Solar desalination has emerged as a practical renewable-energy approach to mitigate freshwater shortages, especially in remote and arid regions; however, conventional designs often suffer from low productivity. This research gap is addressed by introducing several modifications to a stepped solar still (SSS) to significantly augment its functioning. The modifications include: (A) integrating an internal vertical glass surface to increase the evaporation area, (B) utilizing a cooling water film on the glazing to improve condensation and cleanliness, (C) incorporating nano-enhanced phase change material (PCM with CNTs) beneath the solar absorbing surface for thermal energy storage purposes, and (D) employing an axial fan to channel vapor to an external condenser. The performance of each modification was experimentally evaluated and compared to a conventional solar still (CSS). The results demonstrated substantial improvements in cumulative freshwater yield. The modified SSS with the vertical surface (Modification B) showed an 85% distillate augmentation over CSS. The use of the glass water film (Modification C) further enhanced productivity by 145%. The addition of nano-enhanced PCM (Modification D) yielded the most significant gain, achieving a 197% improvement. Finally, the system with the external condenser (Modification E) achieved a 180% increase. The study concludes that the synergistic integration of these modifications, particularly the use of nano-enhanced PCM, offers a highly effective pathway for performance enhancement in solar desalination systems. Recommendations for future work include testing various PCM materials and fan speeds on SSS performance.