Picture this: You’ve set up an online business, your web design is on point, and the site is running smoothly. Your marketing efforts are paying off, and many interested would-be customers are visiting your website.
There’s only one problem—the actual payment process is a hassle.
Think about how you would react in that situation.
After all, simple payment processes are the norm nowadays, and apart from the tangible benefits of streamlining transactions, they also signal trustworthiness and reliability.
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The fact of the matter is that a dedicated button is a crucial element of user experience nowadays.
Creating a seamless user experience not only increases sales but can also help in terms of search engine rankings. Google algorithms cast a careful eye over how straightforward a website is to use and where users typically exit a website.
Why is UX so Important for eCommerce Websites?
UX is important for every website, but it is particularly essential for eCommerce websites, as any flaw or roadblock can influence a person’s decision to make a purchase.
For example, a website with poor navigation or unwelcoming visuals will typically appear less reputable or even illegitimate. Good UX effectively helps to build trust, and without a level of trust, users will be very reluctant to part with their money.
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Simply, delivering a great user experience (UX) ensures your eCommerce website can be used easily, encouraging customers to complete a purchase and thus, resulting in more sales.
If a website is simple to use and sells products people want, then it is likely that customers will return again and again, favoring your website over the competition.
The Key Elements of Good UX
When designing an eCommerce website, certain UX features must be considered.
Failing to do so could make or break your online store, regardless of the quality of the products you sell, the effectiveness of your brand, or the money you spend on marketing.
1. Easy to navigate
If the user can’t quickly find the product they want to buy, they will likely exit the website after just a few clicks. Users expect to be able to find the content they need almost instantly, with bad navigation and slow loading times being the main causes of high bounce rates.
An eCommerce website should make sense, with products arranged into relevant and obvious categories. You could even break it down into subcategories to further improve ease of use.
Products should also be given many tags so they can be easily found by typing in the search bar. Product filters should make life even easier, allowing the user to exclude products from view based on color, size, brand, etc.
2. Simple, fast, secure transactions
Modern-day internet users expect rapid speeds, and this also applies to transactions made on an eCommerce website.
With a dedicated payment button for repeat customers, it is possible to enable one-click checkouts, creating an experience that keeps people coming back.
However, details need to be collected for new customers, so it is important to make this process as pain-free as possible.
Ideally, this process, from clicking ‘buy product’ to the completed transaction, should take just four pages.
3. Straightforward communication
UX includes more than just the website's design and functionality; it also includes the language used across the website and the relevance of content. All content on the website should effectively describe the products and deliver the necessary information quickly.
A dedicated frequently asked questions (FAQ) page is a good way to keep users informed. Meanwhile, making things like return or refund policies available to download is also a good idea.
PDF is the ideal format for these purposes, as PDF files can easily be viewed in various applications. These applications also make it quite easy to convert PDF to docx or other file formats depending on your users’ preferences.
Users should also be able to contact you whenever needed, with AI-powered chatbots becoming a standard for many eCommerce websites.
In addition to UX, you should ensure your website meets any compliance guidelines, including data protection or customer privacy laws. It is also advised to equip your domain with PCI-compliant hosting, as failing can lead to severe legal and financial consequences in case of a data breach or leak.
Streamlining Payments with a Dedicated Button
Streamlined payments are vital when it comes to encouraging new customers to purchase a product.
A seamless process removes any barriers that may deter customers from buying again in the future.
For existing customers, a dedicated payment button means they can purchase products with a single click, providing the utmost convenience.
If the customer is logged into your website, has their shipping and financial details saved, and has enabled ‘one-click’ payments, they can quickly search for the product they want and complete the transaction in seconds. If all of this is in place, it creates the perfect buying experience.
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From the seller’s perspective, a single-click payment system also means the customer has less opportunity to abandon their cart.
Many online shoppers have a sudden change of heart as they go through the standard transaction process—sometimes for no apparent reason.
The key factor behind this system is ensuring that users know that single-click purchases are enabled, as failing to do so can result in messy situations and unhappy customers.
Therefore, it is recommended that customers opt into this feature rather than make it a default.
The Key benefits of a dedicated payment button
Alright — now that we have the basics down pat, let’s distill the primary advantages that a dedicated payment button provides to an eCommerce website:
- Adding one-click checkouts or payments provides the most efficient online shopping experience, making life as straightforward as possible for your customers.
- Customers don’t have to enter their details each time they make a process. This also prevents errors from being made, such as incorrect addresses or the wrong bank card being used.
- Dedicated payment buttons result in fewer abandoned carts as the hassle of online shopping is removed, and customers have less time to have a change of heart.
- Supports more frequent, smaller transactions, such as restocking essential household items.
- A dedicated payment button can be an effective branding tool, tempting customers to your website who favor convenience.
- Offers the same security as any other type of transaction made on your website.
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Customizing your dedicated payment button
If you aren’t a developer and your technical expertise is limited, then the good news is that payment buttons can be added and customized without expert knowledge, especially if you use a popular website builder.
Suppose you are using WordPress combined with an eCommerce platform such as WooCommerce or Shopify. In that case, adding a dedicated payment button is extremely simple, as is customizing it to match the style of your website.
For example, POWR.io has its own simple payment button plugin for WordPress that requires no coding whatsoever to be embedded. However, this is just one example; there are approximately 60,000 plugins in existence, many of which deal with payment solutions.
WordPress is the perfect platform to experiment with when it comes to new UI elements, especially when it comes to key aspects such as payments. However, many website builders like Wix or SquareSpace also offer this functionality.
Conclusion
Speed and convenience are paramount for eCommerce websites, with successful online stores allowing their customers to complete purchases in the fewest clicks and pages possible.
The ultimate expression of a smooth, seamless online buying experience is a dedicated payment button.
This button lets customers make a purchase with just one click without adding their details or cycling through confirmation pages.
This trend is here to stay and is expected to become the norm, enabling frequent and easy online purchases.
