oggyswain Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Can anyone give me the rundown of what I need for an ecommerce site? I know I need the website but besides that. I have been calling my bank about getting a merchant account. Is there a preset package from any company that any of you have dealt with. I already have a paypal account but most people I don't think want to open up a paypal account to pay for things. I am in a service industry and have had many people ask If I take credit cards, which I currently do not. but I want to be able to have them pay on my site. Any ideas? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newseed Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 (edited) Most banks that offer merchant accounts will also provide info on how to set it up for your website. You will need to ask them for details. Paypal can provide visitors a means to pay via credit without them requiring to open a Paypal account. I believe it's Paypal Pro or higher that gives you this functionality. Check with Paypal. As with any ecommerce stores you will need at SSL for secure online shopping (https). Some are free but I recommend Comondo or any other service that provides at least a 128 bit encryption or higher. Don't fall for those encryption of 256 bit or higher. Not that there is anything wrong with them but instead it will be more than what you need it for. As for Paypal, they handle the encryption unless you decide that you want to the customers' data (name, address, credit card, etc.) on file on your site. Finally, what shopping cart should you use? There are certainly some freebies out there that may do the job that you reqire but you may need a commercial shopping cart software that gives you more features and functionalities. I have seen number of clients that have been turned off by commercial software prices thus they went with a free or low-cost shopping cart only to find out later they made the wrong choice. If you do not plan on making this website as your primary source of income then using a low-cost or free shopping cart will work for you. Otherwise, you need to look at your long term goal on how to get the best results and sometimes that means pay a little more now (an investment) to get a good return later. Finally, design!!. All too important! A good design must be easy to navigate, read, easy on the eyes that is not too busy (flickering ads, marquees, etc.). Also, Your product images are important. I have seen too many times that the clients would just take their own snapshots, upload them to their products and later find that their amateurish product images does not justify the professional design. Either have them professional done or in contact with the product manufacturer to see if they will allow you to use their images. That's it in a nutshell. Edited February 10, 2011 by Eddie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggyswain Posted February 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Most banks that offer merchant accounts will also provide info on how to set it up for your website. You will need to ask them for details. Paypal can provide visitors a means to pay via credit without them requiring to open a Paypal account. I believe it's Paypal Pro or higher that gives you this functionality. Check with Paypal. As with any ecommerce stores you will need at SSL for secure online shopping (https). Some are free but I recommend Comondo or any other service that provides at least a 128 bit encryption or higher. Don't fall for those encryption of 256 bit or higher. Not that there is anything wrong with them but instead it will be more than what you need it for. As for Paypal, they handle the encryption unless you decide that you want to the customers' data (name, address, credit card, etc.) on file on your site. Finally, what shopping cart should you use? There are certainly some freebies out there that may do the job that you reqire but you may need a commercial shopping cart software that gives you more features and functionalities. I have seen number of clients that have been turned off by commercial software prices thus they went with a free or low-cost shopping cart only to find out later they made the wrong choice. If you do not plan on making this website as your primary source of income then using a low-cost or free shopping cart will work for you. Otherwise, you need to look at your long term goal on how to get the best results and sometimes that means pay a little more now (an investment) to get a good return later. Finally, design!!. All too important! A good design must be easy to navigate, read, easy on the eyes that is not too busy (flickering ads, marquees, etc.). Also, Your product images are important. I have seen too many times that the clients would just take their own snapshots, upload them to their products and later find that their amateurish product images does not justify the professional design. Either have them professional done or in contact with the product manufacturer to see if they will allow you to use their images. That's it in a nutshell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggyswain Posted February 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 Great thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.