Let me paint two different checkout experiences.

Your internal view: A logical sequence of necessary steps. Collect shipping address (we need to know where to send it). Verify payment method (we need to get paid). Confirm order details (reduce support tickets). Each step has a reason.

Your customer's experience: A gauntlet of “should I keep going?” decisions. Every new page is another chance to reconsider. Every form field is mental effort their brain wants to avoid. Every unexpected element triggers doubt. You think you’ve built a logical flow, but they’re just feeling the drag of another screen, another field, another decision.

This is why your checkout “makes sense” to your team but has a 60% abandonment rate. You’re designing for logical progression when you should be designing for psychological momentum.

When someone clicks “checkout,” their brain runs three assessments that determine whether they complete the purchase:

1. Should I even start this?
2. Should I keep going?
3. How do I feel about this?

Most founders optimize none of these. They just replicate what they’ve seen on other sites, not understanding why those patterns work (or don’t).

Let’s break down what’s really happening at each stage, and the specific tactics that increase completion.

They're deciding whether to start in a few split seconds

Someone clicks “checkout” from your cart page. Before they enter a single piece of information, their brain is scanning for reasons to abandon.

This happens almost entirely subconsciously. They’re not thinking, “let me carefully evaluate whether this checkout is trustworthy.” They’re getting a gut feeling about whether this is going to be annoying.

Two questions firing rapidly: “Does this look safe?” and “Is this going to be a pain?”

If either answer is wrong, they bounce before starting.

Make trust instantly obvious

Your checkout needs to look boringly conventional in all the right places. Standard layout. Familiar payment logos. Orthodox security badges.

This isn’t the place to get creative with design. Every unconventional choice forces their brain to evaluate “is this legitimate?” instead of just proceeding.

Put SSL indicators and security badges above the fold. Not because customers consciously check them, but because their absence triggers suspicion.

Show accepted payment methods immediately—Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Apple Pay. If they see their preferred method isn’t available, they’re gone.

Display testimonials or trust signals on the checkout page itself. “2,847 orders completed this week” or a specific customer quote about delivery speed removes the “am I the first person taking this risk?” concern.

Show them the whole journey upfront

Nobody wants to start a journey without knowing how long it’ll take.

Display progress indicators at the top: “Shipping → Payment → Confirmation” or “Step 1 of 3.” This reduces anxiety about unknown length and creates commitment through progress tracking.

Make it look shorter than it feels. Three clear steps feels easier than seven micro-steps, even if the total fields are identical.

Summarize what’s in their cart with images and prices. They need to quickly confirm “yes, this is what I wanted” without recalculating whether it’s worth it.

What kills momentum immediately:

Surprise costs. If shipping wasn’t shown on the product page and suddenly appears at checkout, you’ve violated their mental budget. They’ll abandon to “think about it” (translation: find it cheaper elsewhere). Always show shipping costs before checkout, or make it free.

Forced account creation. “Create an account to continue” is a brick wall for anyone who just wants to buy once and leave. Offer guest checkout prominently. You can ask them to create an account after they’ve paid—when they’re relaxed and their card isn’t on the line.

The first screen of checkout isn’t about collecting information efficiently. It’s about passing a gut-check that determines whether they’ll start at all. You can have the most optimized multi-step flow in the world, but if the first screen triggers doubt, nobody sees step two.

Make continuing easier than reconsidering

They’ve started to enter their information. Every new field, every new screen, every unexpected element is a fresh opportunity for their brain to ask: “Should I stop?”

Water flows downhill. Mental effort flows toward the easiest path. Your job: make completing checkout easier than abandoning.

Most checkout abandonment doesn’t happen because people don’t want the product. It happens because continuing requires more mental energy than their brain wants to spend.

Reduce decision points aggressively

Every choice is friction. Every dropdown is a chance to second-guess.

If you’re asking for “company size” or “industry” during checkout, you’re creating unnecessary decision points. Default to the most common option and move forward. Collect better data later through email or in-app.

Don’t ask “Residential or business address?” unless it actually changes something. Just ask for the address.

Consider whether you need phone numbers for every order. If it’s not critical for delivery, don’t ask.

Each removed field is compound improvement—less typing, less decisions, less mental effort.

Make forms feel effortless

Use address autocomplete. As they type “123 Bak…” suggest “123 Baker Street, London” with city and postal code filled automatically.

Pre-populate country based on their IP address. If 90% of your customers are in the US, default to that.

Show sample formats in form fields: “email@example.com” in the email field, “123 Baker Street” in the address field. This stops them from thinking, “wait, what format do they want?”

Enable social sign-in if you absolutely must collect account information. “Continue with Google” is one click versus typing name, email, creating password, and confirming password.

Handle errors without killing momentum

When they enter information incorrectly, don’t wait until they click “continue” to tell them. Show inline validation: “Email address needs an @ symbol” appears immediately, while they’re still in the mental context of that field.

Make error messages helpful, not punishing. Not “Invalid format” but “Phone number should be 10 digits.”

