By the way, I don't mean to change the subject, but I think the shopping cart page is just as important as the checkout as far as the whole process is concerned. I'd really like to see this improved as well:
1. Add "remove" buttons next to each product displayed in the cart, instead of check boxes.
2. Move the "Update" button so it is directly under the list of QTY boxes for each product, with a little message next to the button that says "Click here to update the qty".
3. Below the sub-total and an optional "estimate shipping" module, will be a large "Proceed to Checkout" button, and under that a smaller "continue shopping button".
These changes allow the customer to manipulate the cart better and easily find the "update" button which is so often missed. I don't know how many times a customer has told me they can't buy two of something! I know there are a few contribs to help, but perhaps a permanent change is needed along with the checkout-process revamp.
Maybe I can post a little mockup of this too...
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139 replies to this topic
#43
Posted 21 January 2005, 13:36
Hi all,
Just trying to set up OSC to my liking, and reading through all this found it very useful. As I see it the main problem with os is the requirement to set up accounts. And the long checkout process.
The automatic creation of accounts modand shortening of process suggested above is excellent idea and I would find it useful once worked out.
In the meantime what I've managed to do (and I have no idea if I'm doing something wrong somehere
) Is
1. install the Purchase Without Account contribution
2. Change all the links that say "checkout", ie from basket and nav bars to go to the page where you input your details for a "no account creation" choice. this misses out the login/create account page completely and so doesn't put off the one time purchaser, or those that see the word "account" and run away.
3. At the top of this page have a small note to the effect that if you want to track orders etc set up account or login here. which would take them to usual log in page.
Otherwise checkout process is standard - so far
Thats one page out of the process
If I can get shipping details and payment options onto the one page that would make it ideal.
Interested to see what happens
Cheers
K
Just trying to set up OSC to my liking, and reading through all this found it very useful. As I see it the main problem with os is the requirement to set up accounts. And the long checkout process.
The automatic creation of accounts modand shortening of process suggested above is excellent idea and I would find it useful once worked out.
In the meantime what I've managed to do (and I have no idea if I'm doing something wrong somehere
) Is 1. install the Purchase Without Account contribution
2. Change all the links that say "checkout", ie from basket and nav bars to go to the page where you input your details for a "no account creation" choice. this misses out the login/create account page completely and so doesn't put off the one time purchaser, or those that see the word "account" and run away.
3. At the top of this page have a small note to the effect that if you want to track orders etc set up account or login here. which would take them to usual log in page.
Otherwise checkout process is standard - so far
Thats one page out of the process
If I can get shipping details and payment options onto the one page that would make it ideal.
Interested to see what happens
Cheers
K
#44
Posted 23 January 2005, 22:11
ACE99, on Jan 4 2005, 04:51 AM, said:
I've been running an OSC store with over 70 different contributions for over a year now. Almost everything in OSC can be modified to create an extremely professional and user-friendly site. However, my biggest gripe with OSC (and where I feel OSC falls short) is in the entire checkout process.
New online stores are masking their account creation by having customers just enter an email address and having the shipping, payment and other checkout processes all on one page. I think this is where OSC needs to go.
The current OSC checkout requires way to many steps, and I've lost many customers who do not want to create an account. I think on my current store users have to go through almost 7 pages (starting with the login screen and ending with the confirmation page) before checkout is done. Compare that with overstock.com's 3 pages. And notice on overstock that the email and password are entered first! It's obvious that the understanding of consumer online behavior has advanced significantly over the past few years, and web developers realize that customers want to checkout as quickly and as easy as possible.
My proposal is to revamp the osc checkout system. I would like to put all of the shipping, payment options, and address info on one checkout page. I'd also like to get the checkout down to 3 steps, and hide the account creation process so it becomes as suttle as possible. We need users to create accounts, and so I don't think a guest account contribution is the answer. We just need to make the checkout easier and more user friendly.
I've been working with OSC for over a year now, but I'm no expert. I'm also still learning PHP. If anyone would like to help me with this or if any of you have suggestions for how this checkout should function, please post here!
New online stores are masking their account creation by having customers just enter an email address and having the shipping, payment and other checkout processes all on one page. I think this is where OSC needs to go.
The current OSC checkout requires way to many steps, and I've lost many customers who do not want to create an account. I think on my current store users have to go through almost 7 pages (starting with the login screen and ending with the confirmation page) before checkout is done. Compare that with overstock.com's 3 pages. And notice on overstock that the email and password are entered first! It's obvious that the understanding of consumer online behavior has advanced significantly over the past few years, and web developers realize that customers want to checkout as quickly and as easy as possible.
