How Many Checkout Fields Is Too Many? Optimization Guide

Every checkout field costs you conversions. Research shows each additional field reduces completion rate by 1-2%. The average checkout has 15 fields; the optimal number is 7-8. Most stores can cut their field count in half without losing necessary information.

Here is how to identify which fields to remove and which to keep.

The Field Count Problem

Current state:

• Average e-commerce checkout: 15 fields
• Best-in-class checkout: 7-8 fields
• Express checkout (Shop Pay): 0 fields (for returning users)

The math: 15 fields at 1.5% conversion loss per field = approximately 20% lower conversion than an 8-field checkout.

For a store with 1,000 monthly checkout starts and $80 average order value, reducing from 15 to 8 fields could mean:

• 20 additional completed orders per month
• $1,600 additional revenue per month
• $19,200 additional revenue per year

Field optimization is high-impact, low-effort.

Required vs. Optional vs. Unnecessary

Categorize every field in your checkout:

Required Fields (Must Have)

These are legally or operationally necessary:

For shipping:

• Email (order confirmation, tracking)
• Full name (shipping label)
• Street address (delivery)
• City (delivery)
• State/Province (delivery, taxes)
• ZIP/Postal code (delivery, taxes, address validation)
• Country (international shipping, taxes)

For payment:

• Card number
• Expiration date
• CVV/Security code
• Billing ZIP (fraud prevention)

Minimum count: 11-12 fields (including payment)

Optional Fields (Situationally Useful)

These help in specific cases but are not always needed:

• Phone number: Needed for SMS updates or delivery issues. Not needed if you do not use SMS.
• Company name: Only relevant for B2B orders. Hide for B2C.
• Address line 2: Apartments, suites. Show on demand, not by default.
• Billing address: Only if different from shipping. Default to "same as shipping."
• Order notes: Gift messages, special instructions. Offer only when relevant.

Unnecessary Fields (Remove These)

Fields that add friction without proportional value:

• Middle name: Almost never needed for shipping or verification.
• Title/Salutation: Mr., Mrs., Ms. Unnecessary for transactions.
• Date of birth: Unless legally required (alcohol, age-restricted products).
• Fax number: Outdated, irrelevant for 99.9% of stores.
• How did you hear about us: Move to post-purchase survey, not checkout.
• Newsletter signup checkbox: Move to post-purchase or make it one click.

Shopify's Default Checkout Fields

Shopify's checkout includes:

Information page:

• Email
• First name
• Last name
• Address
• Apartment/suite (optional)
• City
• Country
• State/Province
• ZIP code
• Phone (depends on settings)

Payment page:

• Card number
• Cardholder name
• Expiration
• Security code
• Billing address (if different)

Total: 12-15 fields depending on settings

What You Can Control

In Shopify Admin > Settings > Checkout:

Phone number:

• Optional (recommended)
• Required
• Hidden (if you do not need it)

Company name:

• Optional
• Required
• Hidden (recommended for B2C)

Address line 2:

• Always show
• Show as optional link (recommended)
• Hide

Full name vs. First/Last: Shopify uses first and last name separately. You cannot combine them without checkout customization (Shopify Plus).

Field-by-Field Optimization

Email Field

Keep it. Essential for order confirmation, tracking, and recovery.

Optimization:

• Make it the first field (captures for abandoned cart recovery)
• Use email validation that suggests corrections ("Did you mean gmail.com?")
• Indicate what email will be used for

Name Fields

Recommendation: Keep first and last name if required for shipping carriers.

Optimization:

• Auto-capitalize first letters
• Allow accented characters
• Do not validate name format (people have unusual names)

Advanced: Some stores combine into single "Full name" field. Requires parsing for carrier labels. Test before implementing.

Address Fields

Keep: Street address, city, state, ZIP, country.

Optimization:

• Enable address autocomplete (Google Places API or Shopify's built-in)
• Auto-fill city and state from ZIP code when possible
• Detect country from IP and pre-fill
• Make apartment/suite optional and hidden by default

Address autocomplete impact: Reduces address entry time by 50-70%. Reduces address errors by 20%. Worth implementing.

Phone Number

Decision: Required only if you actively use it.

Keep if:

• Shipping carriers need it for delivery issues
• You send SMS order updates
• Your delivery requires phone contact

Remove if:

• You do not use it
• It just sits in your database

Optimization:

• If required, explain why ("For delivery updates")
• Use numeric keyboard on mobile
• Accept multiple formats (do not reject valid numbers for formatting)

Company Name

Recommendation: Hide for B2C stores.

Keep if:

• B2B sales are significant
• You offer business invoicing
• Tax/duty requires business identification

Hide if:

• Consumer-focused store
• Company name is rarely filled

Billing Address

Recommendation: Default to "Same as shipping." Show full billing fields only if unchecked.

