Create a Simple Online Payment Process for Your Business

Whether or not you are a high-risk merchant, convenience in the online shopping world is critical. A well-outlined website is the first step towards providing your customers with an easy way to purchase goods and services. Having a simple online payment process keeps your conversion rate high.

As suspected, your checkout page is the most crucial part of your online store. It’s where consumers relay their sensitive financial data to pay for a product or service. It’s a place that turns window shoppers into actual customers. As such, you should give customers total control of the checkout process. If you are running an e-commerce business, read on to learn how to create a simple and secure online payment process.

Consistent Website Design

Be consistent with your brand from start to finish. That means carefully choosing fonts, colors, and the design on your website. Ensure that everything is consistent on your website. This helps raise brand recognition among visitors.

Many businesses often get a ready-made checkout page from some online payment providers. But with this, you’ll not get complete control of the look and feel of your page.

Note that scams and frauds are on the rise these days. As such, customers will become suspicious of a checkout page that’s different from the rest of the website they were shopping on.

Businesses should, therefore, ensure design consistency in all sections of their website. A slight change, especially on the checkout page, can make a customer skeptical about giving their card details. Remember – you want to convey a simple online payment process, and consistent website design a vital part of that process.

Accept Payment Without an Account

Individuals already have many usernames and passwords to remember. Making these also mandatory on your site will discourage people from paying. If one doesn’t want to sign up, your company should still let them pay without an account.

Research by Smashing Magazine found many people hate setting up an account as they don’t want to be flooded by promotional emails. Plus, signing up requires effort and time to fill out details. This ultimately makes the payment process longer. This doesn’t sound like a simple online payment process to us – does it to you?

Simplify things for your customers by allowing them to checkout as a guest. Instead of forcing your customers to sign up at the beginning of the payment process, give them the option, should they wish, after the purchase is complete.

Offer Various Payment Methods

Some businesses only offer one payment method to their customers – such as credit cards. While a standard payment option, consumers today are tech-savvy and want to pay via their preferred method.

We’re not saying to offer all the payment methods available; that would not even be practical. But, you should analyze your target customers and determine their most preferred method of payment. Doing that will help you cater to a large number of people visiting your website. For instance, you can combine ACH payments with the traditional card payment platforms – it all depends on those you are selling to.

Provide a Secure Payment Platform

If you’re asking for personal details, you must assure customers of their safety and security. We’ve already mentioned consistency in your design is a  way of building trust. But, businesses must also strive to assure customers their data is safe with them.

We advise having a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate on your website as it ensures secure connections and data encryption. Also, make sure that you have complied with the PCI Security Standards. Don’t forget to display your security credentials on your site. In fact, the card brands have outlined the steps a compliant web payment form should have – please read our recent blog on the topic here.

Final Thoughts

As an e-commerce merchant, your checkout page is vital to your success. It holds the key to increasing your overall profit and allowing for business growth. We know following these above tips will ensure you create a simple online payment process for your customers. This will increase overall consumer satisfaction and drive sales. If you’re looking for the right payment partner for your business, give Payment Savvy a shout. Since 2010 our innovative payments have helped business across the country meet their revenue goals. If you’re ready for a custom an compliant payment solution, we’re here to help!