My proposal is to revamp the osc checkout system. I would like to put all of the shipping, payment options, and address info on one checkout page. I'd also like to get the checkout down to 3 steps, and hide the account creation process so it becomes as suttle as possible. We need users to create accounts, and so I don't think a guest account contribution is the answer. We just need to make the checkout easier and more user friendly.
I've been working with OSC for over a year now, but I'm no expert. I'm also still learning PHP. If anyone would like to help me with this or if any of you have suggestions for how this checkout should function, please post here!
#45
Posted 25 January 2005, 16:55
Hi
It would be great to limit the clicks in checkout.
For my case it is good to have the Billing and Shipping Address together.
Best would be a dropdown of Shipping Address if more than one is on file
secound to have a button to indicate billing and shipping address is the same.
We do not ship outside Japan, but currently you can enter any country as shipping address. For us it wouldbe good to be able to select the shipping countries in admin. This way the customer can have any billing address in the world but we still can limit the shipping address.
But the problem comes with the selection of shipping and payment.
We do offer Free Shipping, Postal and one Private Carrier. As payment is bank or Cash on Delivery.Currently it is depending on the the shipping if the customer can have choice of COD or bank. In our case we do not offer COD with the Private Carrier, so when the customer is choosing the PrivateCarrier he will not get COD as choise of payment.
It is a bit dum because we have to write a text to let him know of the restrictions.
I do not know how to implement this little twist.
With the payment option the customer should be able to enter any GiftVoucher or coupon number.
At the end I do not know who to get to 3 click checkout...
On the summery page everything should be nicely displayed and be able to edit.
Checkout Success can be a page like now, with some advertisment for other products or article and the "Thank you note". It could forward automatic after a short time, say to index.php
Cheers
Rich
It would be great to limit the clicks in checkout.
For my case it is good to have the Billing and Shipping Address together.
Best would be a dropdown of Shipping Address if more than one is on file
secound to have a button to indicate billing and shipping address is the same.
We do not ship outside Japan, but currently you can enter any country as shipping address. For us it wouldbe good to be able to select the shipping countries in admin. This way the customer can have any billing address in the world but we still can limit the shipping address.
But the problem comes with the selection of shipping and payment.
We do offer Free Shipping, Postal and one Private Carrier. As payment is bank or Cash on Delivery.Currently it is depending on the the shipping if the customer can have choice of COD or bank. In our case we do not offer COD with the Private Carrier, so when the customer is choosing the PrivateCarrier he will not get COD as choise of payment.
It is a bit dum because we have to write a text to let him know of the restrictions.
I do not know how to implement this little twist.
With the payment option the customer should be able to enter any GiftVoucher or coupon number.
At the end I do not know who to get to 3 click checkout...
On the summery page everything should be nicely displayed and be able to edit.
Checkout Success can be a page like now, with some advertisment for other products or article and the "Thank you note". It could forward automatic after a short time, say to index.php
Cheers
Rich
#46
Posted 25 January 2005, 17:15
Sorry was to fast
If you do skip the logIn page and go directly to the billing & Shipping address page than you should include an other button to give the customer a choice to creat an account or not.
I like the idea when the customer is asked to provide his eMail address. If it is possible to check the email address against the existing accounts, without that the customer is pushing a button it would save 1 click.
Depending on the result of the email check there should be 2 choices.
When the email is in the database the customer is ask for his password and after that one is checked all billing and shipping address is filled out and he is moving on to the next page where the payment or shipping carrier can be selected.
If the email address is not known, than the customer will have to fill out the billing address and if differnet the shipping address.
But the customer should have a choice sometime before the order is made final to push a button to creat an account.
This way it is the choice of the customer to shop without creating an account or to take the benifits and creat an account. I know when we would creat an account without that the customer is knowing it, we will get into hot water here in Japan.
Non the less in Admin I like to be able to have 2 more option besides "Pending, Processing, Delivery". I like to have "Pending, Processing, waiting for payment, Shiped, Delivered". Also it would be nice to have an extra filed for the shipping code and carrier and date of shipping, as well as a field for "Delievered on" This way the customer can look up the data himself without the need for emailing us. Of course in Admin it should be possible to email this information.
That it for now
Rich
If you do skip the logIn page and go directly to the billing & Shipping address page than you should include an other button to give the customer a choice to creat an account or not.
