How to Customize your Shopify Checkout Page: 23 Proven Ideas

The checkout page is the final destination of every Shopify store. 

Studies show that checkout optimization can recover up to $260 billion worth of lost orders. 

Amongst other reasons, customers tend to abandon their cart at the checkout page because they 

- find high extra costs (shipping, tax, fees),

- have to create an account, and

- see unclear shipping info.

Applying any Shopify customization can be easy. But does it lead to more conversions?

Here are 23 fast and easy Shopify checkout page customizations that have proven to drive more sales.

1. Choose between Shopify one-page checkout & one-click checkout

As an eCommerce business owner, you want to have customer details. However, from a customer’s perspective, it’s cumbersome to fill multiple forms spread over multiple pages instead of directly purchasing products. They shop on Shopify for fast checkouts.

Most eCommerce businesses apply the standard process as the following: 

Account creation > cart summary and shipping details > cart subtotal > payment method > payment 

In a single-page checkout process, all shipping, delivery, and payment information are displayed on a single page.

Fewer steps and clicks significantly decrease the number of navigations a customer has to take to complete an order, reducing cart abandonment.

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

Shopify merchants can use Shop Pay to accelerate checkout time, leading to faster order fulfillment. With this feature, customers don’t have to enter credit card details and shipping information every time they make a purchase. Shopify found that the order-to-checkout rate is 1.7 times higher when using this solution compared to the regular checkout experience.

Read more about it here: Best one-page checkout examples

2. Offer an alternative to ‘guest checkout’ 

Guest checkouts are great. They reduce checkout friction and make first-time purchases go faster.  

And while guest checkouts have been shown to improve conversions, there are some important drawbacks - you don’t capture ‘some’ customer information, have no access to abandoned carts, have low engagement in loyalty programs, have no order history or analysis, and cannot personalize future visits.

However, research highlighted that 8% of shoppers abandon their carts because of overly long-form fields. Checkout usability performance reduces drastically as the number of form fields increases. 

If you need more information, you can ask customers for more information through a customer survey after they have completed the purchase.

How to add guest checkout alternatives to Shopify checkout page:

a. Ask customers for an email ID to receive order confirmation and shipping and delivery information. Enable Multipass login where customers can log in through Facebook or Google accounts. 

Achieve this on your Shopify store by enabling multi-pass payments. 

Start by going to settings>checkout>customer account>enable multi-pass.

After this, a secret code will be shared with you. You can then proceed with the encoding process.

b. Shopify also offers the option of post-purchase account creation. It’s a win-win situation where you’re scoring a purchase and also giving customers an incentive to sign up, thereby covering both grounds.

To enable this on Shopify, go to your Shopify admin>settings>checkout>customer accounts.

Choose ‘accounts are optional’ and click on save.

3. Break down pricing with information on taxes, shipping, and discounts

Research shows 55% of shoppers abandoned their cart because of extra charges that they can’t understand.

Highlight the breakdown of the entire payment due as clearly as possible including how much taxes cost, how much the shipping costs, and the actual product itself. 

A lot of Shopify stores have incorporated this to help further bridge transparency. As a plus, you should add details of how the total amount is calculated.

For new shoppers, if they feel unsure about their transaction in your store, they are likely to abandon their cart. However, a thorough breakdown shows that you are transparent and it encourages them to complete the transaction.

How to add pricing breakdown as a Shopify checkout customization:

Within your Shopify admin, click on online stores.

- Click on Actions > Edit languages.

- In the search box, type Vat label html, and then press enter.

- Under Checkout & system / Checkout order summary, in the Vat label html text box, enter the following text: {{ amount }} tax included.

- Click Save to confirm.

4. Include urgency in your triggers

Urgency strategies can nudge potential customers into making an immediate purchase.

These highlighted text and numbers act as ‘brain candy’. Be sure to include them to create a real-time perspective and sense of urgency.

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

a. Show the limited quantity left in stock, give out a limited discount, add a free item on each purchase during a particular window, add a free gift to our order summary at Shopify checkout or position it like a one-time offer. 

5. Use FOMO marketing

Human beings love moving with the crowd because it establishes familiarity and trust. 

Make your Shopify checkout page more attractive to a potential customer by offering up live sales notifications.

This way, the customer will experience two feelings:

• The confidence that other people are buying the same product or buying from the same brand
• A fear of missing out (FOMO) that is already considered valuable by other customers

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

Enable inventory tracking:

- Access Products from your Shopify admin.

- Input the name of the product & variant you’d like to track.

- Check Track Quantity in the Inventory.

- Enter the quantity information under Quantity.

- Save the information & make it public.

