How to improve checkout conversion rate
Updated July 20, 2026 · 7 min read
To improve checkout conversion rate, work through the page in the order buyers experience it: show a clear order summary before asking for payment details, offer guest checkout so account creation is never a barrier, keep form fields to the minimum required, display security signals directly beside the payment input, and serve the entire flow over HTTPS. Research from Baymard Institute, which aggregates cart abandonment data across many studies, puts average e-commerce abandonment near 70% — most of it driven by friction and doubt at the final step. The two additional changes — a progress indicator and a mobile-first layout — compound on top of these five.
Why checkout abandonment is so high
Research from Baymard Institute, which tracks cart abandonment across a large number of studies, puts average e-commerce cart abandonment near 70%. Most of that abandonment happens at the final step — the checkout form — not earlier in the buying journey. The causes are consistent: a form that asks for more than necessary, no visible security signal beside the card field, a required account creation that adds friction before the buyer can pay, or a layout that breaks on a phone. Each of these is a direct lost sale, and each is fixable on the page.
1. Offer guest checkout as the default
Requiring buyers to create an account before completing a purchase is one of the highest-friction checkout experiences. Baymard Institute has consistently identified forced account creation as one of the most common reasons buyers abandon at checkout. Offer guest checkout as the prominent default. Account creation can be offered as an optional step after the order is confirmed, at which point the buyer is already committed and the email address is already collected.
2. Reduce form fields to the minimum
Every field in a checkout form is a small opportunity for the buyer to hesitate, make an error, or decide the purchase is not worth the effort. The minimum viable set for most orders is: delivery name, delivery address, payment details, and an email address for the order confirmation. Phone number, billing address (when different from delivery), and optional fields like 'company name' for a residential purchase can often be removed or made collapsible. The fewer the fields, the higher the completion rate.
3. Show security signals beside the payment input
Doubt at the moment of entering card details is the easiest conversion to lose. A padlock notice, an SSL indicator, or a recognizable payment brand logo placed immediately beside or below the card input tells the buyer their data is protected without requiring them to look for the proof. Placement is what determines whether the trust signal works — a security badge in the footer does far less than the same element next to the card field.
4. Serve the full checkout flow over HTTPS
Modern browsers show a 'Not secure' warning in the address bar for any page not served over HTTPS. On a checkout page, that warning directly undermines the buyer's confidence. Confirm every step of your checkout flow is served over HTTPS — not just the payment step. This is a technical requirement, not an optimization: an unsecured checkout page will lose a share of careful buyers before they read a single line of copy.
5. Show the order summary before payment
Buyers who cannot see exactly what they are paying for before entering card details are more likely to pause and back out to verify the total. Place the order summary — item names, quantities, total price including tax, and any applied discount code — visibly before the payment form, not after. An order summary that only appears after the card field creates the impression that the buyer has committed before they know the final amount.
6–7. The compounding changes
Once the first five are in place, these two reliably add incremental lift:
- •A progress indicator: a simple step count such as 'Step 2 of 3: Payment' tells the buyer how close they are to finishing and reduces anxiety about the length of the process. Buyers who cannot see the end of a checkout flow abandon more frequently mid-way.
- •A mobile-first layout: test the entire checkout end-to-end on a phone with autofill enabled. Confirm each input is large enough to tap, the keyboard does not obscure the 'Place order' button, and the order summary remains accessible without scrolling past the payment section. Most e-commerce traffic is on phones; a checkout that breaks on a small screen loses a large portion of buyers before they complete.
Audit your checkout page before guessing what to fix
Revenue Grader's checkout page audit checks whether the page is served over HTTPS, whether trust signals appear near the payment step, whether policy links are accessible, and whether the layout is mobile-ready — then returns the specific gaps ranked by revenue impact. Running the audit first identifies the highest-priority fix so you do not improve the wrong thing while the security warning is still showing.
Checkout Page Audit
Audit your checkout page free — get your Revenue Grade and the specific fixes in seconds.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the average cart abandonment rate?
- Research from Baymard Institute, which aggregates data across many studies, puts average cart abandonment near 70%. Rates vary by industry and by how abandonment is defined — some studies count anyone who loads a cart page and does not purchase, others count only those who begin the checkout flow. The number is high for most e-commerce sites, and even a modest reduction produces meaningful revenue gain.
- Should I require account creation at checkout?
- No. Offering guest checkout as the primary option, with account creation optional after the purchase is confirmed, removes a barrier for first-time buyers and does not prevent you from building a customer relationship afterward. You still collect the email address needed to reach them, and you can promote account creation in the post-purchase confirmation email when the buyer is most satisfied.
- How many form fields is too many?
- The minimum viable checkout needs a delivery name and address, payment details, and an email for the order confirmation. Beyond those, each additional field carries a conversion cost. Phone number, billing address when identical to delivery, and optional marketing fields are the most common candidates to remove or make collapsible. Test your specific checkout with real users or session recordings to confirm which fields cause the most hesitation or errors.
- Does a trust badge actually improve checkout conversion?
- Yes, when placed in the right location. A security badge or payment brand logo placed beside the card field — where the buyer is most anxious — reduces abandonment more than the same badge in a page footer. The placement is what matters. A generic 'secure checkout' notice in the header is better than nothing; a recognizable logo or SSL indicator immediately beside the card input is more effective.