eCommerce Cart & Checkout Page Guideline

Simplify the Path to Purchase

Your cart and checkout pages are the final stretch of the conversion journey—and one of the easiest places to lose the sale. At this stage, your customer is ready to buy. Your job? Make it seamless, trustworthy, and distraction-free.

Think of your cart and checkout pages like the last mile of a race. Your customer is already laced up and running—don’t trip them right before the finish line. 

This guide walks you through how to design a smooth, high-converting cart and checkout process tailored for online stores of all sizes—perfect for small business owners and marketers building on platforms like Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, or another eCommerce platform.

Why Your Cart and Checkout Pages Matter

These aren’t just functional pages—they’re conversion pages. Let’s optimize them to reduce cart abandonment and increase your revenue.

Poor design, too many steps, or unexpected surprises can cause potential customers to drop off. A great cart and checkout experience builds confidence, reinforces trust, and encourages completion.

Your customers have come this far, you’ve nurtured them all the way to the bottom of your sales funnel. It’s time to make that sale.

Cart Page Must-Haves

The cart page is the final pit stop before checkout. This is where your customer gives their order one last look—making sure everything’s just right before hitting that “Buy” button.

Keep it clean, clear, and confidence-boosting. Make it easy to adjust quantities, remove an item, or jump back a step if needed. No pop-ups, no confusion—just keep that momentum going to the finish line.

Your Cart Page Should Include:

• Product name, image, price, and quantity

• Subtotal clearly displayed

• Option to edit quantity or remove items

• Estimated shipping/tax (if possible)

• Secure checkout button (CTA should stand out)

• Trust badges (SSL, payment logos, etc.)

• Optional: link to continue shopping (in a secondary position)

If you're using an all-in-one platform like Wix, Shopify, or something similar, your cart and checkout pages will come with built-in templates you can customize. And yes—you should customize them. It’s tempting to leave the default text and layout, but that’s a missed opportunity. A few simple tweaks can turn a generic page into a high-converting one. Take the extra 30 minutes to make these pages reflect your brand and guide your customer confidently to the finish line. It’s time well spent.

Pro Tip: Use a sticky “Checkout” button on mobile so it's always within reach.

Checkout Page Best Practices

This is the final step before your customer clicks “Purchase.” All they need to do now is enter their payment and shipping information—so make it easy. Your checkout page should be clean, distraction-free, and laser-focused on helping them complete the process. No last-minute detours, no second-guessing. Keep everything smooth, simple, and intuitive so the final click feels effortless. Let’s make this conversion happen. 

Design for:

• Clean, simple layout

• Minimal steps (multi-step or single page is fine—just test what works best for your audience)

• Autofill where possible (address fields, etc.)

• Input-friendly fields on mobile

Key elements to include:

• Contact information (email address, phone number optional)

• Shipping info (with multiple options if applicable)

• Payment methods (credit card, PayPal, Shop Pay, etc.)

• Final order review

• Place Order CTA

Ensure that you customize your platform’s template page, and continue to make adjustments to increase your conversion rate. 

Test it Out: Make sure you, your employees, friends, or whomever is available, test these pages out on desktop and mobile. Ask for their feedback on how easy the checkout process is and if there are any pain points that you could smooth out.

Build Trust at Checkout

Trust is one of the most important factors for eCommerce—especially when customers are entering payment information. Unfortunately, not every website out there is legitimate, so shoppers are extra cautious. Whether you're a new business or an established brand, it’s essential to show your customers that your site is secure and that their transaction is safe.

Add trust and urgency through:

• Payment and security badges

• “100% secure checkout” messaging

• Clear return or guarantee language

• Shipping expectations (estimated delivery date or “Ships in X days”)

• Free shipping incentives (if applicable)

Beyond just showing trust, ensure that your customers can trust your site. Set up your site so it is secure to take payments, and that you deliver on the promises your checkout is promising (shipping times, etc.)

Offer Multiple Payment Options for a Seamless Checkout

Shoppers want flexibility—and offering a range of trusted payment options helps increase confidence and conversions. This is where understanding your audience and which payments they want to use comes in hand. Once those are selected, display the payment methods you accept and make sure they’re easy to recognize through a quick skim of the page.