I like the idea when the customer is asked to provide his eMail address. If it is possible to check the email address against the existing accounts, without that the customer is pushing a button it would save 1 click.
Depending on the result of the email check there should be 2 choices.
When the email is in the database the customer is ask for his password and after that one is checked all billing and shipping address is filled out and he is moving on to the next page where the payment or shipping carrier can be selected.
If the email address is not known, than the customer will have to fill out the billing address and if differnet the shipping address.
But the customer should have a choice sometime before the order is made final to push a button to creat an account.
This way it is the choice of the customer to shop without creating an account or to take the benifits and creat an account. I know when we would creat an account without that the customer is knowing it, we will get into hot water here in Japan.
Non the less in Admin I like to be able to have 2 more option besides "Pending, Processing, Delivery". I like to have "Pending, Processing, waiting for payment, Shiped, Delivered". Also it would be nice to have an extra filed for the shipping code and carrier and date of shipping, as well as a field for "Delievered on" This way the customer can look up the data himself without the need for emailing us. Of course in Admin it should be possible to email this information.
That it for now
Rich
#47
Posted 27 January 2005, 19:10
escort, on Jan 21 2005, 01:36 PM, said:
Hi all,
Just trying to set up OSC to my liking, and reading through all this found it very useful. As I see it the main problem with os is the requirement to set up accounts. And the long checkout process.
The automatic creation of accounts modand shortening of process suggested above is excellent idea and I would find it useful once worked out.
In the meantime what I've managed to do (and I have no idea if I'm doing something wrong somehere ) Is
1. install the Purchase Without Account contribution
2. Change all the links that say "checkout", ie from basket and nav bars to go to the page where you input your details for a "no account creation" choice. this misses out the login/create account page completely and so doesn't put off the one time purchaser, or those that see the word "account" and run away.
3. At the top of this page have a small note to the effect that if you want to track orders etc set up account or login here. which would take them to usual log in page.
Otherwise checkout process is standard - so far
Thats one page out of the process
If I can get shipping details and payment options onto the one page that would make it ideal.
Interested to see what happens
Cheers
K
Just trying to set up OSC to my liking, and reading through all this found it very useful. As I see it the main problem with os is the requirement to set up accounts. And the long checkout process.
The automatic creation of accounts modand shortening of process suggested above is excellent idea and I would find it useful once worked out.
In the meantime what I've managed to do (and I have no idea if I'm doing something wrong somehere
) Is 1. install the Purchase Without Account contribution
2. Change all the links that say "checkout", ie from basket and nav bars to go to the page where you input your details for a "no account creation" choice. this misses out the login/create account page completely and so doesn't put off the one time purchaser, or those that see the word "account" and run away.
3. At the top of this page have a small note to the effect that if you want to track orders etc set up account or login here. which would take them to usual log in page.
Otherwise checkout process is standard - so far
Thats one page out of the process
If I can get shipping details and payment options onto the one page that would make it ideal.
Interested to see what happens
Cheers
K
I would like to know how this worked out and if you had to do anything else for it to work proper.. I would also like to skip the account setup procedure.... I belive this would incease my orders as most ppl do not want to setup an account to order small quantity products...
#48
Posted 31 January 2005, 13:06
Hierophant, on Jan 6 2005, 06:35 PM, said:
While I feel the system can be simplified, I would warn people about 1-click checkout systems. This is patented by Amazon.com and they are quite aggressive in protecting that market advantage.
You have to sign up first to use the one click ordering system
#49
Posted 02 February 2005, 19:34
Hierophant, on Jan 6 2005, 06:35 PM, said:
While I feel the system can be simplified, I would warn people about 1-click checkout systems. This is patented by Amazon.com and they are quite aggressive in protecting that market advantage.
I reckon this also depends on the country in which your business operates. As far as I know, software cannot be patented in Europe (yet).
#50
Posted 03 February 2005, 04:37
ACvanRijn, on Feb 2 2005, 11:34 PM, said:
As far as I know, software cannot be patented in Europe (yet).
This kind of standpoint will divide owners and administrators of osc-shops into two parts - legal and illegal - so what is left to americans to do?
#51
Posted 03 February 2005, 06:05
It is not the software that is patented. Software can't be patented in the US either. Ideas & processes are what you can patent.
Amazon has a patent for the process of a checkout that involves 1 click.
Whatever scripts their site is powered by, I'm sure they hold the copyrights to if they were developed in-house or for-hire, but that is pretty irrelevant to their patent.
Amazon has a patent for the process of a checkout that involves 1 click.
