Trying to find the right shopping cart solution for your website?

On the surface, the task might seem like it will be fairly easy—after all, just about everyone on the web offers a shopping cart solution these days.  GoDaddy has a shopping cart system you can purchase; same goes for 1&1, Yahoo!, and so many other web service providers.  Factor in the concept that many of these kinds of shopping cart services and instant storefronts can be had for about $20 a month, and it can sometimes look like an obvious choice.

But nothing is really ever that easy is it?

Here’s a more typical scenario that fits with what so many customers have expressed to us over the years as they decide to pursue a better solution:

Step One: Find a discount “one size fits all” shopping cart service that can be added on to or integrated with an existing website for just $19.99 a month.

Step Two: Sign up for said service, wait several months before finding the time to learn how to use and setup the new shopping cart system.

Step Three: Begin to set everything up, only to find out that it’s not going to integrate with the website quite as expected (but that’s okay, with some modification and tweaking, it just might work after all).

Step Four: Tweak, adjust.  Tweak, adjust.  After several weeks’ worth of making changes to and playing with all of the options, it looks like the discount shopping cart system is all set to go.  It finally works with the site.  Well, mostly, anyway.

Step Five: Begin uploading products to the shopping cart software.  This could be simpler, but after a couple more weeks’ worth of effort, it’s just about done.  Oh, and the E-commerce system is only going to allow a portion of the pictures you’d like to use for each product.  But at this point, it will just have to do.

Step Six: Launching the system live on the website is finally scheduled to take place in just a few days.  But now, there’s a pesky security certificate issue that just won’t seem to resolve itself.  Tech support for the shopping cart service keeps referring to an online help article that is totally unrelated to the problem that’s being experienced.  Very dissatisfied and frustrated right now…

Step Seven: After what has now been about seven months, the shopping cart system is still not working correctly.  The launch of the new website has been drastically postponed.  Let’s just scrap the whole thing and start over fresh from the beginning.

Step Eight: Call Sleepless Media.  Problem solved.  Should have done this about 7 months ago!

As you can see, subscribing to a one size fits all shopping cart system usually ends up being way more trouble than it’s really worth.  It’s never as quick or easy as promised.

Those who do find initial good results with pre-packaged E-commerce software almost always eventually discover that it just doesn’t offer the flexibility and scalability that they demand.  And then, there’s the whole customer/technical support issue (or lack thereof, to be more specific).

Do yourself a favor and give us a call here at Sleepless Media before being forced to experience the scenario expressed here first hand.  We can help with a true professional custom solution that perfectly fits your needs and can grow effortlessly in the future too (and, you might actually be surprised to find out that utilizing our expert knowledge isn’t quite as expensive as you might have thought either).

In our last blog post, Part 1 of “What You Need To Know About Payment Gateways,” we covered the basic essentials of what a payment gateway is and what purpose it serves.  To summarize, a payment gateway is the link that connects your website to your merchant account at your bank—it handles secure processing of your customers’ financial information and relays the payments right to your bank account.

While it is technically possible to skip the payment gateway all together and connect right to the financial institutions’ payment processing networks, doing so would be extremely cost prohibitive, due to the extreme degree of custom interface programming and the levels of access required.  Payment gateways have been created as a solution—a middleman—to this process.

The Step-By-Step Payment Process

In a typical payment gateway transaction, the process works in several different steps.  Let’s take a look at the step-by-step payment process from start to finish:

One: Your customer provides their payment details, including the credit card/debit card information necessary.

Two: The provided information is SSL encrypted and securely submitted by your e-commerce web server to your payment gateway.

Three: Your payment gateway service transmits this information securely to the processor of your merchant bank.

Four: The processor for your merchant bank passes the information along to the credit card network.

Five: The credit card network forwards the information one more time to the correct issuing bank of the customer’s credit card for approval and processing.

Six: After the cardholder’s issuing bank has made the decision to approve or decline the transaction, that information is now routed in a reverse path to the credit card network, merchant bank processor, and finally, back to your payment gateway.

Seven: The payment gateway sends the final results of the transaction back to your e-commerce system on your web server with the appropriate approval or decline status.  This enables a final confirmation to your customer in near real time.  Steps one through seven typically take place instantaneously.

Eight: Now that the transaction has been approved by all financial networks and banks involved, the settlement process of actually depositing the funds into your merchant account are handled within their own network, usually within a couple of days.

What do you think about this process?  If it seems rather complicated, that’s because it really is.  And this is another reason why using a dependable payment gateway to intervene and expedite the process on your behalf is downright essential.

What Payment Gateway Does Sleepless Media Recommend?

It’s a good question.  Here at Sleepless Media, we prefer to work with Authorize.net, and here’s why:

• Authorize.net integrates very nicely with most open-source and custom e-commerce software systems that we use on our customers’ websites.

• This payment gateway is very professional and reliable—one of the top in the business for sure.

• Using a payment gateway like Authorize.net on your website appears much more professional than using other third-party payment collectors.  The difference in conversion rate when using professional payment processing is a clear advantage.

