Look at your online checkout process
Keep it simple. If it's too complicated and long-winded, customers will drop away before the transaction is completed. If you can, boil down to two or three steps and follow the so-called checkout funnel, which is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.
Place shipping costs early in the checkout process
Flag up your shipping, postage or delivery options and costs before customers add products to the shopping basket. This lets buyers know final costs as early as possible and when they will get their goods.
Make the online sales process clear
A clear, step-by-step guide that's obvious to customers is the best approach. Spell out what the next step in the chain is, how long to checkout. Confused customers will abandon the sale and your site.
Tell users what information they need to buy online – such bank card details or customer account details.
Build confidence and trust in your business.
Highlight your business guarantees, returns policy, delivery, customer service, security and privacy policies at the relevant times.
Show thumbnail pictures
Use pictures of products in the shopping cart. This reassures users that they have selected the right product and that it's placed in the basket.
Consider adding an RSS news feed
RSS stands for "really simple syndication". It's a way to add a 'live' update of your website within the browser's toolbar. This means that users can be kept up-to-date, and regular news items will encourage people to visit the website. And unlike email mail-outs, spam filters don't block RSS updates.
Provide a good search facility
Users often use different terms for products and services. Make the search box prominent.
Provide sufficient sales information to users
What do customers need to know in order to make the decision to buy?
Place testimonials at the decision-making process
Positive comments from customers helps build confidence and trust and affirms users' decisions to buy.
