Making purchasing easier on an e-commerce website: product pages, cart and checkout steps

Much of the work to increase e-commerce website conversions takes place along the path between the moment a visitor sees a product and the moment they confirm their order, rather than in advertising. The purchasing process becomes smooth when information that helps customers decide on the product page, an editable and transparent cart, a short e-commerce checkout page and reassuring legal information come together. Every unnecessary question, surprise cost or uncertainty at each step creates an opportunity for the purchase to be abandoned.

This article covers each step separately, from the product page to order confirmation: where to provide stock and shipping information, how to structure the cart, guest checkout, reducing form fields, mobile checkout and the obligations that Turkey’s Distance Contracts Regulation places on checkout. The technical recommendations are based on web.dev’s payment form guide, and the legal information on the regulation text at mevzuat.gov.tr.

Where does the purchasing process get stuck?

The purchasing process usually gets stuck because of missing information at the decision point, an unexpected cost or an unnecessarily long form. Even if the visitor likes the product, encountering one of these obstacles can cause them to postpone the order, and they often never return. Common causes of these blockages include:

• Shipping costs or delivery times appearing only at the final step
• Requiring an account to be created before placing an order
• Unnecessary fields in the payment form and the wrong keyboard opening on mobile
• Allowing an out-of-stock variant to be added to the cart
• Return conditions, the seller’s legal name and contact information being difficult to find
• Being unable to change product quantities in the cart or understand the total

None of these causes requires advanced technology; most can be resolved through sound design decisions about which information to show at which step. The first step in increasing e-commerce website conversions is to review these decisions again through the customer’s eyes.

Product page: the information needed to decide on one screen

A good product page presents everything the visitor needs to make a purchasing decision on the first screen or immediately below it. The tax-inclusive price, stock status, estimated dispatch time, variant selection and “Add to cart” button form the core of this information.

For products with variants, color and size selection should work in conjunction with stock information; a sold-out option either appears disabled or offers a “notify me when back in stock” option. Images show the product from different angles and communicate its actual size, while the description explains in plain language which need the product addresses and who it is for. A brief summary of the return period and shipping conditions near the price also resolves uncertainties before they reach the cart stage.

On mobile, a button fixed at the bottom of the screen can keep the “Add to cart” button from disappearing while long descriptions are read. Details about product page search visibility are covered separately in the SEO checklist for e-commerce websites .

Do not leave stock and shipping information to the final step

Stock and shipping information should not be left to checkout, because an additional charge or long delivery time appearing at the last moment is one of the most common points at which purchases are abandoned. This information is required both for the user experience and by legislation.

Turkey’s Distance Contracts Regulationrequires consumers to be informed before the contract of the total price of the goods, including all taxes, and additional costs such as shipping and delivery. Under the regulation, if the seller fails to disclose these additional costs, the consumer is not obliged to pay them. Any delivery restrictions and the accepted payment methods must also be clearly stated no later than before the order is placed.

There is also an upper limit on delivery time: except for goods prepared to individual specifications, performance for sales of goods cannot exceed thirty days from receipt of the order. The estimated dispatch time displayed on the product page must be consistent with this limit and with the promises made in advertising.

Cart page: editable and transparent

The cart page is a checkpoint where visitors review their selections and can easily change their minds; every difficulty here delays progress to checkout. The cart’s main job is to show exactly what the order contains and how much it will cost, leaving no questions unanswered.

A well-structured cart page includes the following features:

• The ability to change product quantities in the cart and remove a product with one tap
• A total broken down into product cost, shipping and any additional fees
• A short note showing how much remains to reach any free-shipping threshold
• The selected variant, meaning color and size, clearly stated under the product name
• The checkout button as the most prominent action on the page

The discount code field can be visible, but making it more prominent than the checkout button may prompt visitors without a code to search other websites for one.

A “Continue shopping” link, a permanent route back to the cart and a cart preserved in the browser even for unregistered visitors prevent selected products from disappearing when shopping is postponed to another day.

Guest checkout: leave registration until after the order

Guest checkout allows first-time visitors to place an order without creating an account and removes one of the biggest obstacles in the purchasing process. Steps such as a registration form, choosing a password and email verification can steer someone ready to buy away from completing the order.

web.dev’s payment and address forms guiderecommends enabling guest checkout by default and simplifying account creation after payment has been completed. In practice, this means offering a “Create an account with these details” option on the order confirmation page; since the name, address and email have already been collected, the customer only needs to set a password. On widely used platforms such as WooCommerce, guest orders can be enabled in the store settings.

