E-Commerce Websites

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The Internet is not only revolutionising the way we share information, but also the way we operate our commercial businesses. Accepting online payments increases the reach of your business to a worldwide audience.

Even if you don't plan to sell online, a professional-looking website is essential for any business. Potential customers can quickly and easily find out about your business, and the products or services you have to offer.

How Do I Set Up An E-Commerce Website?

There are two things you need in order to set up a working e-commerce website:

• A website (often with a shopping cart)

• A means of processing online payments

A Shopping Cart On Your Website

Online shoppers regularly use "shopping carts" to make their purchases. This is software code which keeps track of the products that a visitor has selected to buy from your website, until they proceed to the "checkout", where they can review their purchases and make payment. An online shopping cart conveniently enables shoppers to continue browsing your website after selecting individual products - just like in a real "bricks and mortar" supermarket.

Once the visitor has selected all the products they wish to buy, they are taken to a payment form on a web page which is secure (that is, it is encrypted, so that no other party can intrude on the transaction or access any information about it).

Some e-commerce websites may not require a shopping cart. If your website sells only one or two products, then you might be better off just having separate "Buy Now" buttons for them, or even just an online order form. However, shopping carts give ready convenience to the online shopper, and many e-commerce websites benefit from a simple shopping cart system.

We can set up a straightforward and easy-to-use shopping cart that will help your visitors make their purchases conveniently and with the minimum of fuss.

How Do I Set Up Secure Online Payments?

Broadly speaking there are two routes to accepting credit or debit cards payments on your website. The first is to obtain an Internet Merchant Account and use a Payment Processor (these may or may not be provided by the same company). The second is to use PayPal.

Obtaining An Internet Merchant Account And Using A Payment Services Processor

An Internet Merchant Account is a special facility that is arranged with a credit card clearing bank (or with a third-party independent Payment Services Processor, such as WorldPay), that allows you to process card transactions through their facilities. A Payment Services Processor is a financial institution, sometimes distinct from a bank, that processes data from credit card transactions. It provides authorization and refund services to online businesses accepting credit or debit cards, and is responsible for the distribution of funds between consumers and businesses. (A Payment Services Processor may sometimes be referred to as a Payment Processor, Payment Service Provider, or Transaction Processor.)

Independent Payment Processors such as WorldPay generally charge a setup fee and a yearly fee in addition to a commission on transactions.

When your website shoppers want to make payment, they are briefly taken to a form on a secure web page at the website of the chosen Processor. Following payment they return to your website.

If you choose to obtain an Internet Merchant Account and use a Payment Services Processor, we can integrate your website. Please contact us for further advice.

Using PayPal

PayPal is a Payment Services Processor company that does not require you to have an Internet Merchant Account.

PayPal is a widely used and trusted real-time payment company that is quickly becoming the global standard for online payments. With PayPal, any shopper or business with an email address can send or receive credit or debit card payments online in a secure, convenient and cost-effective fashion.

There are no setup fees, monthly fees, or gateway fees, and the transaction cost can be as low as 1.4% + £0.20 GBP per transaction. All you need is a free PayPal account.

With PayPal's Website Payments Standard, when customers on your website decide to 'check out' and make payment, they are taken to a form on a secure page hosted at PayPal. PayPal then processes the transaction, the customer returns to your website, and your funds arrive in seconds.

With PayPal's Website Payments Pro the procedure is essentially the same as that for Website Payments Standard, except the shopper doesn't have to leave your website to make the secure payment. There is a monthly charge (currently £20.00 GBP) for this more advanced type of processing.

With either method, your shoppers don't have to have a PayPal account in order to pay you securely online, thanks to PayPal's Account Optional feature. For shoppers who do have Paypal accounts (and there are currently 100 million of them), you can also accept PayPal balance transfers.

If you decide to use PayPal, we can seamlessly integrate your PayPal account with your e-commerce website (and with a shopping basket, if required).

To know more about PayPal, please click here to visit their website (opens in a new browser window or tab).

To find out more about having an e-commerce website created for you, please contact us.

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