• Their setup and transaction fees are very competitive (and often amount to be lower in cost than receiving payments from a third-party service would end up being).

There are additional reasons why we recommend Authorize.net to our customers for a majority of e-commerce applications that we work on—please just give us a call if you’d like to discuss the options and advantages in depth.

Remember, payment systems are probably one of the more complicated components of an e-commerce website.  It’s not that they’re all that difficult to work with or understand, it’s just that most folks just want their shopping cart and payment process to work—without paying too much attention to what the best available option actually is and why it’s best in the unique circumstance it’s being used.

We want to help you choose the best possible payment system for your new website!

When it comes to payment gateways, it’s pretty much a guarantee that they tend to be confusing to just about everyone!

Just a few quick examples of the confusion that payment gateways tend to cause to start things off:

• The small business owner knows that she needs a great website—but hasn’t given any thought on how she’ll actually conduct and process e-commerce payments online.  “What does it take to get this done,” she asks.

• The successful local sandwich/lunch place wants to add online ordering and delivery capability to their existing website—but they haven’t even considered that adding online payment capabilities really isn’t exactly web design; it’s a bit more in depth than that.

• The design guru you’ve hired to create your new mobile portrait photography service’s website (that just happens to be your cousin-in-law’s nephew) is recommending you use PayPal to collect your sitting fees online as a deposit on the session.  He doesn’t fully understand payment gateways though—PayPal is all he knows how to do and you’re not sure if this is the best way to go or not.

Simple, everyday scenarios like these happen all the time.  “I need to be able to accept online payments on the site—just do what you need to in order to make it happen.”  Sound like something you’ve heard…or perhaps were just about ready to say?

Well, if you’re not overly familiar with how online payment systems, and specifically payment gateways, actually work, please read on.  We’ll try and cover the basics as concisely—but clearly—as possible.

First Up…What Exactly Is A Payment Gateway Anyways?

Simple.  A payment gateway is the link between a website or an online storefront and the owner’s merchant account.  It’s what handles the collection of financial payment information and passes it along—securely—to be processed.  Once processed, the funds are placed within the merchant account at the bank.  Now this is a condensed version of what actually takes place in the whole process (and how long it actually takes to happen), but in a nutshell, it’s what makes online debit and credit card payments possible.  If there’s one thing to remember here, the takeaway is that if you want to accept online payments, you’ll need a gateway to connect the dots and make it happen.

What’s The Difference between PayPal & A Payment Gateway?

Many folks consider PayPal to be a payment gateway—and in a way, it can be—but when you’re just setting up the basic PayPal payment form or PayPal shopping cart on your website, this is not actually a payment gateway.  It does accomplish the task of exchanging funds from one party of the transaction to the other, but technically, PayPal is a third-party payment processor.  In other words, they receive the payment, settle it, and only then pay you (after fees are deducted)—it’s simpler for some, but it also removes a major degree of control and neutrality from the overall payment process.  The takeaway is this:  There are pros and cons of PayPal—and we’ll discuss them in detail a bit later—but the basic PayPal setup is not really a payment gateway; there are major differences.

Starting to see that payment gateways are a complex topic, and by all means, a component that we all need to understand as much as possible about in order to run a great E-commerce website?  Okay then, we’re out of time for today, but as soon as you’re ready, be sure to check out Part 2 of What You Need To Know About Payment Gateways.

It’s hard to believe that 2009 is drawing to a close already.  Time flys, and so do plans to grow and improve websites and online marketing plans.  The good news is that with the fresh start of a new year, you can start anew with making improvements to your websites at the same time and not have to feel overwhelmed.  Keeping this in mind, here are just a few small—but effective—ways to improve your website in 2010.

Upgrade to more professional web hosting. Few realize it before making the upgrade, but the bargain-rate shared hosting services that many sites utilize can really adversely effect site performance and search engine performance.  Moving your site to a better web hosting package can be just the performance boost you’ve been seeking—and the price could possibly even be less than you’re paying now.

Continue to expand your social networking efforts. If 2009 was the year of Facebook and Twitter really going mainstream, then just imagine what 2010 will bring for social networking!  The benefits of using social networking to drive traffic to your website are undeniable.  If you’ve already begun, then by all means—keep it up!  And if not, don’t worry…it’s not too late to get started now.  Just try not to put it off until the next new year rolls around.

Integrate CMS into your website. Have a great website already, but beginning to get tired of having to pay the pros every time there’s a small content update to make to the site?  If this sounds all-too-familiar, adding a CMS (content management system) will be the improvement of the year for you.  It’s simply a system that enables you to log in and make content edits and additions with a few simple clicks.  Cost savings and time savings from CMS really add up quickly!

Improve your existing website copy. Speaking of adding and editing your website’s copy, have you given this much thought since first developing your website?  It’s important to keep your website’s written content fresh, accurate, and up-to-date.  After all, visitors and search engines alike practically demand it.

