It’s complex and troublesome to build and generate the Magento 2 checkout process. But things are going to change after you read this article.
Firstly, you should know that the Magento 2 checkout page has to load more JavaScript code than any other page. For that reason, this is the most complicated yet important page to convert customers. If you don’t pay attention to optimizing Magento 2 checkout steps, you’re at risk of losing potential customers as they leave during the checkout.
Magento 1 & Magento 2 Checkout Process: The Differences
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Of course, the new version always comes with upgrades and improvements. And the most significant change of the Magento 2 checkout process is the shortening from six to two steps in the checkout.
Magento 1 (M1):
Magento 2 (M2):
Another updated feature for the Magento 2 checkout steps is to look for existing customers with their registered information automatically. Also, the improvement made in the order process and the application of common payment gateways resulted in an increase of 38% in terms of checkout speed.
Additionally, the record shows that there are about 250,000 orders/hour that can be handled thanks to the up-to-date technology stack in Magento 2 checkout customization. This number has increased by 117% compared to the capacity to process orders of M1. The new version can also process 2 million catalog views per hour.
Overall, with the new updates, Magento 2 checkout process is now simpler, faster, and more user-friendly than before. This positive change leads to the reduction of cart abandonment rate as well as grants you access to more helpful modern features, such as:
- Elimination of outdated PHP versions
- Strengthen SEO capabilities
- Extend search capabilities
- Varied payment gateway features
>>> READ NOW! The Magento 2 Step-by-Step Tutorial for Beginners
Steps to Customize Magento 2 Checkout Process
The Magento 2 checkout page has been changed to make it faster and easier. It guides the customer through the checkout process in only two simple Magento 2 checkout steps. Customers who are logged into their accounts can complete the checkout process quickly because much of the information they need is already stored in their accounts.
The customer completes the shipping address information and selects the shipment method in the first step of the checkout process. The customer selects a payment option and applies any coupons to finish the transaction in the second step.
There are many Magento 2 checkout extensions on the market that you can consider to enhance your checkout process.
However, if you plan to do it manually by yourself, consider the suggested customizations below. We’ve selected some names that would create quite an effect on both the website and customer experience.
>>> CHECK NOW: Magento 2 Checkout Success Page extension to enhance customer experience!
Add new Magento checkout steps
Originally, the default Magento checkout flow included two steps:
- Shipping Information
- Review and Payment Information
You can add a custom step; note that it should be implemented as a UI component. The customizations should be in a separate module to ensure the page’s compatibility, upgradability, and maintenance.
The steps to add a new Magento 2 checkout step should be the following:
- Create the view part of the checkout step component.
- Add your step to the Checkout page layout.
- Create mixins for payment and shipping steps (optional).
Add custom shipping carrier
Additional shipping carriers can do wonders for your website since it provides customers with varied options. Make sure you choose the companies with a good reputation because shipment is the final but important step. This is where you leave the last impression of the purchase on your customers.
There are four steps to follow in adding a new shipping carrier to your Magento 2 checkout process:
- Create a new module
- Add the carrier configuration
- Create the carrier model
- Enable the module
The backend setting after you’ve successfully added a new shipping carrier will appear with this new customization:
On the frontend, the checkout is shown below:
Add custom shipping carrier validations
You’ve added a custom shipping carrier to vary your user’s choices, and that’s enough? Not yet. With the new update, Magento 2 allows you to add shipping address validations for the custom carrier in the checkout. This is where you perfect the previous task of adding a new carrier and earn customer satisfaction.
Follow these steps to add new shipping carrier validations to your Magento 2 checkout process and access it on the client’s site:
- Create validation rules.
- Create a validator.
- Register validators and rules in the validators pool.
- Add the validators and rules to the checkout layout.
After finishing, remember to deploy static content and clear the cache for better performance.
Add custom input mask for ZIP code
This action is performed by the developer in the backend to add a custom input mask in the Magento 2 checkout process.
Specifically, when a user fills in the country and ZIP code, the system checks to ensure the format of the entered code is valid for that specific country. This validation runs on the input masks for the ZIP code field. These are the regular expressions to define the allowed format.
