nsCommerceSpace
New to E-Commerce?New to E-Commerce?
Whether you are starting a new business or already have a brick and mortar store that you're ready to take online, here are 5 key things to consider before starting.
1. Choose a Good Web Site Address
Select a great domain name (Web site address). Don't just include the name of your business in your domain name, but also include the names of your products or services. For example, if you sell shoes, add the word "shoes" to your domain name. Also, if your domain name ends in ".com", consider registering multiple domain extensions like ".net, .biz and .info". Also, register common misspellings of your name. You don't want to lose a sale because a customer makes a mistake in typing your domain name and arrives at a competitor's site!
2. Select the Right Shopping Cart Software
In order to sell products on your Web site, you need to be able to describe your business, build a catalog of your products, collect payments, and manage inventory and shipping. There are a few question you need to ask yourself when choosing which e-commerce solution best meets your needs:
- Does the solution include an integrated shopping cart so that I don't need additional software?
- Does it connect to accounting software like QuickBooks® so that I don't have to manually keep track of all purchases and payments from customers?
- Is it easy to build the Web site without any specialized computer knowledge like HTML?
- Is everything included that I need? (Website hosting, e-mail boxes, free customer service, etc.)
3. Apply For a Merchant Account to Accept Credit Cards
In order to accept credit card payments directly on your site, you need what is called a "merchant account." Before you apply for a merchant account make sure it works with your e-commerce software. Your merchant account links to your online store through a "payment gateway". Ask your merchant account provider which payment gateway they use to ensure it is compatible.
In addition to accepting credit cards, consider offering PayPal®, Google Checkout™ and e-checks. When a customer is ready to buy your product or service you want to make as easy possible for them!
4. Design Your Online Store to be User Friendly
Your primary focus when designing your storefront should be to make it easy for customers to find what they're looking for and to make customers comfortable in transacting business at your store. To do this, keep in mind these design guidelines:
- Use three main colors and avoid patterned backgrounds
- Prominently display your company's name, logo and tagline
- Make navigation simple and obvious
- Use product images with good resolution
- Keep your "Buy" or "Add to cart" buttons near the top of the page
- Update content regularly to attract recurring visitors and to keep the search engines satisfied
- Create and add links to these three essential pages: "About the Company," "Privacy Policy" and "Contact Us" in order to boost your site's credibility and customer trust factor.
Chose an e-commerce solution that embraces these design principals and allows you to build your own storefront or gives you the option to hire a professional e-commerce Web designer to build your store for you.
5. Secure Your Online Store for Safe Transactions
As an online merchant, you are responsible for ensuring that your customer’s financial data is protected and secure and that you meet credit card company security requirements. Look for references to Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) compliance.
You’ll need a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate to encrypt transactions and to display the “https” and padlock symbol that customers look for when shopping online. The ecommerce solution you select must support these industry standards for privacy and security.
Prominently display your store policies regarding refunds, exchanges, cancellations and shipping. The more secure your customers feel while shopping on your site, the more inclined they will be to make a purchase.
6. Promote Your New Store
Your online business won't succeed if customers can't find it when searching the Internet. Consider buying sponsored ads on search engines like Google® and Yahoo!® for quick recognition. This program is called pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. You also need to make the search engines can find your Web site in order to rank your Web in the search results when a user enters a keyword related to your product or service. This is known as search engine visibility, search engine optimization or SEO.
For more details on how to succeed with an online business, download our free whitepaper: "8 steps to E-Commerce Success"
