Trading online
If you want to develop an online store (e-commerce website), from scratch or extend your existing website to trade online, there are some things you need to consider.
To trade successfully online, you need to ensure that your website and payment system are secure and that the website is easy to use from your customers’ point of view.
Your customers will shop online because of the convenience of doing so, if they have a positive experience the first time they visit your website, the more likely they are to pay a return visit.
It is vital that customers trust your website to securely handle the processing of their credit card payments and that they can buy and pay for your products with easy.
Where do I begin?
To take credit card payments online, you need to have an Internet Merchant bank account. If your business already takes credit/debit card payments, you may already have a Merchant Account. However, you need to check with your service provider if your existing account permits you to process online payments.
Extending the features of your existing Merchant Account may be more cost effective in the long run, than introducing another Payment Service Provider (PSP) into the equation.
If you are setting up a Merchant Account for the first time, it is likely that you will be charged a set up fee and an ongoing service charge, as well as a per transaction charge.
You will also need to set up a Payment Gateway - a secure internet application that enables the authorisation and management of electronic transactions.
For further information regarding taking payments online and UK legal regulations, take a look at the DTI’s website http://www.electronic-payments.co.uk/
Finding someone to build you an e-commerce website
When you are securing the services of a web design or development company, it is vital to ask them to give you examples of website that they have worked on before, so that you can take a look at them.
Have a look at these websites, if they are e-commerce solutions or not. Try searching for the website by its name and/or products using the major search engines.
- How well do the example websites rank in search engines?
- Is the website listed within the first couple of pages?
If they have built e-commerce websites before, ask to see them and the administration interface where you, the retailer, would add your products to the online store.
Remember, you or your employees will be spending some time using this interface.
- Does it work well?
- Is it intuitive?
- Can you easily add or remove products, product information and images?
- Can you easily add new product categories or alter shipping information?
- How are orders received by the online store owner?
- Is this information in a form that you can integrate with your existing business (stock control systems/label printers etc)?
- Is it secure?
You may find the pdf below useful in writing a document to outline your e-commerce requirements. You can then give this document to a couple of website design or development companies to gain comparable quotations.
e-Commerce requirements template pdf
