Whether the business is large or small, the end result is often stated in terms of the bottom line. For some, this means enhanced customer service or corporate identification is paramount, but in most cases, sales of a product or products directly to customers who visit the site is a prime consideration. In either case, the common term for doing business on the internet is e-commerce. In most cases, that involves sale and delivery of a product or products along with the ability to process payment.

There are two basic things that EVERY site that is involved with on-line transactions must have. One is a way to display products and take orders, and the second is a way for the customer to pay for them.

Shopping Carts or Product Information pages

Simply put, either a shopping cart or simple product information pages can both work. The sole question is how many products are involved and whether it's cost effective to have a shopping cart display products from a database rather than have static (individual) pages. If only a few products are involved and/or they aren't subject to frequent changes, static pages can work very well. If there are many items, or the items change often, a shopping cart is well worth the expense.

Static pages display the products in set pages, and that means to change a product, the page must be edited or updated by either someone in-house or by an outside agency. The cost for this is usually by the hour, so frequent price changes, and/or product changes can be expensive. Also, a secure order form that allows the customer to enter order, payment, and shipping information needs to be set up for static page sites. Payment can be handled through PayPal and "Buy Buttons" for ease of payment if that's preferable.

Most shopping carts generate pages “on the fly” from a database of products. That means that simply uploading an updated database will change the product offerings quickly and easily. Many also provide user interfaces to handle this if only a few product changes are necessary. We use ClickCartPro for many of our sites. This is a very complete program that can offer several different options for shipping and payment. It also can handle thousands of items with ease. A smaller version that will handle up to a hundred items is also available. This program can either be purchased or leased depending on which option the client prefers. If a client prefers another shopping cart program, we can install and configure those as well, or even have a custom program written particularly for the client.

In all cases, the important thing is that the order is taken and the information is sent to the merchant for processing quickly and seamlessly. A shopping cart usually will take the payment information, whether credit card or other means of payment and transmit it to the merchant or through a payment gateway. On-line processing requires a payment gateway or processor to handle payments. These are usually set up through one of the companies devoted to that form of payment processing, such as Verisign. If the client prefers, though, the information can be sent directly to the client for processing in-house.

Merchant Accounts and Payment Processors

For most, the ease with which a customer or potential customer can pay for the product or products offered is the difference between making a sale or losing the customer to another vendor. Security of the transaction, the discount rate charged by the commerce server involved, and ease of getting started are prime considerations for new and home businesses. Large and established merchants usually already have merchant accounts, but many, if not most, new business ventures find the process daunting. There are two parts to taking payments on-line, a payment processor and a merchant account.

A payment processor, such as Verisign, provides instant processing of credit card payments on-line. They charge a handling fee for each transaction which can vary widely depending on how long the merchant has been in business and the type(s) of products being sold. Payment processors can take a credit card on-line, approve it, and deposit the payment in the merchant account.

A merchant account is simply an account with a bank that allows the merchant to process credit card payments. Often, a person who is just starting out can get a merchant account through their bank. This is preferable if it's available since the bank knows the individual. If their bank does not handle these, there are several available on-line. In all cases, there is a handling fee or discount rate that will be charged. Payment processors can also assist in setting up a merchant account. If the merchant takes the credit card information, that information simply needs to be given to the bank providing the merchant account.

Other ways of taking payment on-line include services like PayPal, which can handle transfer of funds from one person to another. These can be for goods, services, or just about anything else. The only requirement is that both parties have to have an account. PayPal offers accounts for individuals and businesses.

For more information on how we can help you set up merchant accounts, shopping carts, or other e-commerce solutions, contact us.