Web Design & Development

Ecommerce Web sites - How an Online Store Works

E-commerce is basically selling products and/or services and processing payments over the Internet. E-commerce is short for Electronic Commerce. You've seen pages that you can click on buttons to "add to cart" and then use a credit card or PayPal to pay for purchases on the Internet - that's e-commerce! One of the most important concepts in the development of an online store is the determination of product categories.  You can think of these as virtual aisles in a store. You will create (or place) your products in these aisles. The customer browses through these aisles on the Internet looking for the product that interests them most. When they find what they want, they can add it to their virtual shopping cart.   When they are finished shopping, they can go onto the checkout page where they provide their shipping information and payment details. The software verifies the payment, completes the sale, and provides the customer with an invoice or purchase confirmation.  As orders are placed, you receive e-mail messages confirming/informing you that a transaction has taken place in your store.  You can then connect to the server and download the orders.  Realtime processing automates this process by securely (though a gateway provider) authenticating the buyer's credit card, then putting the money in your account while the shopping cart lets you know what was purchased so you can ship it. Security must be in place either way, but because the second method accesses your account directly, it is significantly more expensive to do.

Database Development

Integrating a database into your web site is where real power and functionality come into play and is almost necessary with e-commerce ability. In small shopping carts, the database is hosted by the company providing the shopping cart. This is a very reasonably priced solution for a business as your site will be less expensive to build. However, databases aren't just for keeping track of items in the shopping cart - they can be used for an infinite number of things - event calendars, names and addresses, articles, and more.

How do I Sell My Products or Services On-line?

Everyone has needs and expectations that are different, therefore solutions will be different based on the products/services needed, the number of products or services offered, how the product/service is delivered, managing of inventory, the end-user demographic and how payments are collected.  There are many ways to approach an E-commerce development so once we find out your needs, the choice of chart will almost always be dictated by your needs. The cost of the cart can vary considerably.

Choosing a cost effective solution

The solution may be a full-blown E-commerce web site that will sell your products 24 X 7, or it may be a customized database for the end-user to order products to be billed to an open account. It may be a fully integrated merchant account databased store that can perform inventory of thousands of items, or a simple "free" shopping cart attached to Paypal.  Whatever the situation, you don't want more cart than you need or expect to grow into.  There are thousands of carts available today - all with various features and limitations as to how much it can be customized.  Research is important to find the best cart for your needs.

Is it working?

Too many people are coming to your commerce site and not buying a thing. How do we know? Because that's the case with every e-commerce site that's been evaluated for shop-ability. Shop-ability is the ease and comfort with which visitors can complete a purchase transaction on a Web site. Check your logs, check your bank account; like most other sites, you are probably failing to convert browsers to buyers. Research and experience is important before you actually dive into building the cart. It can pay to have an expert research what may be required to make your site a more comfortable place to shop, using an understanding of consumer psychology, business approaches, and usability improvements. These techniques work, and are worth paying for, because you'll have a site with a user experience that provides a substantial lead and competitive advantage over your competitors.

Make Buyers Feel Comfortable

Many Internet visitors are uncomfortable with the idea of purchasing goods online. If you reduce their fears, you're one step closer to winning a customer. You reduce their fears with a professionally built, well thought out shopping experience with the proper security in place.

Credibility

Your site needs to be perceived as reputable and credible if it's going to succeed. You want a presence that says you're serious and committed to building a successful online business. If visitors see a site where the details are in order, it creates the impression the business behind it is run by a reputable merchant.

This means keeping the site simple and professional. Stay away from distractions that make the site look cheap (such as cheesy graphics, bad clip art, flaming logos, and blinking text). The site can be tasteful without being fancy or cluttered. Sometimes simple is best!

Keep it fresh

Use a consistent editorial tone that complements the purpose of your site, but most of all, keep the content fresh! Proofread and polish your content, if your site is littered with typos and useless information, it can only communicate negative messages about your attention to detail.

Don't let the site get old! Nothing indicates neglect more than dated information, such as a News section that hasn't been updated in two years. When a user sees things like that, they may even think the company is out of business. If you don't plan to update the content, don't publish it. A maintenance contract is useful in this regard.

The Law

A reputable e-commerce site has clearly defined policies; the most important of these are about security/fraud protection, returns, and privacy. These policies let visitors know the site has a consistent and documented set of procedures. Also, they should be concise and clear and no legalese. Even if people never read the policies, they often find comfort in simply knowing they exist.

Why are you hiding?

