Five Must-Have Shopping Cart Features (And a Few Things to Avoid)

Aside from a great product or service and an engaging website, your shopping cart is probably one of the most important features of an eCommerce website. You want to find a design that's easy to locate, user-friendly and right for your type of business. Three are hundreds of options, designers and templates available, and each concept has its advantages and disadvantages. Here are five essential features that will make your shopping cart as efficient as possible, as well as common mistakes to avoid.

VISIBILITY

If your customers have trouble seeing the button or icon to make a purchase, they're likely to move on to another eCommerce site. Most shopping cart templates have several standard design layouts that are based on customer preferences and industry best practices to ensure optimal size and placement of critical features.

ONE-PAGE LAYOUT

Studies show that the more complicated the checkout process, the more likely you are to have problems with abandoned carts and canceled transactions. The most favorable checkout process consists of one checkout page that's accessible by a clearly identifiable button or icon from each page of your website. The checkout page should include a summary of shopping cart contents, product details and a mechanism for editing your order.

USE ICONS

Even if they spend hours browsing, when it comes to checkout time, most consumers want to complete their purchase and move on as fast as possible. One way to make the process easier for your guests is to provide icons in lieu of text whenever possible.

USE A SIMPLE DESIGN

In addition to one-page checkout systems, the design of the final order page should provide a simple table format, with large, easy to identify fields. Numeric fields should update automatically as items are added or removed, and any taxes or shipping costs should be clearly spelled out and added to the total in a line-by-line format.

PROVIDE SEVERAL HELP OPTIONS

A good way to provide superior customer support is to give the customer plenty of guidance to help facilitate their transaction. Features like providing sample text on or below input fields on your forms, clearly labeling basic elements and adding a clickable question mark icon to explain unfamiliar processes will help provide a more hassle-free process.

What NOT to Do

- Don't use cutesy names - pocketbook, basket, or 'My' anything - for your shopping cart. Simplicity is key; it's a shopping cart, leave it at that.

- Don't over-complicate the process

- Don't require registration before allowing visitors to buy

Not all shopping cart eCommerce software is created equally, so it pays to shop around for a provider who offers a variety of templates and designs, or who can customize your shopping cart to suit the needs of your business. If you're not sure what will work best, a web design company that specialized in eCommerce websites is a good place to start. You can also browse different websites to get an idea