Electronic commerce or ecommerce is a term for any type of business, or commercial transaction, that involves the transfer of information across the Internet. It covers a range of different types of businesses, from consumer based retail sites, through auction or music sites, to business exchanges trading goods and services between corporations. It is currently one of the most important aspects of the Internet to emerge.
Ecommerce allows consumers to electronically exchange goods and services with no barriers of time or distance. Electronic commerce has expanded rapidly over the past five years and is predicted to continue at this rate, or even accelerate. In the near future the boundaries between "conventional" and "electronic" commerce will become increasingly blurred as more and more businesses move sections of their operations onto the Internet.
What Is Online Payment Processing?
When a customer purchases products from your site with a credit card, you or your site software will request approval that the card is valid and that sufficient funds are available in the customer’s account for the purchase. On approval, the bank will reply with an authorization number and the order will be officially "captured". In the next step, the merchandise or service is sent to the customer and the Merchant informs the bank where the Merchant Account is held.
The bank then deposits funds into the Merchant Account as the customer’s account is debited the cost of the products. The bank of your Merchant Account will remove the necessary service fees and complete the transaction.
Offline processing entails some labor on the part of the Merchant, but is easiest to adapt an existing business. In this case, a business’s current credit card processor will suffice.
Real-time processing requires little or no intervention by the Merchant, and is ideal for businesses in need of processing hundreds of orders per month. Credit Card numbers are received through the Internet and cleared by Cyber Cash online processing.
What Is A Merchant Account?
All merchants of all sizes and types of business must open a Merchant Account in order to receive credit card orders and clear the transactions. The Merchant Account acts as the deposit location for the customers money.The bank that you choose to house your Merchant Account will take a small percentage of the sale as a service fee. This fee is extracted at the point of each sale.
What Are The Benefits Of E-Commerce?
Seller Benefits:
- Overhead cost of an Ecommerce web site is generally much less than the cost of a physical storefront.
- You have the ability to reach customers all over the world rather than being limited to a certain geographical location.
Customer Benefits:
- Order your products without leaving their home
- Security knowing every transaction is secure.
- Purchases will be delivered directly to their door.
- Search and find what they are looking for instantly.
- Viewing any or all of your product specifications and photographs
- Choosing from a variety of options such as size and color
- Checking how much they have "spent" before committing to a purchase
- Contact you for customer service
Is An Ecommerce Website Appropriate If My Business Is Small?
Absolutely - one of the key benefits is that an ecommerce website gives you access to new markets and customers with only a small investment. It's an excellent way for businesses to grow without having to employ sales staff or negotiate distribution deals.
How Long Does It Take To Build An Ecommerce Website?
That depends on how complicated the site will be. It's possible to have one up and running in two to three weeks.
How Do I Collect Orders On My Web Site?
The most common methods are using a simple online order form, or a shopping cart system with an order form. Once your customer completes your online order form the order can be delivered to you via email, saved to a text file or saved to a database file on your web site for you to retrieve.
Upon receipt of your customer's order you can submit their credit card and payment information to your merchant account provider and deliver your product or service.
What Is A Payment-Processing Gateway?
PPG is basically a system of financial transaction on the Internet. It involves the merchant's acquiring bank (the owner of the shopping mall), the customer (who is using his credit card), and the payment gateway infra structure provider.
As soon as the customer punches his credit card details on the secured page of the merchant's virtual shopping mall, it is authenticated by the issuing bank and then accepted by the acquiring bank. Now the customer is entitled for the delivery of the selected item. Once the proof of delivery is presented to the acquiring bank the amount is transferred into the merchant's account.
What is a CMS?
A content management system, or CMS, is a web application designed to make it easy for non-technical users to add, edit and manage a website.
How does CMS work?
CMS runs on your local computer, continuously monitoring a special email account you set up for your content authors. When an email message comes in, CMS splits out any imbedded image files and converts the email message to properly formatted HTML and XML. Then depending upon your settings it FTP's (or copies) these new content files to your server updating your web page. You can even configure CMS to update a portion of a page.
If I Choose A Cms System Or Content Management System - Can I Be Sure That My Webpages Are "SEO Friendly"?
Yes with the CMS Systems all web pages created are Search Engine Friendly - you can even add your own search engine Meta tags to each individual web page if desired. The CMS tools are easy to use - effective and intuitive.
Can I Update My Website Content?
If the website we have designed for you includes a Content Management System then you can access your administration areas from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection and make updates instantly as frequently as you wish.
If your website is a smaller website and was designed without using this type of system and you don't have any html. Skills, then we can update the website for you. Our charges are very reasonable.
Is There Any Training Provided With The Content Management System - CMS?
The Content Management Systems really are very easy to use and do have explanatory notes included where necessary. We run through the administration screens with you when we design the site for you - however if at any time you have any questions we are available at the end of the telephone to run through the procedures or answer any queries you may have.
