Checkout Experience That Sells: Remove Friction from Online Ordering

If you offer online ordering (and you should) on your restaurant website, the checkout experience matters.

We can safely say it matters more than you realize. If your checkout system is awkward, you’ve got too much friction.

Asking customers to use a clunky checkout is like asking a hungry guest to fill out a long form before you give them their food in your restaurant. The harder it is for someone to place an online order, the more likely they are to bounce off your website. (tweet this)

Yet, if your checkout system is frictionless, you not only keep customers on your website, but you also turn your online ordering system into a conversion engine.

In this post, we walk through a checkout experience that sells. We look at how to remove friction from your online order system and how you can streamline the process for your customers.

So, let’s remove the barriers and increase your online orders.

Why Checkout Friction Costs You Money

The numbers paint a whole picture. In online commerce, the average cart abandonment rate is nearly 70%.

This is often because of the friction in the checkout funnel.

The same dynamics apply to restaurants. Your customers may have already browsed your menu, weighed their options, and added items to their cart. But when they hit your website’s checkout, they may abandon it. This happens most often when they see hidden fees, are confused, stumble on many steps, or have to create an account.

Conversion optimization is key to your online ordering success, and the job of your website is not merely to attract visitors, but to convert them to either dining room guests or online customers.

Checkout is the last step in that conversion path, and it’s where you can lose most of your potential online orders.

Moreover, every frustrated or abandoned order is more than a lost sale. It’s a missed chance to build eating habits, loyalty, and lifetime value.

What Makes a Checkout Experience Frictionless?

There are many things that make a superb checkout experience. Here are some vital principles to think about when building your online ordering checkout:

1. Simplicity and minimalism. The fewer fields, clicks, steps, and decisions, the better. Every extra question is an opportunity to lose someone.
2. Show pricing, taxes, delivery/pickup fees, and tips upfront so nothing is a surprise at the last step.
3. Speed and responsiveness. Your checkout must load fast and take less than a minute to complete. Don’t hit visitors with extra questions or fees.
4. Mobile-first design. Many online orders happen on smartphones. Your checkout must be optimized for touch, small screens, and local input (for example, address autocompletion).
5. Trust and reassurance. Use security badges, consistent branding, and clear payment flows so your customers feel confident paying for their online order.
6. Offer guest checkout, multiple payment options, and the ability to edit the cart or go “back” without losing data.
7. Testing and measurement. Use analytics and split tests to find out when your customers drop off and test alternative flows.

These principles mirror best practices for e-commerce checkout. You want to always look toward optimizing your funnels.

In the context of your restaurant, drop-off points may be related to your delivery fees or even your pickup or delivery window.

Practical Tactics You Can Implement Now

If you already have an online ordering system, you want to audit your checkout funnel. Run test orders and identify difficult spots. Then, follow these tactics to refine your checkout or create a new one if you don’t currently have online ordering.

Offer Guest Checkout First

Get the sale first.

Never force a customer to create an account before placing an order. That is one of the fastest ways to kill conversions. In fact, nearly a quarter of all online orders are lost due to requiring account creation. (tweet this)

Let customers check out as guests. Once they place their order, you can give them the option of creating an account.

Condense the Steps

Don’t make your customers click through multiple pages to enter their personal information. Condense it as much as possible.

Less friction equals fewer screens.

Show Full Order Cost Early

The last thing you want to do is surprise your customers with the full cost at the end of the process. Not only have you hidden something, but you’ve wasted all their time, and they may jump off your website because of it.

Show them the cost of the items, the sales tax, any delivery or pickup fees, and the suggested tip long before they enter their credit card. An estimated cost is a good way to do this.

Surprise charges lead to lost sales. Transparency is key.

Enable Address Autocompletion and Real-Time Validation

Typing addresses, ZIP codes, and phone numbers is often error-prone.

Use address autocomplete and real-time validation so errors such as an invalid ZIP, mismatched state, etc., are caught immediately and not after form submission.

Also, validate credit card numbers and prompt fixes instantly.

Optimize Mobile Input Experience

Here are some tips for the mobile experience, as most of your customers will order from you on their phones.

• Use appropriate keyboards (numeric for ZIP and CVV, email keyboard for email fields).
• Organize forms so primary fields appear first (name, phone, address), and less critical ones show up later.
• Don’t force horizontal scrolling.
• Keep “Continue” or “Pay Now” buttons always in view (sticky footers can help).
• Minimize the need to pinch-zoom or scroll far to reach “submit.”

Offer Multiple Payment Options

• Accept all major credit and debit cards.
• Support mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) wherever possible.
• If your system supports it, allow saved cards or one-click reordering for returning customers.
• Let diners tip during checkout with easy presets such as 10%, 15%, 20% and a custom option.
• Make sure you have an SSL security certificate. Also, place card logos on your site to reassure customers.

The easier you make payment, the fewer dropouts.

Provide Clear Progress Indicators and Back Navigation

If your checkout has multiple steps, always show a progress bar.

This helps customers see where they are in the process and reduce checkout anxiety.

Also, always provide a “Back” or “Edit Cart” option without losing their entered information. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to re-enter information after going back and ordering something additional.

Final Thoughts on Removing Friction

Hundreds of billions of dollars are lost each year due to abandoned carts.

Your checkout is more than just the last step in a customer’s purchase. It’s a high-stakes moment in your customer journey. You either keep the conversion, or you lose it.

By removing friction, simplifying the steps, and being transparent, you turn your checkout into a silent salesperson that converts at a high rate.

At Restaurant Engine, we design websites specifically for restaurants. Your new site will be optimized for seamless online ordering. Whether you’re just starting out or want to revamp your current website, we can help you build a digital presence that attracts guests and converts visitors into loyal customers. You can count on us to create an amazing website that presents a unified brand for your restaurant and works across all digital platforms. Let us help you make the perfect site!  

Are you ready to take your restaurant to the next level with a new website?

Get your free website consultation today!

Images: Photo by Docusign and Giulio Fabi on Unsplash