which can make reading checkout instructions very difficult.
Optimize Checkout Load Times
A checkout that takes a long time to load is one that offers uncertainty to the user. They may worry where their card details are going, who has access to them, and if their order will actually go through.
In reality, the only thing that’s slowing down the checkout is the ‘thank you’ image you’ve loaded into the confirmation page! But they don’t know that yet, and it could harm your perception and user experience.
Customer expectations matter most at the checkout. Watch for the issues above and resolve them ASAP.
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