Design tips for Shopping Carts

Written by Secure Net Shop

Shopping cart abandonment can, in large part, be due to complex and confusing checkout pages. The lack of usability can also be a factor. The easiest way to avoid and reduce abandonment is to simplify your process and design for improved usability. Here are some design tips that will help reach that goal:

There are full shopping cart pages and the mini shopping cart (usually found in the sidebar). Whenever possible include both. Clicking on the mini cart should take you to the full cart.

When it comes to the checkout process, look to follow a step-by-step model. Each page should have distinct role and have previous and next buttons. The roles are sign in, billing, shipping, payment and finally confirmation.

In all possible areas, use icons to depict an action. Icons to delete items from the shopping cart should have an X. Another good example is from the first point where it is recommended to link the mini cart to the full cart. Even here use an icon rather than the words shopping cart.

Use proper buttons and lay them out properly. The locations for “add to cart” or “buy now” should be clearly labeled and positioned under the items. In the same vein the “checkout” button should also be visible and in a location the customer would expect.

There are plenty of times when a customer will want to go back to add or change something. To that end, up until the last checkout page, give them a way to go back with a “continue shopping” link.

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Secure Net Shop is an ecommerce shopping cart provider for ecommerce sites.