It can be the most disappointing thing to witness a visitor reach your checkout page without making a purchase. As this is the biggest concern for you, consider optimizing your entire checkout flow.
If you dig deeper, you will find many points where you can understand why people leave without swiping their cards! Your goal should ideally be to optimize every step so that visitors find it as convenient as possible.
It can sound challenging. That’s why, an effective WooCommerce checkout manager is helpful as it can identify and fill all those gaps.
The purpose of this article is to show you how to set up a perfect WooCommerce checkout manager and optimize your WooCommerce checkout process.
Does the WooCommerce checkout manager surpass a basic checkout editor?
The answer is yes!
Though the checkout page is the most important stage, the WooCommerce checkout manager is more than that. It begins when your visitor adds a product to their cart and concludes when they complete the purchase process.
You have to take care of the entire checkout flow, including pre and post checkout and not just focus on optimizing only the checkout page.
On the other hand, the functioning of a checkout field editor is limited to the checkout page only, i.e., customizing the fields & sections on the checkout page.
So, what does this checkout flow include?
- Cart page
- Checkout page
- Thank You page
Look into the entire flow. While doing so, ensure you eliminate every potential challenge your visitors could encounter. That’s your ideal checkout manager. Because getting your target audience’s attention may not be a big challenge but making them stay is.
First, let’s look at the different cart options you can choose from.
Top WooCommerce cart page enhancers
There are many WooCommerce cart page display methods, such as side cart, skip cart, menu cart, floating cart, etc. You may want to try some of the cart page display techniques, based on your niche, as mentioned below.
Side cart
The side cart opens up a sidebar whenever users need to review their cart. It doesn’t take users to another page, instead, it allows customers to check their cart items from the current page.
This cart type is beneficial for the majority of stores where the products purchased in an order are limited. Digital products, clothing, accessories and stationery stores can take advantage of the side cart.
Skip cart
If you wish to take your visitors directly to the checkout page without fiddling with the review cart option, this is what you need.
Skip cart enables them to complete the transaction swiftly, significantly reducing the cart abandonment rate. That said, it is obvious that this cart type should be used for high-ticket services like digital products, subscriptions, one-on-one coaching sessions, or downloadables.
Ajax add to cart
The Ajax add-to-cart option allows you to add single or multiple products to the cart and review them without having to reload the cart page every time. This greatly aids in expediting your customer’s purchase.
Ajax add-to-cart is a great option for groceries where visitors tend to purchase multiple products.
Update variations in the cart
Here, if users want to change product variations or quantity, they don’t need to go back to the product page/shopping page. They can update the product variations based on attributes directly from the cart.
Electronics, cosmetics, health and fitness and grocery stores will gain from this cart type.
We recommend the WooCommerce Update Variations in Cart plugin for this cart type. No configuration and no coding is required.
With this, optimize the WooCommerce checkout process as well for the best results.
Check this WoCommerce cart blog to know more cart enhancement options.
Top WooCommerce checkout page options
The transition between your product page & payment page is the most important determinant of your sales. This is dependent on the type of checkout option you select.
Now, this selection is never random. To ensure you make the right choice, keep in mind these three important factors:
- Your store/product type.
- The convenience of your visitors.
- The store analytics and marketing strategies.
Here are some of the check-out flow options that you can explore!
Direct checkout
When we mentioned the skip cart option, that’s what we were talking about. Direct checkout allows visitors to bypass the cart page and go straight to the checkout page.
All credit goes to the quick Buy Now button. You can easily update the ‘Add-to-cart’ button and replace it with the ‘Buy Now’ button for all products, categories, or the entire WooCommerce store.
The only disadvantage that visitors may encounter is that they do not have the opportunity to review their cart before making a payment. However, you could alleviate this concern by enabling the side cart option on your WooCommerce store.
With the trusted WooCommerce checkout manager plugin like Cashier, you get the upper hand by quickly setting up the direct checkout option.
One-click checkout
Just like the direct checkout option, the visitors can directly complete their purchase with just one click. The customer’s data and payment details get pre-filled based on their purchase history.
