ecommerce / online shops

Creating an Ecommerce website

You set up a retail business, you advertise in your local newspaper, you get customers coming into your store, and you receive payment at the cash register.

You then want to create an online store, and...how do you get customers? How do you receive payment? The concept is the same, but the steps are different. 
 
Step 1: Create your website 
If you don't have web design skills, you can hire a web design company to create a website for you. Think of it as hiring an architect or an interior decorator compared to setting up shop in an existing store.

With the services of a web design company, you can have a unique website template and website customised to your specific needs. A web development team can also add features such as Flash headers or any programming needed for your site. If your company image is critical, a custom-designed site that conveys the right professional image is a must.

Step 2: Set up an e-commerce store 
Your customers will browse at your website, select some items, and then pay for them. When you set up an ecommerce shopping cart, you're providing a way for your customers to bring their purchases to the cash register. The solution you choose should allow you to enter your products in a database and allow shoppers to choose products when they click on “Add to basket ” or something similar.

If you choose us to build you an ecommerce website your online store will have some of the following features :

  • Add, edit, and delete product categories and other information
  • Set VAT rates
  • Set delivery fees
  • Receive payment via numerous online and offline payment processing methods
  • Bill customers
  • And much more

Step 3: Get a merchant account and payment gateway 
When customers arrive at the checkout counter, you need a way for their payments to be transferred from their credit card accounts to your bank account. The method you choose may depend on your sales volume.

For high-volume sales, an e-commerce merchant account plus a payment gateway will meet your needs. A merchant account provider authorizes the transfer of payments to your account, and a payment gateway transfers the information from your customers financial institutions to yours.

Most merchant accounts have setup fees, transaction fees, monthly fees, and statement fees. The transaction fees are less than what you'd pay using a third party credit card processor such as PayPal.

For medium and low volume sales, PayPal is the best option.

PayPal has become a household name. Customers can send payment through PayPal via credit card or via money that they transfer into their PayPal account. While the fees per transaction are higher than with merchant accounts, there are no setup or monthly fees, and you don't need a payment gateway. You pay only when you have financial transactions.

Step 4: Create a secure payment environment 
A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate enables you to receive credit card information securely from your customers. When a payment page is using SSL data to encrypt data, a small image of a lock appears within the browser window.

With PayPal and other payment gayeways, SSL is already enabled as standard.

Step 5: Generate traffic
Your products are on display in your newly designed store, your shopping cart is set up and ready to use, and you have everything in place to be able to receive payments securely. Now all you need are customers.

This is where marketing comes in.

  • Submit your site to search engines.
  • Advertise your site.
  • Keep your customers updated with regular email newsletters.
  • Add more content to your website to keep it fresh.
  • Monitor your website traffic to see where it's coming from and how you can increase traffic for key content areas.

For further information or advice call 02920 004 055 or Contact us using our online form.