6. Run ‘thumb tests’ to ensure your Shopify theme is responsive across devices

Statistically, eCommerce shoppers interact with your website on a mobile or tablet more than on a desktop.

That’s why it’s important to optimize your checkout page for mobile shoppers.

Ensure that it is mobile and responsive to several touch patterns, screen size, and finger size as well.

How to add this Shopify checkout page customization:

a. Optimize your website responsiveness & ensure each screen loads in under 4 seconds. Create optimal distance between buttons so that they can be easily tapped by a thumb or finger.

Ensure that the main navigation is visible and clear on a screen. Reduce the amount of text on your pages. If possible, display them only after a picture loads. Increase your font size. Smaller fonts are harder to read on mobile. Consider using a size 14-16. Use compressed images to reduce page load time.

b. Opt for a responsive Shopify theme. These themes are optimized to not only load images and pages faster but are also mobile responsive, SEO optimized, easy to integrate with social media, and above all highly customizable. You can search for responsive Shopify themes here.

Read more: Science-backed Mobile Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Ideas

7. Keep checkout distraction-free and avoid conflicting messages

People are reasonable. Genuinely. 

Due to the pandemic, customers don’t mind and understand delays in shipping or deliveries, and any stock or inventory-related problems.   

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Therefore, it’s better to be transparent about such issues and warn shoppers on the checkout page rather than not deliver on promises. 

Futhermore, don't display confusing messages.

The customer is on your Shopify checkout page looking to just get on with filling in essential details and moving on with the payment process – but instead, gets distracted by a sitewide sale banner and gets back into the loop of browsing. Very likely, they’ll stop halfway, thinking they’ll revisit their cart at some other point. 

Here are things that should NEVER SHOW UP on a Shopify checkout page

- Unnecessary links (for example, if you have other brands, you don’t want them here. The only valuable links at this stage have to do with privacy, shipping, and returns.)

- Ads to specific product categories or sales sections. (There’s merit in featuring these, but only across your homepage and category pages.)

- Highly visible discount coupon field. (This can ensure customers will be more interested in hunting down better in-site deals. Feature a coupon field but either make it a secondary feature on the side in a smaller size or feature it based on log-in details.)

8. Let customers ‘Save for Later’ and share their “Wishlists” with friends

Shoppers are spoilt with choices and unless there’s a reason to come back, you might lose them. 

Introduce ‘Save for Later’ on your checkout page, which can significantly boost your chances of returning customers. 

A report shows that 44% of eCommerce buyers want to have a wishlist and the list of benefits that come with it. 

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

a. Make your wishlist intuitive and easily editable. Account for share functionalities as well as options for customers to edit items, and quantity, buy directly, and even save ideas for future searches. Also, send reminders to customers to move products from wishlist to purchase.

9. Recommend products in the same price range as products in the cart

A recent study found that 56% of customers return to websites that recommend products. Also, 35% of Amazon’s revenue is generated by its recommendations engine.

And if they don’t add the product recommendation to the cart, you’ve still given them a product to remember and return to your store later.

So in the long run, it’s a win-win.

Suggest products between 10% to 50% of the main product’s price. For instance, recommend products ranging between $30 to $60 when customers have a cart value of around $50. 

Ensure that your product recommendations are easy to add to the cart. Also, display a progress bar to upsell so that there’s a visual element. 

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

a. Add a recommendations object to your code. A recommendations object helps Shopify stores offer dynamic product recommendations to their audience basis purchase history, shopping behavior, etc.

To enable this, you can follow these steps:

• Create a new Liquid file in the /sections directory.
• Name this product-recommendations.liquid.
• Through recommendations.products_count, you can set up control-flow tags & layout.
• Create a loop through recommendations.products to establish product associations.
• For best results, display between 4 to 10 products at one time.

10. Localize personalizations for better experience 

Providing international shipping serves as an opportunity to acquire foreign customers. 

Reports show that 40% of customers shop from online stores with international shipping due to better availability and better quality products. 

If you offer international shipping, then it’s better to customize the Shopify checkout page for global customers. As basic as it may seem, language brings a sense of familiarity instantly. 

Even if your brand offers authentic products, potential customers might avoid buying if they don’t find you transacting in their chosen language. 

Furthermore, set up international pricing models and rounding rules to avoid charging extra from customers. 

Read more: Selling luxury products online: 7 unique strategies to boost conversions

11. Overcome objections on checkout pages

Around 79% of customers prefer live chats as it offers instant responses. Due to their instant response rates, live chats help brands convert 30% more shoppers than they usually would.