With the customization, you can either add a new input mask, modify default values in the existing mask, or remove a mask.
Add a new field in the address form
Want to add a new field in the address form? Magento 2 has provided this feature; Besides the default forms, you can add other forms that are generated dynamically.
The process includes five steps as follows:
- Add the field to the layout.
- Add a JS mixin to modify data submission.
- Load your mixin.
- Add the field to address the model.
- Access the value of the custom field on the server side.
Similar to when you add custom shipping carrier validations, at the final step, you need to compile the code, deploy static content, and then clear the cache. These CLI commands make sure the newly added forms run smoothly.
>>> GET the full tutorial on Magento 2 add custom field in checkout page to break the limit of your checkout page with additional fields.
Tips For Magento 2 Checkout Process Optimization
Do you have a Magento 2 store with a low conversion rate? If you answered yes, you are not alone.
According to figures, the global cart abandonment rate for E-commerce is around 70%. There are a variety of reasons why customers opt not to purchase your products after adding them to their shopping carts.
One important reason is the issue of trust. Your customers are likelier to abandon their carts if your website lacks trust or your company’s service provides a terrible customer experience.
Besides the recommended customizations, you can also consider customizing other factors to bring the best user checkout experience. The logic is based on users’ views: what will satisfy them (speed, simplicity, service, etc.), and why should they do that (fill in certain information). After all, e-commerce is all about service and how to use service to achieve the highest customer satisfaction.
We’ve gathered here some most-used tips to optimize the Magento 2 checkout process. Check it out and define what’s necessary for your site.
Simplify the checkout process
According to a survey, more than 60% of the users who abandon their carts say that they left either because the checkout process was too long and complicated or they had to create an account. It’s common sense since no one likes to deal with difficult stuff, especially when it’s the first time and they’re not sure whether it’s worth coming back.
The solution to this issue is not as easy as it sounds: simplify your checkout process, remove the unnecessary fields, and make the remaining fields explicit. Sometimes it comes with the price that you cannot provide users as many checkout options as you want.
However, too much is not always good. By cutting off the options, you can avoid confusing customers as well as boost website speed.
Make checkout mobile-friendly
A survey from Statista shows that in 2021, 72.9 percent of all retail e-commerce is expected to be generated via m-commerce (mobile commerce). This means most customers interact with your e-commerce store on their mobile devices. If your goal is to bring the best customer satisfaction, you cannot skip improving their experience on mobile phones.
The thing is that the default Magento 2 checkout process is designed to work well on large-screen devices (desktop, laptop, tablet) but not small-screen devices. Hence, it may take special efforts to make your site serve your mobile users better.
Explain why you ask your customers to fill in sensitive fields
Of course, you only require the necessary information to complete a shipment. However, to some people, that information can be private or sensitive. By answering why they need to provide that information, you can build trust as well as avoid losing customers because they don’t want to reveal their privacy.
Always use a secure connection for customer data
With the growth of technology, people are increasingly aware of their online privacy. No one wants their information to be leaked and be used for other purposes. If you cannot prove that your site is safe and secure enough, your customers will likely pull away.
Magento 2 checkout A/B Testing
After making certain changes, you need to test their performance instead of assuming they’ll be effective. The recommended method is to use A/B testing.
This test will divide your website visitors randomly into A & B segments. One segment sees no change, and the other will experience new changes. After a certain period, we will evaluate the result of each segment and see whether the changes are positive.
A/B testing works well for the following cases:
- Magento Guest checkout vs. Member checkout
- Trust and security signs
- Remove any point of friction along the checkout way
- One-step vs. Multi-page checkout
- Calls To Action
>>> You should read more: Most Effective Way To Customize Checkout Success Page In Magento 2
Conclusion
Magento 2 checkout process has been updated with many customization options for you to upgrade your site. This is where your customers finish their purchase but also where they start to gain trust in your brand. If you can satisfy your customers with your product to make the checkout and fulfill their expectations in the final step, that’s a success.
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