10 small fixes that make checkout easier

Checkout is the part of a shop where people have already said yes. They chose the product, they want it, and now the job is to get out of their way. Most of the friction I see isn’t a big design problem. It’s lots of small ones that add up.

I’ve worked on checkout for retailers including Joules and Seasalt, and the same handful of fixes come up again and again. None of them are new or clever. They’re widely accepted good practice, and they’re still missing from plenty of live checkouts.

1. Let people check out as a guest

Forcing someone to create an account before they can pay is one of the most common reasons people give up. Offer guest checkout clearly, and ask if they’d like to save their details after the order is placed. By then they’ve got what they came for, and an account feels like a bonus rather than a toll.

2. Show the full cost early

Baymard Institute’s research consistently finds that unexpected extra costs, like delivery, tax or fees, are a top reason people abandon checkout. Show delivery costs on the product page or in the basket, not on the final step. Nobody likes a surprise at the till.

3. Bring up the right keyboard for each field

On a phone, the keyboard is half the screen. A number pad for card numbers and phone numbers, an email keyboard with the @ sign for email: these are small settings in the code that save real effort. It’s a quick conversation with your developers and one of the cheapest wins on this list.

4. Offer address lookup

Typing a full address on a phone is slow and easy to get wrong. A postcode lookup lets people pick their address from a short list. Always keep a clear “enter address manually” link, because lookups miss new builds and unusual addresses.

5. Put errors next to the field

A red banner at the top of the page saying “There was a problem” makes people hunt for what went wrong. Show the message right beside the field, in plain words that say how to fix it. “Enter a card number” is fine. “Enter the 16 digits on the front of your card” is better.

6. Don’t make people retype anything

If someone has already given you their email, name or address, don’t ask again. Make “billing address same as delivery” the default. Let browsers and password managers fill in saved details by labelling fields properly. Every repeated field is another chance to give up.

7. Keep the basket in view

People want to check what they’re paying for while they pay. A collapsible order summary on mobile, or a sidebar on desktop, lets them confirm items, sizes and totals without leaving checkout. Sending them back to the basket to check is how you lose them.

8. Offer the payment methods people already use

Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal let people pay without finding their card or typing sixteen digits. Put them near the top so people who prefer them don’t have to fill in the whole form first. Card payment should still be clear and easy for everyone else.

9. Show where people are in the process

A simple progress indicator (Delivery, Payment, Review) tells people how much is left. It sets expectations and makes the effort feel finite. Keep the steps few and the labels short.

10. Make the final button say what it does

“Continue” on the last step is vague. “Pay £48.50” or “Place order” tells people exactly what happens when they tap. It’s reassuring at the moment they’re most likely to hesitate.

Where to start

You don’t need to fix all ten at once. I’d start by watching a few people use your checkout, then pick the fixes that match where they struggle.

1. 1 Watch Sit with three to five people as they buy something on their own phone.
2. 2 List Note every pause, mistake and sigh, and which step it happened on.
3. 3 Match Map each problem to a fix from this list.
4. 4 Ship small Release one or two at a time so you can see what helped.

Checkout rarely needs a big redesign. It needs someone to sweat the small stuff, because that’s where people decide whether to finish.