If you have a high number of cart abandonments, then it’s a good idea to have a live chat on the checkout page to resolve customer queries. 

This will help you understand exact customer objections and implement customizations accordingly.  

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

Display a live chat widget with a FAQs section to let customers sift through the basic queries. If customers have any more questions, they can use the live chat to interact with a representative.

12. Include a free-shipping nudge above the fold 

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Unnecessary scrolling delays decision-making. Free shipping on your above-the-fold page reduces cart abandonment rates. 

75% of customers say that free shipping has a massive influence on their ordering decisions.

If it’s not feasible for you to offer free shipping, then add  “continue to shipping” to your above-the-fold page.

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

a. Set a free-shipping threshold that lies between the price of your current as well as the ideal Average Order Value. When setting a free-shipping threshold, it’s important to consider three main things:

- Analyze the average order value over a 6 - 12 month period to set a threshold.

- Set the threshold at a lower limit to determine the value at which they’re availing of free shipping.

- Set the threshold at a higher limit to determine the value at which they’re willing to increase AOV to access free shipping.

Further Reading: Free Shipping: Still a Conversion Driver in 2022? (+ Brands Nailing It)

13. Offer multiple shipping options

When you offer more than one delivery option, you’re giving your customers choice and control over their orders.

Also, customers feel that you’re going the extra mile to provide convenience.

Offer shipping information and multiple delivery dates like same-day delivery, next-day delivery, and even free delivery. Furthermore, offer a pickup option or a find in-store option.

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

On Shopify, you can add a calendar on your checkout page so that customers can select a delivery date based on the available dates you provide.

All you have to do is add jQuery to your theme liquid, create a delivery snippet and add the snippet to your checkout page.

14. Experiment with smart subscriptions

The checkout page is also an opportunity to sell the best product to shoppers. It shows that you care about their interests and you’re willing to offer them the perfect experience with their purchase.

Subscriptions have multiple benefits as it drives steady income from repeat business and lowers customer acquisition cost through organic customer advocacy. 

In the long term, it improves the return on customer acquisition spending and boosts customer lifetime value. 

If you can’t implement a site-wide subscription model, try it for your best-selling products on the checkout page.  

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

You could pitch a subscription where users can automatically subscribe for continuous orders or deliveries.

Introduce an upgrade nudge by declaring incentives at checkout

Pitch an upgrade by offering a newer model of the product.

Ask a potential customer to go for a newer version by highlighting the exclusive features. 

Pitch a spare part that will help make their experience with this particular product even better.  

15. Close the deal with Trust Badges (before asking for payment)

Immediately asking for payment details just comes off as pushy and suspicious.

Customers might be skeptical because it’ll look too suspicious.

Your customers need to be able to trust that you’re concerned about their interests, user experience, and needs.

And they won’t be able to if they perceive that all you want is their money. So consider adding one layer before jumping straight to asking for payments. 

Furthermore, multiple payment options at Shopify checkout can improve customer confidence.

When you limit payment to just one channel, you increase the chances of an abandoned cart. For instance, if I don’t have a PayPal account, how will I pay for my order if your store accepts PayPal payments only?

Therefore, set up multiple payment methods on Shopify by using the alternative payment setup.

How to add these Shopify checkout customizations:

a. Display trust badges across the checkout experience to ease any concerns in real-time.

b. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.

In the Alternative Payments section, click Choose alternative payment.

Choose a provider from the list.

Enter your account credentials for the provider you chose.

Click Activate to enable the provider

16. Add reviews on the checkout page

Sometimes, after getting to the checkout page, your potential customers might be inclined to question why they chose that particular product. 

This is why the checkout page is perfect for reinforcing the benefits of your product.

A simple reinforcement that shows brand values or reviews will help nudge your customers and show them why going ahead with the purchase is worth it. Put simply, it’s a final attempt to influence their buying decision

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

a. Add Google Customer Reviews to your Shopify store. Check how:

Step 1: Log in to your Google Merchant Center account.

Step 2: Go to “Growth > Manage programs”.

Step 3: Activate “Customer Reviews”.

Step 4: Log in to your Shopify store.

Step 4: Go to “Settings > Checkout > Order status page”.

Step 5: Add the following JavaScript snippet to your Shopify “Order status page” form field.

17. Make returns information prominent

In a survey conducted, at least 91% of customers agreed that a company’s refund policy is a decisive factor when making a purchase. Furthermore, research shows that 68% of shoppers view a store’s return policy before making a purchase. 

When customers see that they can return a product if it doesn’t meet their expectations, they’ll be more inclined to go ahead with the purchase. Be very transparent with the details. Include a warranty, a warranty period, a return window, and the conditions for a refund.