Even though visitors have an instant checkout and a smooth transition, the process may be disrupted if they do not intend to continue with the same data/payment method.
Setting up a one-click checkout is best suited for impulse purchases because the products related to it belong to the low-investment category. Thus, it helps vendors increase sales, encourage repeat purchases and get increased ROI.
One-page checkout
As the name implies, the entire checkout process is summarized on a single page using this checkout type.
The product information, cart details, payment details and checkout form are all on the same page. Hence, the person doesn’t get diverted from the purchase as they don’t shuffle between pages.
This checkout option is best suitable for high-ticket products/services, digital products, or any store that sells an exclusive line of products.
One of the disadvantages is that the page becomes too heavy due to lots of elements on the same page. Thus this checkout is also not suitable for FMCG stores.
Therefore, we recommend Cashier and WooCommerce One Page Checkout plugins to set up one page checkout on your website.
Multi-step checkout
A multi-step checkout has several pages and steps for the visitor to cross to get to the checkout page. It informs the customer of each before-and-after phase in detail. It’s definitely time-consuming, but many users appreciate being able to examine their choices at each stage.
It’s an excellent checkout option for WooCommerce stores in the fashion, retail, and electronics industries.
Note: All of the options mentioned above have their share of pros and cons. You can still manage to make the most out of them by understanding which one will suit your WooCommerce store better (as per your industry/niche/product type).
There are several WooCommerce checkout plugins in the market. Choose the one that suits your budget and fulfills all your requirements.
Popular WooCommerce checkout manager plugins
A versatile WooCommerce checkout manager, that offers all cart, checkout and thank you page options in one plugin, is a rare sight in the market. Most plugins’ functionalities can help optimize checkout pages only, but some plugins go beyond.
Many of the plugins name their checkout field editor plugin as checkout manager. However, the checkout manager is not just limited to it.
One plugin stands apart and provides functionalities beyond the standard checkout field editor plugin.
And, that’d be the Cashier for WooCommerce.
Cashier- WooCommerce Checkout Field Editor and Manager
The Cashier plugin is a complete package that offers you incredible WooCommerce checkout optimization features.
Everything we discussed above from one-click checkout, direct checkout, side cart and a lot more enhancements are possible with it.
The Cashier makes your visitor’s buying journey effortless with:
- Edit default checkout fields and enable/disable them.
- Rearrange and reset the custom fields and add custom CSS classes to them.
- Add new custom fields in three sections – Billing, Shipping, and Additional.
- Direct/one-click checkout options to complete the transaction faster with the Buy Now button.
- Enable one-page checkout for pre-selected products, product IDs, and product categories.
- Quick checkout for new and guest users.
- Side cart option to be able to review their shopping list right from the page they’re browsing on.
- Present better recommendations based on the customer’s buying history.
- Enabling the Buy Now button storewide or for any specific product categories, as you like.
- Use the Buy Now links in emails, social media, blog posts, and everywhere else you wish to promote & sell your products.
- Smartly increase the order value by displaying cart notices of free shipping.
- Allow users to empty their cart in one click.
- Track profits earned by entering the cost of goods for simple and variable products.
- Allow users to update product variations directly from the cart.
- Embed a coupon to auto-apply a discount at the click of the Buy Now button.
- Offer preferred shipping method for products embedded with Buy Now links.
- Works with all product types – simple, variable, subscription, bundles, groups, etc.
- Compatibility with WooCommerce Subscriptions, Customer Email Verification, and SMS for WooCommerce.
The Cashier is a total steal for its price! It presents itself as an excellent investment for pre and post-checkout management.
Hence, various industry verticals can use this plugin. FMCG, digital goods, electronics, travel, hospitality, food & beverage, furniture, luxury goods like jewelry, etc.
Pricing: $149/year
Besides Cashier, plenty of WooCommerce checkout fields plugins offer to customize the checkout page to your liking.
While customizing, it is best not to tamper with too many settings on the checkout page. It has the potential to irritate customers at any time, increasing abandonment rates.
However, you can add and remove custom fields based on conditions wherever necessary, so that customers are left with minimum fields to fill and they check out faster.
