In upcoming days and months, it is time to start thinking about the holiday rush of shoppers. Although halloween hasn’t even hit, and it is only a few days into September, it’s time to start optimizing your website for the holiday season.

1. Improving​ ​Your​ ​Mobile​ ​Checkout​ ​Process
By​ ​Jenna​ ​Erickson,​ ​​Codal​ ​Inc
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In​ ​upcoming​ ​days​ ​and​ ​months,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​time​ ​to​ ​start​ ​thinking​ ​about​ ​the​ ​​holiday​ ​rush​ ​of
shoppers​.​ ​Although​ ​halloween​ ​hasn’t​ ​even​ ​hit,​ ​and​ ​it​ ​is​ ​only​ ​a​ ​few​ ​days​ ​into
September,​ ​it’s​ ​time​ ​to​ ​start​ ​optimizing​ ​your​ ​website​ ​for​ ​the​ ​holiday​ ​season.
Optimizing​ ​and​ ​improving​ ​your​ ​mobile​ ​checkout​ ​process​ ​is​ ​a​ ​great​ ​way​ ​to​ ​start.​ ​It
is​ ​said​ ​that​ ​​54%​ ​of​ ​emails​ ​are​ ​opened​​ ​on​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​device.​ ​This​ ​means​ ​that​ ​if
you’re​ ​sending​ ​email​ ​campaigns​ ​for​ ​your​ ​​eCommerce​ ​business​,​ ​not​ ​only​ ​the
email,​ ​but​ ​your​ ​website,​ ​and​ ​even​ ​checkout​ ​process​ ​has​ ​to​ ​work​ ​perfectly​ ​on
mobile.
Reduce​ ​the​ ​Number​ ​of​ ​Fields
Your​ ​form​ ​should​ ​include​ ​the​ ​bare​ ​essentials​ ​of​ ​questions​ ​and​ ​fields​ ​to​ ​fill​ ​out.
While​ ​a​ ​question​ ​like​ ​“Where​ ​did​ ​you​ ​hear​ ​about​ ​us?”​ ​might​ ​help​ ​the​ ​vendor
tremendously,​ ​you​ ​could​ ​lose​ ​customers​ ​if​ ​the​ ​form​ ​appears​ ​to​ ​be​ ​too​ ​long​ ​to​ ​fill
out.​ ​​UX​ ​and​ ​UI​ ​research​​ ​will​ ​show​ ​that​ ​shorter​ ​forms​ ​will​ ​equal​ ​more​ ​conversions,
especially​ ​when​ ​talking​ ​about​ ​mobile!
During​ ​the​ ​holiday​ ​season,​ ​users​ ​are​ ​making​ ​very​ ​frequent​ ​purchases,​ ​on​ ​many
different​ ​websites.​ ​Customers​ ​should​ ​be​ ​given​ ​the​ ​option​ ​to​ ​checkout​ ​as​ ​a​ ​guest
for​ ​this​ ​very​ ​reason.​ ​How​ ​many​ ​accounts​ ​are​ ​they​ ​going​ ​to​ ​make​ ​in​ ​such​ ​a​ ​short
amount​ ​of​ ​time?
Put​ ​simply,​ ​a​ ​user​ ​is​ ​much​ ​less​ ​likely​ ​to​ ​go​ ​through​ ​the​ ​process​ ​of​ ​purchase​ ​if​ ​they
have​ ​to​​ ​create​ ​an​ ​account.​ ​Most​ ​​mobile​ ​app​ ​design​ ​companies​​ ​will​ ​also​ ​make​ ​this
suggestion​ ​to​ ​their​ ​clients.

2. (Image​ ​Source)
Show​ ​Progress​ ​of​ ​Checkout
Users​ ​will​ ​be​ ​much​ ​happier​ ​knowing​ ​how​ ​many​ ​steps​ ​they​ ​have​ ​to​ ​take​ ​to
complete​ ​a​ ​purchase.​ ​A​ ​simple​ ​visual​ ​design​ ​to​ ​show​ ​how​ ​many​ ​steps​ ​are​ ​left,
keep​ ​the​ ​user​ ​informed.​ ​Any​ ​individual​ ​or​ ​company​ ​that​ ​offers​ ​​UI​ ​design​ ​services
can​ ​help​ ​craft​ ​a​ ​beautiful​ ​design​ ​that​ ​not​ ​only​ ​is​ ​visually​ ​appealing,​ ​but​ ​will​ ​be​ ​very
informative​ ​for​ ​your​ ​customer.
(Source)

3. Take​ ​Advantage​ ​of​ ​Third​ ​Party​ ​Services
PayPal,​ ​Amazon,​ ​Apple​ ​+​ ​Google​ ​Wallet​ ​should​ ​be​ ​your​ ​best​ ​friends.​ ​Why​ ​would
you​ ​force​ ​your​ ​users​ ​to​ ​pull​ ​out​ ​their​ ​physical​ ​wallets,​ ​and​ ​type​ ​in​ ​their​ ​credit​ ​card
number​ ​when​ ​they​ ​don’t​ ​have​ ​to?
When​ ​a​ ​customer​ ​utilizes​ ​one​ ​of​ ​these​ ​services,​ ​their​ ​information​ ​is​ ​typically
auto-populated,​ ​making​ ​the​ ​checkout​ ​process​ ​as​ ​easy​ ​as​ ​it​ ​possibly​ ​can​ ​be.​ ​Not
only​ ​is​ ​it​ ​easy,​ ​but​ ​these​ ​platforms​ ​are​ ​extremely​ ​trusted​ ​by​ ​customers.
While​ ​these​ ​types​ ​of​ ​integrations​ ​may​ ​seem​ ​like​ ​they​ ​could​ ​be​ ​difficult,​ ​it​ ​would
be​ ​a​ ​piece​ ​of​ ​cake​ ​for​ ​any​ ​​mobile​ ​app​ ​design​ ​and​ ​development​ ​company​.
Chicago​ ​Digital​ ​Agency
UX​ ​+​ ​UI​ ​Design​ ​|​ ​Software​ ​Engineering