Hey this is a totally great article-everybody who has an online checkout should read it. if you are not sure your cart is optimized, this will let you know the answer. E-Commerce Site Design: Checkout Pages By James Maguire
February 13, 2006
No area of e-commerce site design gets nearly as much attention and concern - even angst - as checkout pages. An online merchant building its checkout pages is like an artist laboring over their masterpiece: everything has to be laid out precisely right.
Is it the right amount of steps? Is it clear enough?
This concern is justified. The checkout pages are where shoppers type in their beloved credit card number. The all-important checkout page is the very core of e-commerce.
To review the design guidelines for these critical pages, E-Commerce Guide spoke to
Jakob Nielsen, a leading Web usability guru who has conducted extensive research into checkout page design.
Nielsen, to be sure, observes that checkout pages have improved over the last few years. "On the other hand, I see so many sites that continue to make the same mistakes," he says.
With that, the sage Mr. Nielsen rolls up his sleeves and talks about what every well-designed checkout page must include.
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