Validating Website Functionality Cross Browser/Platforms?

[merlynhs]

We have an e-commerce website and our analytical stats don't tie up to our volume of orders. We are seeing that only about 20% of hits onto the Checkout page are turning into orders. This means people have added items, gone to checkout and selected a payment method but then backed out of the purchase (we offer PayPal, Google Checkout and Card payments).

As it transpires we are getting daily complaints from customers saying "it's not possible to order from your website". However neither I, nor our developers are able to re-create this and I haven't been able to get any detailed information from customers who have complained.

Therefore I can only assume some kind of browser config or a specific browser must be causing the problem. However, I don't know where to start in terms of getting to the bottom of this issue as it is clearly impacting sales.

Any suggestions/help/advice on de-bugging and identifying the route cause of this issue?

Thanks

[fisicx]

Have your developers done any cross browser testing?

Have you tried to order anything with cookies disabled?

Maybe it's the site design that is a fault and people are finding it too difficult to use the checkout.

[wood1e2]

You can download various browsers and test with them.

Have none of the customers expressed why they think they cannot buy?
Maybe you have got too many clicks between selecting product and buying product.
Have a look at the payment flow of a competitor, although that could be a pile of poo, at least you can compare the clicks required for purchase, ie do they have more or less, do they have an easier process.

Obviously that is if it is not a technical issue.

[3cellhosting]

Check your stats to see if the abandoned carts are all using the same browser. This will narrow down any cross browser issues.

We always check IE7 & 8, Firefox 3, Safari, Opera and Chrome.

With similar occurrences we have found issues with buyers who use AOL, as their browser is installed by AOL and can be a real pig.

fisicx already mentioned the other common problem - cookies disabled.

Another common oversight is screen resolution. many designers (myself included) have the latest technology with lovely big screens. Sites look great until I then browse on 1024x768 and content disappears off screen. You'd be surprised how many carts are suddenly compressed in width and the buttons disappear off the screen. Customers either don't notice or can't be bothered to scroll down - result is an abandoned cart.

Hope this helps