The whole success of shopping hinges on a successful transaction. This applies to physical shops and to online stores. The big difference is that when buying online you don’t handle the goods until they’re delivered to you, and you have no face-to-face contact with the seller.
This means that an ecommerce site has to be extremely user-friendly, so that the transaction goes smoothly, and the customer always understands what step to take in order to purchase the desired goods.
The Practical Details
Through an online store you can sell a wide category of goods, or you can specialise. You can also sell specific categories of items that are completely geared to online transactions, such as digital books and music, and software. The point is that ecommerce overcomes many of the limitations of having a physical shop.
In order for people to be able to buy successfully from you online they need to be able to place orders with you. This is a key ecommerce mechanism, and your website design should reflect this. You would, therefore, expect to make some sort of shopping cart available.
In addition to the shopping cart, your site will also need to be able to do the following: calculate VAT (where appropriate); process coupons, discounts and vouchers; capture your customers’ billing and delivery details; ensure your customers can accept your conditions of sale; and create invoice and delivery numbers.
What payment mechanism will your ecommerce site have? This requires a payment gateway, whereby you present payment options to your customers, and you can accept payment details such as debit or credit card numbers. Finally your payment gateway will require a mean of authenticating your customers, whether by password, CVC code or a combination of factors.
Next you have to consider delivery options. How will you ensure your customers get what they’ve ordered, and how will you manage customer returns? Remember, regardless of the running of your online store, you need to have the physical nuts and bolts in place.
Pay Monthly Web Design
When it comes to investing upfront in your ecommerce business, one sensible option is to choose a pay monthly web design package. This spreads the cost for you and it means you can get up and running sooner, and start building your business and offset what you sell against the cost of setting up.
LV Media offers expert web design for ecommerce. We understand how to build a site that will appeal to your target audience and make it easy for them to buy from you.
Contact us today to talk about our pay monthly web design packages. We’re sure we’ll have something that right up your street.