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One Page Checkout vs Multi-Step Checkout: Which Is Better for Your Online Business

21
October
2020

Mobile shopping is fast gaining popularity and that means convenience is becoming a priority to consumers. If you complicate your checkout process, chances of losing sales and ending up with unsatisfied customers are very high. For quite some time, e-commerce experts have argued whether a multi-step or one-page checkout is the best option for an online store.

One Page Checkout vs Multi-Step Checkout: Which Is Better for Your Online Business

Both multi-step and one-page are checkout processes that are currently being used in online stores. While each has its pros and cons, here what matters is convenience, and we are going to weigh the advantages and see which one is ideal for your online business. 

One-Page Checkout

As the name suggests, one-page checkout displays all the elements of a standard checkout such as payment information, basket contents, billing and shipping addresses, and shopping options on a single page. One-page checkout was put in place to simplify the checkout process for customers with fewer clicks and fewer pages. 

So, what are the advantages of one-page checkout?

Easy and Convenient – The main benefit of a one-page checkout is that it provides a simplified layout that makes the checkout process easy and convenient for users. Since all the fields are included on one page, customers get to know what’s expected of them before making a move. It’s a hassle-free checkout that most customers prefer.

Reduces Cart-Abandonment – A long, complicated checkout can discourage customers from completing the purchase of a product. Statistics show that more than 20% of cart-abandonment is mainly caused by tedious checkout processes. Most customers want things done instantly. If it’s taking too long to purchase a product, they may stop half-way the journey. 

Increases Conversion – If you’re running an online store, you feel better when your conversion rates go up. When presented with a single-page checkout, online shoppers always demonstrate a higher intention to buy. That implies, less cart abandonment, and hence most visitors turn into customers. Moreover, there are high chances of them coming back. 

Improves Site Performance – With one-page checkout, customers only have to make fewer clicks. Most customers find it annoying to wait for the next page to load repeatedly. As such, they may end up bouncing off your site, which ruins your site’s functionality. You can avoid this by having a one-page checkout. 

Any Cons of One-Page Checkout?

Even though one-page checkout offers several benefits, it does have its pros. Therefore, as you make a decision, you may want to know the disadvantages too. 

Too Much Scrolling – While incorporating checkout information on a single page simplifies the process for users, some customers find it daunting to complete long pages of forms. Due to the never-ending scrolling, customers may get confused while checking out and end up abandoning their shopping cart altogether. 

Slow Site Speed – Your website’s load time tends to increase if there’s so much content to display on one page. Since consumers prefer online shopping to purchasing from a physical store because it’s fast and convenient, they may not appreciate anything that’s causing a delay. Therefore, a slow-loading checkout can cause a customer to look for a similar product somewhere else. 

Multi-Step Checkout

Unlike one-page checkout, multi-step checkout spreads out the checkout steps into several pages. With this type of checkout, customers have to manually provide their preferred shipping method, shipping and billing address, and payment information. Even though a multi-step checkout tends to be time-consuming, some customers prefer it to one-page checkout. 

Multi-step checkout gives users the chance to confirm their order details before finalizing the purchase process. Customers buying expensive items prefer a multi-step checkout to a single checkout as it allows them to carefully think through their purchase and confirm the necessary details before finalizing placing an order. 

Advantages of Multi-Step Checkout

We’ve already touched on some of the pros of multi-step checkout, but let’s look at the specific benefits below. 

Email Subscription – Spreading out checkout information on multiple pages allows online sellers to collect essential information about the customer. It’s possible to collect things like a customer’s email even if they abandon the cart along the way. As such, you can follow up later and possibly convince them to complete the purchase.

Analytics – With multi-step checkout, it’s possible to take advantage of Google Analytics to find out where customers exit your checkout process. This is not usually possible with a one-page checkout.

Clean Layout – Spreading checkout elements on several pages allows you to neatly display shipping options and form fields so that everything looks appealing to the customer. A long page of customers page may be daunting to fill out, and that’s why some customers may prefer a multi-step checkout.

Guest Checkout – Not every customer will want to sign up before making a purchase. With multi-step checkout, you can add guest checkout to accommodate such customers. 

The Cons of Multi-Step Checkout

The main reason why most customers prefer single-page to multi-step checkout is that the latter tends to be lengthy and time-consuming. Therefore, some users may end up abandoning their carts along the way. Typically, a checkout shouldn’t contain more than four steps. If the steps are too many, customers may find the checkout daunting and end up not completing the purchase. 

The Bottom Line

Having covered the pros and cons of both multi-step and one-page checkout, you may want to know which one is the best for your online store. However, it all depends on your business’ specific needs, and in the end, what matters most is to make sure that customers can checkout easily within a short time.

It’s worth noting that online shopping is all about convenience and anything that complicates the purchase process will work against your progress.

You want to maximize your sales, right?

Well then, make the checkout process as simple and fast as possible. And you can further optimize your checkout process with our handsome checkout to reduce shopping cart abandonment. 

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Bogdan
In 2009 he started contributing to WordPress and couple years later built his first WooCommerce store. Now he's helping WooCommerce storeowners all over the world make more money with their stores. Wordpress problem solving expert, backend developer, founder of BogdanFix.

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