Optimizing Your E-Commerce Store: Checkout Flow Enhancements with Magento Core Features

Jun 25, 2025 |

13 minutes read

Improve Checkout with Magento Core Features

A streamlined checkout process is crucial for reducing cart abandonment and boosting conversions in your Magento 2 store. With powerful tools built right into the platform, Magento’s core features allow store owners to enhance the checkout experience without the need for complex custom development. This blog explores practical enhancements using Magento’s out-of-the-box capabilities, complete with step-by-step guidance and sample code snippets. Whether you’re aiming to simplify the user journey or improve load speed, these improvements can deliver real results. If you’re working with a Magento eCommerce Development partner or handling it in-house, these strategies will help optimize your store for smoother transactions.

Understanding Magento’s Default Checkout

Magento 2’s default checkout is a two-step process: Shipping and Review & Payments. This structure minimizes friction while collecting essential data. However, you can optimize it further to meet your store’s unique needs using Magento’s built-in features.

1. Autocomplete Address in Magento Checkout:

Why Enable Address Autocomplete?

Address autocomplete improves the checkout experience by:

Reducing manual input.
Minimizing address errors.
Speeding up checkout.
Ensuring accurate shipping and billing data.

Implementation Overview

Magento 2 does not natively support address autocomplete. You can integrate the Google Places API to provide real-time address suggestions.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Obtain a Google Places API Key:

Visit the Google Cloud Console.
Create or select a project.
Enable the Places API.
Generate an API key with restrictions (e.g., HTTP referrers) for security.

2. Add Google Places API Script to Checkout:
Include the Google Places API script in the checkout page via layout XML.

Sample Code (File: app/design/frontend/<Vendor>/<theme>/Magento_Checkout/layout/checkout_index_index.xml):

<page xmlns:xsi=”http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance” xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation=”urn:magento:framework:View/Layout/etc/page_configuration.xsd”>
<head>
<script src=”https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=YOUR_API_KEY&libraries=places” async=”true”/>
</head>
</page>

3. Initialize Autocomplete on Address Fields:
Use JavaScript to enable autocomplete on the street address field.

Sample Code (File:
app/design/frontend/<Vendor>/<theme>/Magento_Checkout/web/js/address-autocomplete.js):

define([‘jquery’], function ($) {

‘use strict’;

return function () {
var input = document.getElementById(‘street_1’);
if (input && typeof google !== ‘undefined’) {
var autocomplete = new google.maps.places.Autocomplete(input,

{ types: [‘address’] });
autocomplete.addListener(‘place_changed’, function () {

   var place = autocomplete.getPlace();
             // Update city, zip, etc., based on place.address_components
         });
     }
};
});

4. Clear Cache:
Run bin/magento cache:clean to apply changes.

2. Trimming & Customizing Checkout Fields

Why Trim Fields?
Collecting only essential information simplifies checkout, reduces distractions, and speeds up the process.

How to Hide Unnecessary Fields (e.g., Company)
Remove fields like Company using layout XML in your custom theme.

File:app/design/frontend/<Vendor>/<theme>/Magento_Checkout/layout/checkout_index_index.xml):

Sample Code: <referenceBlock name=”company” remove=”true” />

This goes into your custom theme’s layout override for checkout.

3. One-Step Checkout Configuration

Magento’s default checkout is streamlined but split into two main steps (Shipping and Payment). You can enhance it further by:

Merging Shipping and Payment Steps: Use extensions like OneStepCheckout or custom modules to combine both into a true one-page checkout.
Auto-Select Default Addresses: For logged-in customers, Magento can pre-fill addresses saved in My Account → Address Book, speeding up the process.

4. Enable Guest Checkout to Increase Conversion

Magento 2 allows guest checkout by default, but it’s good to verify or configure explicitly:

Steps:

Go to Admin Panel → Stores → Configuration → Sales → Checkout.
Set Enable Guest Checkout to Yes.