Whatever scripts their site is powered by, I'm sure they hold the copyrights to if they were developed in-house or for-hire, but that is pretty irrelevant to their patent.
The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing
- Edmund Burke
- Edmund Burke
#52
Posted 04 February 2005, 11:36
Gil-Gallad, on Feb 3 2005, 04:37 AM, said:
This kind of standpoint will divide owners and administrators of osc-shops into two parts - legal and illegal - so what is left to americans to do?
Personally I think that it can't hurt to have the functionality present in some form but not enabled by default. It's the users own resposibility whether to use it. Just make it clear to the user that it's not allowed to be used in the US.
I don't think it's a good idea to not offer certain functionality just because it's illegal in some parts of the world. If the US had a speedlimit of 40 MPH, would the entire world have to obey it?
#53
Posted 04 February 2005, 11:50
dreamscape, on Feb 3 2005, 06:05 AM, said:
It is not the software that is patented. Software can't be patented in the US either. Ideas & processes are what you can patent.
Amazon has a patent for the process of a checkout that involves 1 click.
Whatever scripts their site is powered by, I'm sure they hold the copyrights to if they were developed in-house or for-hire, but that is pretty irrelevant to their patent.
Amazon has a patent for the process of a checkout that involves 1 click.
Whatever scripts their site is powered by, I'm sure they hold the copyrights to if they were developed in-house or for-hire, but that is pretty irrelevant to their patent.
Well, IANAL, but I think the 1 click patent is currently not enforcable in the EU. It might become enforcable, but it's unclear if and when this will happen.
The EU software patent proposal is very much in limbo now and will quite possibly not be enacted for the forseeable future. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4232971.stm
#54
Posted 06 February 2005, 14:38
sparky, on Jan 9 2005, 01:34 PM, said:
Please provide any comments on changes you would like to see to the checkout process or any additional features you would like to see.
Hi there,
My first post here... I've been investigating OS Commerce for some time now as a background task. I think many of the comments on this subject are valid (a desire to have easier checkout process). However, making too many simplifications / assumptions about what the customer will want will inevitably mean more work for those that do want to change things. I appreciate everyone's experience with OSC on this, but my experience from another shopping system suggests that once a customer has chosen our store, they are prepared to put a little effort into the checkout process.
What is more important to my mind is that the process is 100% understandable as possible! The current system seems good in this respect, however I am concerned that the Payment Information comes before the Order Confirmation.
Therefore, my suggestion is that the Order Confirmation comes after selecting the shipping method. If the customer confirms at this stage, that's it, the order could become 'locked' in some way... and the only choice then is how to pay.
I do not know if it is possible to surcharge certain payment mechanisms, but if so, this could muck up my suggestion. However, I would guess that most payment methods do not attract surcharges? This suggestion may also more naturally lead to a 'Payment Info Pending' order status... which could lead to reduce errors with orders being lost by links to external payment sites.
By the way, I have a small mod that I hope to post soon, to make the payment options look more like the Delivery options, with an icon and descriptive text. Nice to highlight the way you want people to pay!
Nij
#55
Posted 07 February 2005, 00:09
escort, on Jan 21 2005, 06:36 AM, said:
Hi all,
Just trying to set up OSC to my liking, and reading through all this found it very useful. As I see it the main problem with os is the requirement to set up accounts. And the long checkout process.
The automatic creation of accounts modand shortening of process suggested above is excellent idea and I would find it useful once worked out.
In the meantime what I've managed to do (and I have no idea if I'm doing something wrong somehere ) Is
1. install the Purchase Without Account contribution
2. Change all the links that say "checkout", ie from basket and nav bars to go to the page where you input your details for a "no account creation" choice. this misses out the login/create account page completely and so doesn't put off the one time purchaser, or those that see the word "account" and run away.
3. At the top of this page have a small note to the effect that if you want to track orders etc set up account or login here. which would take them to usual log in page.
Otherwise checkout process is standard - so far
Thats one page out of the process
If I can get shipping details and payment options onto the one page that would make it ideal.
Interested to see what happens
Cheers
K
Just trying to set up OSC to my liking, and reading through all this found it very useful. As I see it the main problem with os is the requirement to set up accounts. And the long checkout process.
The automatic creation of accounts modand shortening of process suggested above is excellent idea and I would find it useful once worked out.
In the meantime what I've managed to do (and I have no idea if I'm doing something wrong somehere
) Is 1. install the Purchase Without Account contribution
2. Change all the links that say "checkout", ie from basket and nav bars to go to the page where you input your details for a "no account creation" choice. this misses out the login/create account page completely and so doesn't put off the one time purchaser, or those that see the word "account" and run away.