Don't be afraid to let your customers see who you are. It's nice to see real people at your business. Provide easy-to-find contact and customer support information, perhaps as often as every page. It doesn't hurt to have a photo of an attractive, good looking customer service rep either! Phone numbers and e-mail addresses are helpful. Photos of customer contact people are nice. Even though you won't receive much snail mail, a postal address lets visitors know a physical location exists, which is valuable in establishing a reputation as a legitimate company. When your company produces correspondence, either through customer service or transaction completion notifications, address the user in a professional yet personal tone. Ideally, your paper stationery should reflect the same logos and look as your website - giving a consistent and strong brand.

Use Promotions

First-time buyer promotions and incentives will make visitors think they've found deals they can't pass up. When people think they're about to score, they'll lower their guards and become eager to complete the transaction. And, since they think they're getting such a good deal, their perceived risk has been lowered. Common promotions to attract new customers include discounts when a purchase reaches a specific amount (for example, $20 off orders of $50 or more), free shipping, free returns, or first-time discounts (15 percent off your first order).

But, can they find it?

You'd be surprised at how hard it is to find the products at some e-commerce sites. Give a product a high profile on your site, and it is likely to become a bestseller. But choose carefully. Visitors often assume that promotional items are handpicked by the site's staff and that the products have been favorably received by other consumers. Select an item you want to sell that has a broad interest and generates a good profit. Or, promote a product that is such a must-have that people will buy it on the spot.

Education can only help

The more knowledgeable consumers are about a product, the more comfortable they are buying it. Visitors are often reluctant to complete a purchase because they don't know enough about the product to be certain it fits their needs. If they're interested in learning more and you fail to teach them, they may leave your site to research elsewhere, perhaps a competitor's site. Provide lots of photos, detailed information, specifications, anything that will help the purchaser feel secure he knows what he's buying. Hiding the details only sends them elsewhere to find the information they need. To further educate and improve credibility, you can also try supplementing your own content with manufacturer specs or expert opinions and reviews.

OK, where IS it???

Provide several intuitive ways for customers to find what they are looking for. In a traditional store, products generally reside in a single physical location. For example, milk is in the dairy counter. But online they can look for it many ways...they can search for "Milk", go to the dairy department, or search for "White cow product". Think how your customers might look for items and group them accordingly.

Quantity!!!

Once customers have decided they're going to purchase from you, they've made a big decision, so try to sell them related merchandise. Have banners or pop ups that allow them to choose related items. Using our milk example - have a link to the chocolate syrup and straws. Even better, bundle those items together and create a package that a customer can add to his or her cart in one click. This takes you from one sale to potentially five sales. Tunneling? (no we don't mean underground!)A " tunnel" is a path that leads customers through the checkout process and culminates with a confirmed sale. The site should naturally flow and customers should be able to easily navigate through the tunnel. Once visitors start "tunneling" to buy, make it easy for them. Of course, you want visitors to explore your site and see what you have to offer. However, once they have merchandise in their shopping carts and are ready to check out, you need to take them into the tunnel. As they enter the tunnel, orient the soon-to-be customers by letting them know what information they will need to complete and where they are in the process. When they make it to the end, you complete the sale, generate revenue, and add a customer. Don't ask too much During the transaction, collect only the information you need to complete the transaction, typically the billing and shipping information. If you must gather additional personal information, wait until the transaction is complete, and then start gathering secondary information such as demographic and lifestyle data. The more information the user needs to supply before the purchase, the greater the likelihood that customers will become annoyed or cause errors and leave the site. Collecting personal- and marketing-related information goes against the shopping experience, so put it off it until later. Anticipate Potential customers will have questions. Look at your site's e-mail and phone inquiries and prepare a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs). Then provide the answers to these questions where visitors will see or have convenient access to them. Before visitors submit orders, let them edit and confirm all the details. This should include an itemized list of what is in the cart, total order cost, shipping/payment address, and an estimated delivery date.

NEVER "surprise submit" the order before the user expects it. Once the customer has submitted the order, provide confirmation that it has been accepted and is being processed. Loyalty It's cheaper and easier to have customers return than it is to find new ones and it's easier to get a customer to return than to get a new one to buy. Keep visitors coming back .A customer should receive the items they ordered as described and on time. If an item must be back ordered, inform your customers about how that process works and when they can expect delivery. When someone makes a purchase from your site, you've converted a browser into a buyer - no easy task!During the initial purchase, the system should store some basic personal information in an account (by cookie or on the host site) that can be used to make subsequent purchases simpler. Storing information about return visitors significantly reduces the number of steps needed to complete a purchase. Fewer steps means less possibility of errors and less time to complete the transaction. Make it easy for your customers to return and buy from you again. Make sure you ask for this when your site is created!

If you'd like an online store, give us a call.  C O'Malley & Associates Web Design expertise will bring you growth and satisfied customers.

Want an e-commerce enabled web site?