Common options include:

• Credit/Debit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX)

• PayPal or Venmo

• Apple Pay or Google Pay

• Buy Now, Pay Later (Afterpay, Klarna, etc.)

Pro tip: Show these logos near your checkout button or in the footer to build trust early.

Keep the Focus on Converting

The cart and checkout pages are at the bottom of the customer funnel (the conversion portion). The purchasing decision has already been made, this is not the time for second guesses. Ensure that your website is maximizing the amount of conversions by removing anything that takes users away from the checkout flow.

What to Avoid:

• Navigation links to other pages

• Excessive upsells or product suggestions

• Popups or side banners

Keep your customers focused on completing the sale.

Upselling

But what about upselling? I am all for upselling, as long as it does not deter from sales. If your online store is seeing amazing sales and a very good conversion rate, then by all means test upselling in the cart area to see if it increases or decreases sales. 

If you are going to add one to your checkout flow - keep it simple. When I worked in retail we had a one more thing initiative, at the registers, sales associates would recommend one more item to add to someone’s purchase. This is the same for eCommerce websites. Too many upsells will bring potential customers out of the purchase mindset, and you can lose the sale entirely. 

There is a time for upselling, but before that your site needs a good conversion rate. Focus first on having a cart and checkout process that performs, then find ways of increasing your order size.

Mobile Optimization Tips

Your customers should have the same easy and amazing checkout experience on mobile that they do on desktop. More than half of your shoppers are going to view your site on mobile.

Here’s how to keep your cart and checkout mobile-friendly:

• Stack content vertically

• Make form fields tappable and easy to fill

• Ensure “Place Order” or “Checkout” buttons are sticky or easy to reach

• Use collapsible sections to avoid overwhelming the page

Pro Tip: I always recommend testing this out on different devices and different sized devices to ensure your online customers are having the same friendly user experience. 

After the Purchase: Order Confirmation Page

Your checkout flow shouldn’t stop at the “Thank You” message. This is your first chance to build trust after the sale and make your customers feel confident and excited about their purchase. Think of it as the start of your customer service experience. A clear, reassuring confirmation message adds credibility, eases any lingering concerns, and sets the tone for a smooth experience—especially if something unexpected comes up, like a shipping delay. A little extra care here can go a long way in keeping customers happy and coming back.

Items to Include:

• Order summary

• Confirmation email notification

• Clear next steps (e.g., estimated shipping timeline, account creation, email opt-in)

Optional additions:

• Referral or rewards offers

• Link to track order

• Upsell or future purchase discount code

Pro Tip: This information on your order confirmation page should also be included in your confirmation email. This email is a great place to include more of the optional additions to turn your one-time customer into loyal repeat customers.

Make Every Click Count

Your cart and checkout pages are the final (and most critical) steps in your website sales funnel. You’ve done the work to get someone to this point—don’t lose them now. This part of the journey should feel smooth, clear, and trustworthy. No distractions. No second-guessing. Just a confident click of the “Purchase” button.

But launching your cart and checkout flow isn’t the finish line—it’s the starting point for ongoing improvement.

Pay attention to how your customers interact with these pages. Are people adding items to their cart but not checking out? Are they dropping off during payment or getting stuck on a form? Tools like Google Analytics, heatmaps, and your platform’s built-in reports can help you spot where customers are hesitating or leaving.

Once you know where the friction points are, you can optimize:

• Simplify your checkout forms

• Reorder content for better flow

• Add trust signals where needed

• Test different layouts or button language

Small adjustments can lead to big results.

Pro Tip: Checkout is not the place to get clever—it's where you get clear. Guide your customers to the finish line with as few obstacles as possible, and make every design choice with conversion in mind.

Keep testing, keep improving, and your checkout experience will not only drive more sales but help turn first-time buyers into loyal customers.

Next Up

Optimize your sales funnel with one of these next Guidelines:

• eCommerce Product Page Layout Guideline: Build a Page That Converts

• eCommerce Category (Product Collection) Page Guideline: Create a Smart, Shopper-Friendly Layout