Reducing fields in the checkout form

The checkout form should request only the information needed to deliver and invoice the order; every additional field is an obstacle that extends completion time and increases the likelihood of mistakes. The web.dev guide explicitly summarizes this principle as “do not ask for data you do not need.” The main points to review when simplifying a form are:

• Requesting first and last names in a single field unless there is a specific reason otherwise
• Treating the billing address as the same as the delivery address by default, and asking for it separately only if different
• Giving fields the correct “autocomplete” values so that the browser’s autofill feature works
• Using field types that open a phone keyboard for phone numbers and a numeric keyboard for card numbers
• Naming each field with a permanent label rather than placeholder text that disappears when typing begins
• Showing errors in understandable language while a field is being completed, rather than after the form is submitted
• Using a single input field for the card number

The same guide also recommends disabling the submit button after it is clicked; this small detail prevents impatient repeated clicks from creating the same order more than once. Disabling the button from the outset because information is missing is not recommended; explaining what is missing provides better guidance.

The mobile checkout experience

The mobile checkout experience focuses on making an action performed on a small screen, often with one hand, easier; every point of friction that goes unnoticed on desktop becomes more pronounced on a phone. Buttons should be large enough to tap comfortably with a finger and sufficiently separated, and form fields should remain visible when the on-screen keyboard opens.

At checkout, the website’s main menu, promotional banners and unrelated links are removed or simplified so that the visitor’s attention is directed toward completing the order. A progress indicator showing the steps (delivery, payment, confirmation) and button text explaining what will happen, such as “Proceed to payment” instead of “Save,” reduce uncertainty. The customer’s smooth return to the order page after being redirected to the bank verification screen, and a clear display of order status if the connection drops, should also be tested specifically on mobile.

Page speed is the invisible part of this experience: a checkout page that loads late because of heavy images and excessive scripts tests patience on a mobile connection. How to measure and improve speed is explained in the Core Web Vitals and website speed guide .

How should legal information be displayed at checkout?

Turkey’s Distance Contracts Regulation determines which information must be displayed at checkout and how, and when designed properly these rules also support customer trust. Pre-contract information covers the seller’s legal name and MERSİS (Turkey’s Central Registration System) number or tax identification number, contact information such as a full address and telephone number, the total price, delivery details, conditions of the right of withdrawal, and information on the consumer arbitration committee or court to which an application can be made. The main requirements and their design equivalents are as follows:

Although these requirements may look like an obstacle, when presented in plain language and in the right place, they answer the customer’s question of “what happens if there is a problem later?” in advance. The final wording specific to the business should be settled with a legal advisor; this article provides general information and does not replace legal advice.

Trust signals: contact information, returns and secure payment

Trust signals are information showing visitors that the business in front of them is real and reachable; being able to access this information with one click during payment reduces hesitation. A full address, phone number and email appear consistently in the website footer and on the contact page; these visible details are often the least costly improvements in e-commerce conversion work.

Return and withdrawal conditions are explained on a separate, understandable page; the shipping company to use for returns, how to package the product and when payment will be refunded are stated clearly. On the checkout page, the secure connection indicator in the address bar, infrastructure from a recognized payment provider and a short explanation that card details are not stored on the store’s server support trust. Product reviews are also useful as long as they come from real buyers; a review collection process can be set up through post-order emails.

After the order: confirmation page and information email

The order confirmation page is the first step in the customer relationship rather than the last step in the purchasing process; it should clearly show that the order has been received, when it will be dispatched and the next steps. The order number, products, total amount, delivery address and estimated dispatch date appear on this page.

The regulation requires pre-contract information to be provided in writing or on a durable medium; emailing the order summary, pre-contract information form and distance sales agreement is a common way to meet this requirement. The shipping tracking link is sent separately at dispatch. Customers who purchased as guests can be offered the option to create an account at this point.

E-commerce checkout page checklist

The most practical way to assess an existing store’s purchasing process is to enter the website as a new customer and attempt to order a product from start to finish. During this test, answer the following questions:

1. Are the tax-inclusive price, stock and estimated dispatch time visible on the product page?
2. Can shipping costs be found before proceeding to the cart?
3. Can an order be placed without registering?
4. Does the checkout form contain any field that is not truly necessary?
5. Do the correct keyboards open on a phone, and does autofill work?
6. Are a pre-contract information summary and confirmation checkbox present above the confirmation button?
7. Does the post-order email arrive with the contract texts?

When starting work to increase e-commerce website conversions, items answered “no” on this list are generally the fixes that deliver results most quickly. If the store platform is to be built from scratch, these steps are planned as part of the e-commerce website development process; the components of the setup budget are explained separately in the cost of building an e-commerce website article.