Businesses often require a shop on their website which enables them to sell their products online. Customers all over the world will be able to make purchases 24 hours a day, at their own convenience. So what does an online shop require to get up and running and start taking credit card payments? To summarise, the shop needs shopping cart software, a reliable and secure payment system for accepting online payments, and a secure website.
Shopping Cart Software to Display Products Online
A business website needs a shopping cart to sell products online. This is the shop’s storefront which displays product pictures, descriptions and prices. Shopping cart software keeps track of the items customers want to buy, before taking them to the checkout where they can enter their billing and shipping details.
A good shopping cart should be easy to use, guiding customers through the purchasing process in a series of clear and simple steps. All prices and charges such as shipping costs and tax should be made clear from the start, before the customer gets to the checkout. Unexpected charges added to a purchase at the last minute can prompt a customer to abandon his or her purchase altogether.
Shopping cart software must also be manageable for the merchant. Products will need to be added and amended, price changes will need to be made, and stock will need to be monitored. The merchant will also need to be alerted when new customer orders are received, and be able to send order notifications.
Accepting Credit Card Payments Online
A merchant account with the ability to accept credit card payments online is required in addition to a shopping cart. If a business has a merchant account in place for accepting credit cards over the phone or in a store, the simplest and most straight forward solution may be to approach the same bank for the facility to accept credit card payments online.
An online payment gateway account is also needed to process online payments. This is a secure connection between the customer’s credit card account and the internet merchant account. The payment gateway verifies and authorises the customer’s payment information, enabling him or her to securely make payments online. Some examples of payment gateways include Authorize.net, CyberSource Gateway, Optimal Payments and RBS WorldPay.
Making Sure a Website is Secure
Many people worry about entering their credit or debit card details online, therefore it is important customers know their payment details will be protected before they make a purchase. The ‘https’ prefix in the website address bar and the padlock symbol in the status bar indicate a website is secure, and these are two of the reassurances that customers often look for before buying from an online shop.
Website security can be achieved by obtaining a SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate. This encrypts credit card information, ensuring it cannot be hacked, stolen and used fraudulently. Customers can safely enter their credit card details and other personal information on a web page with a SSL certificate. A website needs a dedicated IP address (a web hosting account that has its own unique address not shared by other accounts on the same server) to obtain SSL encryption.
The components of an online shop must be fully integrated and able to work together, that is, the shopping cart software must be compatible with the chosen payment gateway. A secure payment system is important for protecting the customer, and also for protecting the merchant against internet fraud, such as consumer identity theft and merchant identity theft.
Once a website has an online shop up and running, it is important to drive search engine traffic to it in order to make sales. To learn more, read How to Improve a Website’s Ranking in Google.
Sharon Kirby - Sharon is a freelance health writer and contributes to various print and online publications. Writing credits include Nursing Times, Good ...
