{"id":5685,"date":"2019-08-28T12:32:38","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T10:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.growcode.com\/?p=5685"},"modified":"2023-12-13T11:40:15","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T10:40:15","slug":"optimize-your-store-checkout-using-nielsen-heuristics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.growcode.com\/blog\/optimize-your-store-checkout-using-nielsen-heuristics\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can You Optimize Your Store Checkout Using Nielsen Heuristics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nielsen’s heuristics framework is an incredibly powerful tool for optimizing your ecommerce store. <\/span><\/p>\n

It enables you to pinpoint customer experience issues, both large and small. And when you build an exceptional customer experience, your conversion rate will increase. Satisfied customers are eager to buy, refer, and return to your store.<\/p>\nCheckout is one of the most crucial stages of the customer journey. Yet the average checkout abandonment rate in ecommerce is 25%. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

By running a heuristics analysis, you’ll see clearly where your design is falling short and implement improvements.<\/p>\n

In this post, we’re going to define key terms, outline Nielsen’s heuristics, and give you a host of practical suggestions for using them on your ecommerce store.<\/p>\n

What will you find in this article?<\/h2>\n

What Are “Heuristics”?<\/a>
\nWhat Are “Nielsen Heuristics”?<\/a>
\nHow to Run a Checkout Heuristic Analysis <\/a>
\n1. Visibility of system status <\/a>
\n2. Match between system and the real world <\/a>
\n3. User control and freedom <\/a>
\n4. Consistency and standards <\/a>
\n5. Error prevention <\/a>
\n6. Recognition rather than recall <\/a>
\n7. Flexibility and efficiency of use <\/a>
\n8. Aesthetic and minimalist design<\/a>
\n9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors <\/a>
\n10. Help and documentation <\/a>
\nConclusion<\/a><\/p>\n

Sounds good? Let’s dive in.<\/p>\n

What Are\u00a0“Heuristics”?<\/h2>\nHow Can You Optimize Your Store Checkout Using Nielsen Heuristics <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n

“Traditional” user experience testing relies on a finely-tuned mixture of experimentation, formulation of hypotheses, and gathering of feedback<\/strong>. This process takes lots of time and resources.<\/p>\n

Heuristics enable you to ask practical questions of your current design and customer journey to gauge their effectiveness. <\/strong><\/p>\n

You can then make practical changes to better meet the criteria of the heuristics, thus improving your UX (user experience).<\/a><\/p>\n

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What Are “Nielsen Heuristics”?<\/h2>\n

Nielsen heuristics are a set of ten “rules-of-thumb”<\/a> developed by Jakob Nielsen and Rolf Molich.<\/p>\n

They can be applied to any interface that users interact with in order to achieve a specific set of outcomes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because of the issues associated with traditional ecommerce user testing, where sites can have hundreds of unique templates and optimization is ongoing, Nielsen’s straightforward framework has become popular among retailers.<\/p>\n

Here’s a quick rundown:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Visibility of system status<\/strong> – Users should receive appropriate feedback so they know what’s happening, what they’re expected to do, and why.<\/li>\n
  2. Match between system and the real world<\/strong> – Language and design should replicate a “real-world” experience, using phrases that customers understand and an interface that is intuitive.<\/li>\n
  3. User control and freedom<\/strong> – Users should be able to correct mistakes and return to previous parts of the process.<\/li>\n
  4. Consistency and standards<\/strong> – Functions should be labeled as clearly as possible, limiting the scope for users to misunderstand words and situations.<\/li>\n
  5. Error prevention<\/strong> – The system should prevent errors before they occur. Eliminate problem-prone areas and provide real-time confirmation.<\/li>\n
  6. Recognition rather than recall<\/strong> – There should be consistency across the whole process. Users shouldn’t be forced to “work out” how to complete new actions.<\/li>\n
  7. Flexibility and efficiency of use<\/strong> – The interface should work for both new and experienced users. Experienced users should be able to customize their experience.<\/li>\n
  8. Aesthetic and minimalist design<\/strong> – Pieces of information “compete with each other”. Only include what’s necessary.<\/li>\n
  9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors<\/strong> – Keep error messages straightforward and simple and include practical instructions about how to rectify the problem.<\/li>\n
  10. Help and documentation<\/strong> – Make help documentation readily and easily available.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can check out some of the broader ecommerce applications (not just checkout) of Nielsen’s heuristics in the article: Nielsen Heuristics and How to Implement Them in Ecommerce.<\/a>
    \n[blog-newsletter title=”Want more insights like this?” form_id=”2853″]Get weekly ecommerce tips, strategies and leading industry knowledge. Delivered right into your inbox.[\/blog-newsletter]<\/p>\n

    How to Run a Checkout Heuristic Analysis<\/h2>\n

    With the theoretical aspects out of the way, let’s take a look at some practical ecommerce applications of Nielsen’s heuristics when it comes to checkout.<\/p>\n

    Treat the following points as a checklist. The closer your checkout process and pages align with them, the stronger and more effective your user experience is likely to be.<\/p>\n

    1. Visibility of system status<\/h3>\n

    The heuristic “visibility of system status” has two parts. First, customers should have a sense of where they are in the checkout process<\/strong>. Second, they should clearly understand what they’re expected to do after each step.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Here are the main tips:<\/p>\n