Never clear the form when someone makes a mistake. Nothing kills momentum faster than having to re-enter six fields because one was wrong.

Offer the path of least friction for payment

Provide multiple payment options. Credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay. Each missing option is a percentage of customers who’ll leave to “think about it.”

Consider “Buy Now, Pay Later” options like Affirm or Klarna, especially for purchases over $100. Breaking $400 into four $100 payments changes the mental math from “can I afford this?” to “can I afford this monthly?”

Don’t force them to leave your site to complete payment. Embedded payment forms (using Stripe or similar) keep them in your environment. Every redirect is an opportunity to reconsider.

Be careful with discount code boxes

Prominent promo code fields can hurt conversion. When someone sees “Enter promo code,” their brain immediately thinks “wait, am I paying more than I should?” If they don’t have a code, they’ll often abandon to go search for one and possibly get distracted by competitors.

If you must include it, make it subtle. Small “Have a code?” link that expands, rather than an empty field demanding attention.

You’re not trying to extract maximum information per transaction; you’re trying to minimize reasons to quit. Every field you remove, every decision you eliminate, every piece of friction you reduce increases the odds they reach the end.

The ending determines whether they complete and return

The last 30 seconds of checkout determine not just whether they complete this purchase, but how they feel about your brand going forward.

People don’t remember experiences as averages. They remember peaks and endings.

Mediocre checkout + strong ending = remembered positively.
Smooth checkout + weak ending = remembered negatively.

Your confirmation page isn’t an afterthought. It’s either depositing positive psychology or withdrawing it.

Before they click “Complete Order”

Show a complete order summary before final confirmation. Product, shipping address, total cost, everything in one place. This removes the “wait, did I enter everything correctly?” anxiety.

Make the final CTA unmistakably clear: “Place Order” or “Complete Purchase”—not “Submit” or “Continue.” They need absolute clarity about what happens when they click.

Never surprise them on the confirmation page. If the total shown at review is $147, the confirmation page better say $147. Any discrepancy triggers “did I just get charged more?”

The confirmation experience matters more than you think

Don’t just say “Order confirmed!” and dump them to a blank page.

Tell them exactly what happens next: “Your order is confirmed. You’ll receive a shipping notification within 24 hours. Your package will arrive by Thursday.”

Include order number prominently. This is their psychological proof the transaction completed.

Provide immediate access to order tracking. “Track your order” link right on the confirmation page. They don’t have to dig through email.

Avoid the immediate upsell trap

Your growth instinct says “they just bought, ask them to refer friends!”

You should resist this.

They just completed a mentally taxing process. Their brain needs resolution, not another ask. Let them breathe for a minute.

Save the “refer a friend” ask for the follow-up email, after they’ve received the product and are happy. The confirmation page should feel like relief, not the start of another conversion funnel.

The first follow-up matters

Send order confirmation email immediately.

Include everything: what they bought, when it ships, how to track it, how to contact support.

Make it feel personal. Not “Order #47382 has been confirmed” but “Your [product name] is on the way.”

Consider a day two or day three check-in: “Your order should arrive tomorrow. Reply to this email if you have any questions.” This demonstrates you’re thinking about their experience, not just the transaction.

Build the return path early

Most retention efforts start after the first purchase. I think this isn’t the right way to think about it. Instead, retention starts in the first interaction, or the first impression.

Every checkout experience deposits or withdraws psychological goodwill. If the process is smooth, trustworthy, and clear, they’ll buy again and forgive minor issues. Frustrating, confusing, sketchy-feeling = they’ll churn at first friction.

Make your confirmation page and follow-up emails feel like the start of a relationship, not the end of a transaction.

“Welcome to [brand]” instead of “Order confirmed.”

“Here’s what to expect” instead of “Track your package.”

Small language shifts that reframe purchase as a beginning, not a conclusion.

Where to start

Pull up your checkout analytics. Find the biggest drop-off point. That's your starting point.

Run this three-part audit:

1. Put your checkout URL in an incognito window. Before entering any information, does it instantly feel safe and straightforward? Would you trust it with your credit card if you'd never heard of the company?
2. Count every form field, every dropdown, every choice. Can any be removed or defaulted? Time yourself completing the flow. Every extra 10 seconds is meaningful abandonment.
3. Read your confirmation page and email out loud. Does it feel like resolution or abandonment? Does it clarify what happens next or leave them wondering?

Fix the biggest friction point first. Test. Then move to the next.

These improvements compound.

Better initial trust → more start.
Less friction → more continue.
Better endings → more complete and return.

Small changes have outsized impact because you're working with human psychology, not just interface design. Remove one unnecessary field and you might see 5-10% lift in completion. Remove three and you could see 20%+.

The founders who win aren't the ones with the most features or the slickest design. They're the ones who make buying feel effortless.

Your customers aren't carefully evaluating your checkout. They're making rapid gut calls about whether to continue. Design for their reality, not your ideal, and watch completion rates climb.

​Joey Noble​
Demand Curve Creative Strategist