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

a. It isn't just about having a solid policy - but the placement of the link that influences the sale.

Place it in the footer has been used to place the link to all the store policies. To make it easier to locate, you can place it right next to the products or under all the products in the cart itself. Makes it a lot easier for visitors to identify and helps build trust faster.

b. Within Shopify admin - go to settings and click on 'legal'.

Enter your policy or choose a template from Shopify.

Edit and add links as per your needs.

Click save to confirm.

For your Shopify store, you can set up a Return Merchandise Authorized System (RMA system) which will help you easily manage returns and return requests in your store.

18. Add trigger words to your CTA button like ‘buy’, ‘now’, ‘free’

Research showed that valued-based CTA as opposed to generic ‘Learn More’ generated a 9.49% increase in conversions.

CTA’s on checkout pages should be clear and void of any confusion. Ensure every element of your CTA is placed just right so that once your shoppers look around, they know how to proceed to the next step without any support.

How to add this Shopify checkout customization:

a. For instance, you sell subscription-based products. However, most new shoppers might not be ready to buy a subscription before at least sampling the product.

‘buy subscription’ = primary CTA

‘get samples’ = secondary CTA 

b. When designing your CTA buttons, you want to make sure that they’re visible. Sticky CTAs are a great way to achieve that. Also, make sure your mobile CTAs pass the thumb test. 

19. Ensure each webpage loads in under 4 seconds

Let’s be honest, people don’t like waiting, including you and me. 

Every 3 seconds your page spends loading, you lose 57% of your initial traffic. This is why you need to optimize the page speed.

How to add this Shopify checkout page customization:

a. Start by analyzing what your current checkout page speed is on Google Page Speed Insights and ensure you’re following the guidelines set by them:

Eliminate render-blocking resources: static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files can harm your website from loading.

Serve images in a next-gen format like webp files: instead of using the conventional png and JPEG files, webp files are easier to load and take up less space.

Remove unused Javascript like themes and plugins.

Use properly sized images.

Reduce server initial response time: This is the initial time it takes your website to load.

Now while these pointers will vary for each business type, two of the most common causes of slow page load time are too many plugins and heavy images running on. your site. 

b. You can also reduce your checkout page load time by either compressing the images on your checkout page or taking out unused and ‘do it all’ plugins. Use any of the free compressor tools online like tinypng and compressor.io to help reduce your image size.

20. Protect your shop from fraudulent activity 

eCommerce retailers deal with an average of 206,000 web attacks per month. 

Such fraudulent activity can wreck your brand reputation, alienate customers, and harm profits.

You can detect fraud and protect your online store by analyzing inconsistent order data such as larger-than-average orders, unusual locations or multiple shipping addresses, or multiple orders from many credit cards. 

21. Do some good at checkout

Since the onset of the pandemic, many customers like to shop from brands that are compassionate and support causes. 

If your store doesn’t have a manufacturing story that directly supports a cause, then you can implement a donation drive on the checkout page.   

22. Apply a pop-up to grab attention 

Exit-intent pop-ups can also be applied to the checkout page.  

The moment shoppers are leaving, you can cheekily remind them that they still have stuff in the basket and offer a discount to encourage them to check out.

Read more: 18 ways to make Shopify popups less annoying (+ examples)

23. Collect feedback right after checkout 

Your customer made a purchase. 

And while that’s cause for celebration. It’s not over yet.  

You can gain insights into your customer, shopping experience and get feedback on the checkout experience through surveys. Collect responses at checkout, by email, or through a link. 

Further reading: Low form conversions? Making any of these 10 mistakes?

Shopify Checkout Page FAQs 

And, if you’re using Shopify, chances are you're bursting with these questions. 

What is checkout in Shopify? 

The Shopify checkout allows you to accept payments and receive orders when you’re selling online. The customer can proceed to checkout after adding items to the cart filling the payment and shipping details to make the final purchase. 

How do I create a checkout on Shopify? 

You can create a checkout link using the admin access- 

If you have the Buy Button channel, you can create the checkout link directly on the product page using these steps.  

• Head to Products and click the particular product you want to create the checkout for. 
• Click More actions dropdown on the product details page and click Create checkout link.

• Click Copy link.

Wasn’t that easy? 

You can create checkout links for product variants by creating a manual link. 

Is Shopify checkout customizable? 

It is by all means customizable. You can customize the UI, add content, add a tracking pixel, and more. For more information, check out the Shopify development site. 

Why can’t I checkout on my Shopify store?

The two common reason why your users aren’t able to checkout are:

• No shipping rate or option available for a particular country.
• Payment gateway error.