How to Customize WooCommerce Checkout Page (The Easy Way)

How to Customize Your WooCommerce Checkout Page for More Sales (2024 Guide)

Your WooCommerce checkout page is one of the most critical parts of your online store. It‘s the final step before a customer completes their purchase. Even small optimizations to your checkout process can have a big impact on your store‘s conversion rates and revenue.

In fact, the average cart abandonment rate across industries is a whopping 69.99%. That means over 2/3 of shoppers who add an item to their cart end up leaving your site without buying. While there are many reasons for cart abandonment, a long or confusing checkout process is one of the top causes.

By customizing your WooCommerce checkout page, you can provide a faster, more seamless buying experience. The easier you make it for customers to enter their information and complete their purchase, the more sales you‘ll be able to generate.

The good news is, you don‘t need to be a developer to customize your WooCommerce checkout. In this guide, I‘ll share 5 methods you can use to fully optimize your checkout page for conversions. Whether you prefer using code snippets, plugins, or drag-and-drop builders, you‘ll learn how to:

• Edit your checkout page layout and design
• Add, remove and re-order checkout fields
• Offer more payment methods and express checkout options
• Customize your checkout thank you page
• Reduce abandoned carts with exit intent pop-ups

But first, let‘s review why you‘d want to customize the WooCommerce checkout page in the first place.

Why Customize the WooCommerce Checkout Page?

While functional out of the box, the default WooCommerce checkout has room for improvement in terms of user experience and conversion optimization. Here are a few reasons you may want to customize it:

1. Brand consistency. Your checkout page should match the rest of your store in terms of colors, fonts, layout, etc. This creates a seamless experience and builds trust with shoppers.

2. Streamlined purchasing. Every extra field a customer has to fill out is another chance for them to abandon their cart. By removing unnecessary fields and steps, you can speed up the checkout process.

3. Personalization. Customizing your checkout allows you to tailor it to your business‘s unique policies and processes. For example, you can customize shipping or payment options.

4. Data capture. Customizing checkout fields allows you to collect additional information from customers that can help with marketing, product development, and more.

5. Higher conversion rates. A polished, optimized checkout gives customers confidence and reduces friction, ultimately leading to more completed sales.

Now that we‘ve covered the why, let‘s dive into the how. Here are 5 ways you can customize your WooCommerce checkout page.

Method 1: Use Code Snippets to Customize Your WooCommerce Checkout

If you‘re comfortable adding a bit of code to your site, using snippets is one of the most powerful ways to customize your checkout. It gives you very granular control and allows you to make changes not possible through the WooCommerce settings.

Here are a few examples of customizations you can make with code snippets:

• Change checkout field order
• Add, edit or remove checkout fields
• Make specific fields required or optional
• Customize checkout field labels and placeholders
• Add new fields to specific sections (billing, shipping, order, etc.)
• Create two-column layouts
• Remove specific WooCommerce checkout features
• Change button text on the checkout page

WooCommerce has a detailed guide to customizing checkout fields with code. I‘ll walk through a couple examples.

To edit an existing field, you can use the woocommerce_checkout_fields filter hook:

function custom_override_checkout_fields($fields) {
$fields[‘billing‘][‘billing_first_name‘][‘placeholder‘] = ‘Enter first name‘;
$fields[‘billing‘][‘billing_last_name‘][‘label‘] = ‘Surname‘;
return $fields;
}
add_filter(‘woocommerce_checkout_fields‘, ‘custom_override_checkout_fields‘);

This snippet changes the placeholder text for the first name field and the label for the last name field.

To add a new field, you can use the same hook:

function custom_add_checkout_field($fields) {
$fields[‘billing‘][‘billing_favorite_color‘] = array(
‘label‘ => ‘Favorite Color‘,
‘required‘ => false,
‘class‘ => array(‘form-row-wide‘),
‘priority‘ => 25,
);
return $fields;
}
add_filter(‘woocommerce_checkout_fields‘, ‘custom_add_checkout_field‘);

This will add a new optional "Favorite Color" field to the billing section.