Benefits of Guest Checkout:

Reduces friction for first-time customers
Great for mobile conversions

5. Boost Magento 2 Checkout with UPI & Modern Payment Options

Payment Methods to Add:

UPI (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM)
Digital Wallets (Amazon Pay, Paytm Wallet)
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) (Simpl, LazyPay, Klarna)
Credit/Debit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, RuPay)
Cash on Delivery (COD)

Magento Core Setup:
Admin → Stores → Configuration → Sales → Payment Methods → Configure supported providers or integrate relevant payment gateways/extensions.

6. Pre-selected Shipping & Payment Methods

When it comes to streamlining the checkout experience, one small but powerful improvement is setting default (pre-selected) shipping and payment methods.

This speeds up the process for your customers, reduces cart abandonment, and improves overall user satisfaction.

Why Pre-select Shipping and Payment Options?

Faster Checkout
Increased Conversions
Guide Customer Behavior
Mobile-Friendly

How to Set Pre-selected Shipping Method

Steps:

Log in to Magento Admin Panel
Go to:
Stores > Configuration > Sales > Shipping Methods
Open your desired shipping method (e.g., Flat Rate, Free Shipping, Table Rates, etc.)
Locate the Sort Order field
Enter 0 for the method you want to show first
Higher numbers appear lower on the list
Click Save Config
Flush cache from System > Cache Management

How to Set Pre-selected Payment Method

Steps:

In Admin Panel, go to:
Stores > Configuration > Sales > Payment Methods
Expand your preferred payment method (e.g., Check/Money Order, Cash on Delivery, PayPal, Stripe, etc.)
Find the Sort Order setting
– Set the desired method to 0 (or the lowest value)
Save your configuration and flush the cache.

7. Order Summary Optimization

Order Summary Optimization refers to the process of improving the performance, clarity, and usability of the order summary section during the Magento checkout process.

This includes optimizing how totals (like subtotal, tax, shipping, discounts, and grand total) are calculated, displayed, and updated, especially when users make changes during checkout.

Purpose of Checkout Summary Optimization:

Improve performance.
Ensure clarity of totals and discounts.
Increase transparency for shipping/tax/coupon applications.
Reduce friction during checkout.

8. Enable Terms & Conditions

Magento store compliant and transparent is adding Terms & Conditions to the checkout page. This lets customers review and agree to your store policies before placing an order, helping protect your business and building trust.

Why Enable Terms & Conditions on Checkout?

Legal Protection: Ensure customers accept your policies before purchasing.
Clear Communication: Inform buyers about shipping, returns, or other rules.
Better Customer Experience: Reduce disputes by setting clear expectations.

Simplify Checkout with Built-in Magento 2 Features

The Way Forward

Magento 2’s core features provide a powerful toolkit for optimizing checkout flows without custom modules. Master admin settings, leverage layout XML, and use minimal custom code for impactful tweaks. Regularly analyze checkout KPIs to iterate and maximize conversions. Small changes can lead to happier customers and higher sales.

Magento 2’s core features provide a powerful toolkit for optimizing checkout flows without relying on custom modules. By mastering admin settings, leveraging layout XML, and applying minimal custom code, you can introduce high-impact improvements that streamline the user journey. Regularly monitoring checkout KPIs helps you refine these enhancements over time to maximize conversions. Small, strategic changes often result in happier customers and better sales performance. If you’re working with a Magento development agency, their insight can help you unlock these native features more effectively and avoid unnecessary complexity. Even incremental upgrades to the checkout flow can make a measurable difference to your store’s bottom line.

Free Consultation

Kinjal Patel

Jun 25 2025

Kinjal Patel is one of the very prominent & experienced working professionals holding a strong 12-year project management career in the interest of Magento, Shopify, Prestashop at iFlair Web Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Kinjal shines up as a senior project manager while coming up with fresh online solutions and ensuring on-time project delivery by driving customer happiness. Kinjal, in his strategic planning along with team-leading expertise, successfully manages various projects with perfect team coordination and error-free output quality.