Here are our top picks as a reliable WooCommerce checkout fields editor plugin:
WooCommerce Checkout Field Editor
This checkout field editor plugin lets you add and remove necessary fields on your checkout page based on your requirements.
Core fields can also be moved around giving you more control over your checkout without touching the code.
Notable features:
- Supports nine custom field types.
- Edit three types of fields with this plugin – billing, shipping, and additional fields section.
- Add seven different types of attributes (called
Columnsby the plugin) like name, type, label, etc. - Use a custom field in the WooCommerce emails.
Note: Its inability to support the cart and checkout blocks renders it an ineffective option for the WooCommerce checkout manager.
Pricing: $49/year
Get WooCommerce Checkout Field Editor
Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce (Checkout Manager)
If you’re looking for an advanced WooCommerce checkout field editor plugin with multiple customization options, Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce by ThemeHigh is a good option to explore.
Notable features:
- Support for twenty-four custom checkout field types.
- Add new fields to the billing, shipping, and additional sections.
- Display fields based on conditions like cart content and price, user roles, and product specifications.
- Display fields based on shipping options and payment methods.
- Rearrange the fields as per convenience.
- Add a custom class for styling the fields.
- Change address display format.
Pricing: $49/year
Get Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce
WooCommerce Checkout Field Editor and Manager
This checkout field editor for WooCommerce developed by Acowebs is a good option. It helps manage the checkout fields for your WooCommerce store.
Notable features:
- Supports over 24 types of custom checkout fields.
- Position sections in 13 different places on the checkout page.
- Enable conditional logic to show/hide fields.
- Show fields in order details and order emails.
- Show or hide fields & sections based on products, categories, user roles, and cart total.
- Use the drag-and-drop option to change the display of the order of fields.
- One-click duplicate option for fields and sections.
Pricing: The free version is available. The pro version starts at $49/year.
Get Checkout Field Editor and Manager
Checkout Field Manager (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce
This is one of the top WooCommerce checkout field editor plugins available on the market. Store owners can easily customize the checkout fields or add new into the core field.
Notable features:
- Supports over 20 custom field types inside billing or shipping checkout forms.
- Delete, change, or reorder the WooCommerce checkout fields.
- Add custom fields to the checkout page related to billing, shipping, or additional sections.
- Show conditional fields based on the parent value.
- Disable checkout fields for specific products, categories, or user roles.
- Reorder, remove, or change the field type of the WooCommerce core fields.
- Easy fee management for each custom or core field.
Pricing: The free version is available on WordPress. The pro version starts from $49/year.
The significant part of the WooCommerce shopping experience that most checkout field editor plugins lack is offering relationship-building with customers. But, not all plugins are the same.
Build customer relationships with custom thank you pages
As vital as it is to get your visitors to finish the purchase process efficiently, how you connect with them thereafter is equally important.
Optimizing the order complete page i.e. your WooCommerce thank you message page powerfully is the best way to answer your customers– ‘What’s next?’
Say, customers have paid for some of your products or services, thus they have a higher level of trust in you. So why not use their trust to help them discover new products that would benefit them and increase your sales?
StoreApps’ Custom Thank You Page for WooCommerce plugin helps you convert your thank you page into a powerful marketing tool. The plugin:
- Offers highly converting readymade custom thank you page templates.
- Shows upsell/cross-sell product recommendations on the page.
- Gives you the option to link your social media accounts.
- Provides page builders and themes to create an effective thank you page.
- Allows you to enable a thank you page for each product.
All these and many other features that you can use and set up yourself with absolutely no coding skills required!
Get Custom Thank You Page plugin
Final words
With all the above information and awareness in hand, don’t let more money slip through the cracks by not optimizing your checkout process.
The Cashier plugin is the best way to kickstart your WooCommerce checkout optimization journey if this is your first attempt. It has easy features and no coding required, which makes it a great, no-fail way to get started with your process.
So, pick the best WooCommerce checkout plugin, i.e., Cashier for WooCommerce.
FAQ
How to customize the checkout page in WooCommerce without a plugin?
You can customize it via the theme, CSS, hooks (action and filter) and via custom code. Refer to this how to edit WooCommerce checkout page to check the code.