The woocommerce_checkout_fields hook lets you customize the billing, shipping and order fields. There are also specific hooks for each section:

• woocommerce_billing_fields
• woocommerce_shipping_fields
• woocommerce_checkout_order_review

As well as hooks for the individual text inputs, dropdowns, checkboxes, etc.

With a bit of PHP and CSS knowledge, you can customize virtually any part of the checkout. However, be aware that these changes will be overwritten if you update WooCommerce, so you‘ll need to use a child theme or plugin.

Method 2: Use a WooCommerce Checkout Field Editor Plugin

If you want to be able to customize your checkout fields without editing code, using a plugin is the way to go. There are several plugins that provide a user-friendly interface for managing your WooCommerce checkout fields.

One of the most popular is Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce. This free plugin allows you to:

• Add new custom fields to the checkout page
• Edit, re-order or delete existing default fields
• Change field display options (text, select, date picker, etc.)
• Set fields as required or optional
• Customize field labels and placeholder text
• Create conditional logic rules

After installing the plugin, you can access its settings under WooCommerce > Checkout Fields. Here you‘ll see a list of all the default fields, divided into billing, shipping and additional fields.

To edit a field, simply click on it and make your changes in the lightbox window. You can change the type, label, placeholder, default value, and whether it‘s required or not. The plugin supports standard form input types like text, password, email, phone, select, textarea and radio buttons.

To add a new field, switch to the "Additional Fields" tab and click the "Add New Field" button. Give it a name, set its options, and click "Save Field." The new field will now appear at checkout.

The Checkout Field Editor also lets you set fields‘ display order and width. And with the pro version, you can do even more, like adding custom validations, creating multi-step checkouts, and designing fields with CSS.

Using a plugin provides a good balance of flexibility and ease of use when customizing your checkout fields. You can make most common customizations without having to touch any code.

Method 3: Use a WooCommerce Checkout Customizer Plugin

While plugins like Checkout Field Editor let you customize form fields, you may want to personalize other parts of the checkout too, like:

• The checkout page layout and design
• Checkout features and components
• Text and microcopy
• Buttons and calls-to-action
• Upsells and cross-sells

Using a comprehensive checkout customizer plugin will give you complete control over your checkout‘s look and feel. Here are a couple great options.

Checkout Plugins for WP is a flexible drag-and-drop checkout builder. You can create beautiful, high-converting checkouts with its visual editor – no coding needed. The plugin lets you fully customize your checkout‘s:

• Overall design (colors, fonts, spacing, etc.)
• Layout and structure (one-column, two-column, accordion, etc.)
• Fields and input types
• Checkout steps and flow
• Buttons, trust badges and other elements
• Upsells and order bumps
• Coupons and discount options

It also provides useful checkout optimization features like:

• Built-in address autocomplete
• Real-time shipping calculator
• Express checkout options
• Cart abandonment recovery
• A/B testing and analytics

Similar to Checkout Field Editor, you can manage everything through the plugin‘s visual interface.

Another good option is PeachPay. This is a complete checkout suite that replaces the default WooCommerce checkout with a dynamic, optimized checkout window. Some key features include:

• One-click checkout and order bumps
• Advanced coupon management tools
• Customizable checkout flows and landing pages
• Buy now, pay later integrations
• Option to include product recommendations

The nice thing about PeachPay is that it‘s very quick and easy to set up. You can transform your checkout experience in minutes.

If you want complete control over your checkout design without having to build your own pages, a plugin like CheckoutWP or PeachPay is a great solution.

Method 4: Use a Landing Page Builder

Another way to completely customize your checkout is to use a landing page builder plugin. Page builders let you create custom designs using pre-built modules, widgets and templates.

Popular page builders for WordPress include:

• Elementor
• Divi
• Beaver Builder
• Thrive Architect
• Oxygen

Most of these page builders offer WooCommerce integrations that include checkout page templates. By starting with a template, you can quickly create a custom checkout design that‘s optimized for conversions.