Most customers ship to themselves. Making billing address conditional saves 6 fields for 90%+ of orders.

Order Notes / Comments

Recommendation: Hide or make very optional.

If included:

• Collapse behind "Add order notes" link
• Do not show large text box by default
• Be clear about what this is for

Advanced Field Reduction Techniques

Progressive Disclosure

Show fields only when needed:

Example:

1. Ask "Is this a gift?" (yes/no)
2. Only show gift message field if "yes"

Example:

1. Start with ZIP code
2. Auto-fill city and state
3. Ask for street address confirmation

Smart Defaults

Pre-fill based on available data:

• Country from browser/IP geolocation
• Currency from country
• Phone country code from country
• Previous order data for returning customers

Conditional Fields

Show/hide based on context:

Digital products:

• Remove all shipping address fields
• Only need email and payment

Free products/samples:

• Remove payment fields entirely

Subscription first order:

• Show subscription terms
• Remove for renewals

Field Combination

Where possible, combine fields:

• Street + apartment into single address field with line break
• City/state/ZIP into single line (US addresses)
• Card number + expiration + CVV into payment element (Stripe/Shopify Payments handle this)

Measuring Field Impact

Metrics to Track

Before optimization:

• Checkout completion rate
• Time to complete checkout
• Error rate per field
• Abandonment by step/field

After optimization:

• Same metrics, compare
• Look for improvement within 2-4 weeks

A/B Testing Fields

Test field removal carefully:

1. Remove one field (or set of related fields)
2. Run for 2-4 weeks (1,000+ checkout starts per variation)
3. Compare completion rates
4. Check for operational issues (missing needed data)

Qualitative Feedback

Watch session recordings of checkout:

• Where do customers hesitate?
• Which fields cause errors?
• Where do they abandon?

This identifies problematic fields beyond just "too many."

Industry Benchmarks

| Checkout Type | Field Count | Completion Rate | |---------------|-------------|-----------------| | Express (Shop Pay) | 0-1 | 70-80% | | Highly optimized | 7-8 | 55-65% | | Average | 12-15 | 45-55% | | Complex | 18-20+ | 30-40% |

Digital products: Can often achieve 5-6 fields (email, payment only).

Physical products: 11-12 fields is realistic minimum with shipping.

B2B: May require 15-18 fields (company info, PO numbers). Higher friction is accepted for larger orders.

Mobile-Specific Considerations

Mobile checkout is harder. Every field matters more.

Mobile optimization:

• Larger touch targets (44x44px minimum)
• Correct keyboard type (numeric for phone, email keyboard for email)
• Inline validation (immediate feedback, not at submit)
• Tappable dropdown menus vs. typing

Mobile field reduction is extra valuable. Typing on phone is slower and error-prone. Each removed field has more impact on mobile than desktop.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Adding Fields "Just in Case"

"We might need the phone number someday."

Reality: If you are not using the data, you are paying for it in lost conversions. Add fields when you have a use for them, not before.

Mistake 2: Required Fields That Are Not Required

Making company name required for consumer store. Making phone required when you never call.

Reality: Every required field is an abandonment point. Only require what you actually need.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Validation Friction

Field counts are good but validation errors add friction too.

Reality: A checkout with 8 fields and strict validation may perform worse than 10 fields with forgiving validation.

Mistake 4: Forgetting Express Checkout

Optimizing form fields when express checkout bypasses them entirely.

Reality: Enable Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay first. These eliminate field friction for significant percentage of customers.

Mistake 5: One-Size-Fits-All

Same checkout for digital products, physical products, subscriptions, B2B.

Reality: Different transaction types need different fields. Customize checkout by product type when possible.

Action Plan

Immediate (This Week)

1. Count your current checkout fields
2. Enable express checkout options (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay)
3. Make phone number optional or hidden
4. Hide company name for B2C stores
5. Default billing address to "same as shipping"

Short-Term (This Month)

1. Enable address autocomplete
2. Auto-fill city/state from ZIP
3. Hide apartment/suite field (show on demand)
4. Review validation rules for forgiveness

Medium-Term (This Quarter)

1. A/B test additional field removal
2. Implement progressive disclosure for optional information
3. Analyze checkout recordings for friction points
4. Consider checkout customization (Shopify Plus) for further reduction

The Bottom Line

Optimal field count: 7-8 fields for express checkout fallback, 11-12 fields including shipping address and payment.

Key fields to remove or hide:

• Company name (hide for B2C)
• Phone (make optional with explanation)
• Apartment/suite (hide behind "Add" link)
• Billing address (default to same as shipping)
• Any field you do not actively use

Enable express checkout. Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay bypass all fields for returning/enrolled customers. This has more impact than optimizing form fields.

Every field is a question you are asking your customer. Ask only what you need. Make everything else optional or remove it entirely.