3. At the top of this page have a small note to the effect that if you want to track orders etc set up account or login here. which would take them to usual log in page.
Otherwise checkout process is standard - so far
Thats one page out of the process
If I can get shipping details and payment options onto the one page that would make it ideal.
Interested to see what happens
Cheers
K
#56
Posted 07 February 2005, 00:10
escort, on Jan 21 2005, 06:36 AM, said:
Hi all,
Just trying to set up OSC to my liking, and reading through all this found it very useful. As I see it the main problem with os is the requirement to set up accounts. And the long checkout process.
The automatic creation of accounts modand shortening of process suggested above is excellent idea and I would find it useful once worked out.
In the meantime what I've managed to do (and I have no idea if I'm doing something wrong somehere ) Is
1. install the Purchase Without Account contribution
2. Change all the links that say "checkout", ie from basket and nav bars to go to the page where you input your details for a "no account creation" choice. this misses out the login/create account page completely and so doesn't put off the one time purchaser, or those that see the word "account" and run away.
3. At the top of this page have a small note to the effect that if you want to track orders etc set up account or login here. which would take them to usual log in page.
Otherwise checkout process is standard - so far
Thats one page out of the process
If I can get shipping details and payment options onto the one page that would make it ideal.
Interested to see what happens
Cheers
K
Just trying to set up OSC to my liking, and reading through all this found it very useful. As I see it the main problem with os is the requirement to set up accounts. And the long checkout process.
The automatic creation of accounts modand shortening of process suggested above is excellent idea and I would find it useful once worked out.
In the meantime what I've managed to do (and I have no idea if I'm doing something wrong somehere
) Is 1. install the Purchase Without Account contribution
2. Change all the links that say "checkout", ie from basket and nav bars to go to the page where you input your details for a "no account creation" choice. this misses out the login/create account page completely and so doesn't put off the one time purchaser, or those that see the word "account" and run away.
3. At the top of this page have a small note to the effect that if you want to track orders etc set up account or login here. which would take them to usual log in page.
Otherwise checkout process is standard - so far
Thats one page out of the process
If I can get shipping details and payment options onto the one page that would make it ideal.
Interested to see what happens
Cheers
K
#57
Posted 08 February 2005, 07:04
I know almost nothing about OSC but the six months I have used it I would have to agree that customers in general do not like to go through more then 3 steps to checkout.
I would like to add though i think just to make the store look a little more proffessional wouldnlt it be nice to have OSC randomly pick a unused # for a order # that way a customer can not tell how well your site is doing especially if you are just starting and a customer places an order with an order # of 1 they know they have made the first order on your store. You could even setup a control panel on the admin side that lets the site owner or administrator choose the length of the order # and other constraints involved with this.
I am not even sure how involved this would be but I just feel that an customer that sees a order # like 146789 or something will then get the impression the site is doing well and that there have been alot of orders.
I would like to add though i think just to make the store look a little more proffessional wouldnlt it be nice to have OSC randomly pick a unused # for a order # that way a customer can not tell how well your site is doing especially if you are just starting and a customer places an order with an order # of 1 they know they have made the first order on your store. You could even setup a control panel on the admin side that lets the site owner or administrator choose the length of the order # and other constraints involved with this.
I am not even sure how involved this would be but I just feel that an customer that sees a order # like 146789 or something will then get the impression the site is doing well and that there have been alot of orders.
#58
Posted 08 February 2005, 07:19
andy,
see this here:
Resetting The Order ID Value
Quote
I am not even sure how involved this would be but I just feel that an customer that sees a order # like 146789 or something will then get the impression the site is doing well and that there have been alot of orders.
see this here:
Resetting The Order ID Value
#60
Posted 09 February 2005, 12:04
Hi everyone,
Like most people here I agree the checkout is unnecessarily lengthy, especially in my case.
My website only has one shipping and payment method. It would be nice if the customer could be directed straight from the create_acount.php page to the checkout confirmation page bypassing create_account_success.php as well as the shipping and payment pages.
Does any one know how I could achieve this?
Thank You
James
Like most people here I agree the checkout is unnecessarily lengthy, especially in my case.
My website only has one shipping and payment method. It would be nice if the customer could be directed straight from the create_acount.php page to the checkout confirmation page bypassing create_account_success.php as well as the shipping and payment pages.
Does any one know how I could achieve this?
Thank You
James