For example, here‘s how you would customize your checkout page with Elementor:

1. Install and activate the Elementor plugin
2. Create a new page and edit it with Elementor
3. Search for "checkout" in the Elementor template library
4. Insert one of the pre-built checkout templates
5. Customize the template with the drag-and-drop editor

You can edit text, change colors, modify the layout, add new widgets, and more. Elementor has specific WooCommerce widgets for things like cart totals, checkout forms, order details, etc.

When you‘re done designing, simply publish the page and set it as your "Checkout" page in WooCommerce settings.

The downside of this method is that it takes a bit more work to build out your checkout from scratch. But it‘s a good option if you want complete creative freedom or if you‘re already using a page builder for the rest of your site.

Method 5: Optimize the Native WooCommerce Checkout

Finally, even if you don‘t use a plugin, there are some settings and best practices that can help optimize the WooCommerce checkout experience.

Guest checkout:
Allow customers to check out without creating an account. You can enable this under WooCommerce > Settings > Accounts & Privacy. Guest checkout reduces friction for new customers.

Reduce form fields:
Go through your checkout and get rid of any fields that aren‘t necessary. Every extra field decreases conversion rates. You can remove fields by unselecting them under WooCommerce > Settings > Accounts & Privacy.

Enable WooCommerce automatic coupons:
If you don‘t need customers to manually enter coupon codes, enable automatic application under WooCommerce > Settings > Coupons. This way customers will automatically get relevant coupons and discounts without an extra step.

Show trust signals:
Add trust signals like security badges, payment logos and customer testimonials around your checkout form. These help build trust and credibility, making customers feel safe completing their purchase.

Enable more payment options:
The more payment options you offer, the more likely customers will be able to use their preferred method. Set up multiple payment gateways, including newer mobile and one-click options.

Customize your thank you page:
The thank you page is where customers land after completing their purchase. Customize this page to show the order confirmation, provide relevant info, and promote other products or email/SMS signups. Learn how to create a custom WooCommerce thank you page.

Offer local pickup or delivery:
If you have a physical location, consider offering local pickup and/or delivery options at checkout. This provides added convenience and can save on shipping costs. The WooCommerce Local Pickup Plus plugin makes this easy.

Use exit-intent popups to save abandoned carts:
No matter how optimized your checkout is, some shoppers will still abandon their carts. Use an exit-intent popup to capture emails of abandoning visitors so you can send abandoned cart recovery emails. Tools like OptiMonk make this simple.

Test and Measure Your WooCommerce Checkout Customizations

Whichever methods you use to customize your checkout page, be sure to test the results. Run an A/B test comparing your original checkout to the new version to measure the impact on conversion rates.

Also use heatmaps and session recordings to see how real users interact with your checkout. Look out for things like error messages, hesitation on certain fields, or drop-off points so you can optimize further.

Examples of WooCommerce Checkout Customizations

Finally, let‘s look at a few examples of brands that have optimized their WooCommerce checkout experience.

Primal Kitchen uses PeachPay to power an express one-page checkout. With features like address autocomplete, one-click order bumps, and Apple Pay support, Primal Kitchen has reduced its checkout abandonment rate significantly.

Detour Coffee uses CheckoutWP to create a clean, optimized multi-step checkout page. The floating order summary and prominent trust badges help drive shoppers to complete their purchase.

100% Pure combines several of the methods above, using a plugin to customize fields, a page builder to create a branded layout, and built-in WooCommerce features like automatically applying discounts.

Your Turn

Customizing your WooCommerce checkout page is one of the highest-impact ways to optimize your store and drive more sales. With the methods outlined in this guide, you can create a checkout experience that‘s smooth, friction-free and laser-focused on conversions.

For even more ways to reduce cart abandonment and boost revenue, check out my ultimate guide to WooCommerce conversion rate optimization. And if you have any questions or customization tips of your own, let me know in the comments!