Beef up your site’s security. With a seemingly ever-growing onslaught of security exploits to worry about, web users these days are becoming more and more conscious and wary about what sites they visit and how they transmit information on the web.  Regardless of if your website is e-Commerce enabled or not, you still need to do frequent security audits on your site to make sure your visitors are receiving a safe experience.  Making sure your security certificates are all up to date is just one such example in this department.

Develop an organic SEO development plan. Ready to start improving your website’s organic SEO so you don’t have to spend so much on PPC and other costly paid online marketing promotions in 2010?  Well, the good news here is that it’s simpler than ever to improve your site with quality organic search optimization.  Here are a few SEO pointers to help you get started.  And by laying out a solid plan at the beginning of the year, and working diligently to implement it accordingly, you might even be surprised at how simple, affordable, and downright effective it can be!

Let 2010 be the year that you take your website and your business to the next level (and know that we’re here to help you when you need it).  Wishing you all of the best in the New Year!

Providing a safe, secure, and reliable e-commerce experience for your customers is vital at a time when online competition is just downright fierce.  The last thing you want to do is work hard to attain a new customer online, only to lose them because of a security problem…even if it is just a “glitch” and not a real exploit.  Thankfully, securing your e-commerce website really isn’t all that difficult; it just requires competent experience by those putting together the system.

SSL Security Certificate Encryption

This is the baseline level of providing security between your visitors and your website—it’s an absolute must for any e-commerce site for sure.  Using SSL encryption means that all private data provided and transmitted in a transaction is completely locked down to any and all would-be prying eyes out there along the stream of transmitted information.

Getting such a security certificate does require the authentication of your website first; in other words, the issuer does a check before the certificate is issued to make sure you are who you say you are.  Providing this standard level of security can also involve the need for a dedicated IP address on your web hosting.  This is also a good thing for e-commerce website owners, as web hosting with a dedicated IP is much more professional than potentially sharing an IP address with bad neighbors on shared hosting.

Use A Respectable E-Commerce System

It’s simply going to work better, be better and more thoroughly tested, and come across as more professional to your website’s customers than one that’s hacked together by an amateur.  Also, when you’re using professional e-commerce software, like open-source osCommerce for example, the developers of the system will usually work hard to release updates and security fixes any time a potential problem is exposed.  In an age where hackers are often several steps ahead of the curve, it’s good to know that experts are right there alongside as well, keeping the software safe and secure on your behalf.

Ensure Custom-Developed E-Commerce Software Is Secure

Using widely available open-source e-commerce software such as osCommerce is a popular and safe way to go for many websites.  However, sometimes something a little bit more custom is necessary to meet your website’s objectives.  If this is the case, it’s no problem at all—in fact, in some cases, custom e-commerce software can actually be more secure because it’s not a “popular” target for the bad guys.

Now at the same time, you’ve definitely got to make absolutely certain that the custom software your website uses has been built by true experts with years of experience developing security-focused commerce software applications, not just some kid down the block that knows how to make websites.  At Sleepless Media, custom secure platforms are actually one of our specialties.

Putting All The Pieces Together…

Naturally, there are additional steps that should be taken to really ensure an enterprise-level secure e-commerce experience for your website’s visitors—and we’ll be more than happy to discuss these ideas with you at any time.  Just give us a call!

It’s always a good thing to know that you have choices!  With that said, choosing the best online payment processing solution for your website can be a complicated decision to make.  Let’s take a look at two of the most popular options—Authorize.net and PayPal.

The 30 Second Version…

Using Authorize.net as a payment gateway will make your site look more professional and it scales really nicely with even the largest e-commerce shopping cart deployments.  PayPal is generally more complex to integrate and use, but it does offer a baseline solution to those just offering one or two products for sale on their website.

But There’s More To The Story!

First of all, we need to discuss exactly how both of these systems work.  Authorize.net, a payment gateway, provides the integral link between your website, your customer’s credit card, and your merchant bank account.  You’ll still need to have a traditional merchant account to use it—it’s just what enables your traditional merchant account to work with your website.

On the other hand, PayPal is a third party payment processor.  No merchant account is required on your behalf—they accept just accept payments directly from your customer, take their percentage and allow you to withdraw the remaining funds from your PayPal account at your convenience.

Side-By-Side Benefits & Disadvantages:

Authorize.net

Payment gateway that connects your website’s e-commerce software to your credit card merchant account.

Fees:

Per quote.  Using a payment gateway and a merchant account will involve both transactional fees and monthly fees.

Benefits:

• Offers fraud protection.
• Allows you to use the merchant bank of your choice (or your existing merchant account) and receive all of the benefits of doing so.
• Simpler & fewer steps for the customer to complete a transaction.
• Plug and play integration with most top line e-commerce software.
• Negotiable fee structure becomes more and more attractive for higher volume sellers.
• Many customers are more apt to trust merchants with their own merchant accounts (because of the requirements merchants are obliged to abide by).

Disadvantages:

• Certain financial requirements (such as having good credit) are a must for being approved for a merchant account.

PayPal

3^rd party processor collects payments on your behalf for a fee.

Fees:

There is no monthly fee to use PayPal, just a per transaction fee.  This amounts to $0.30 plus 1.9 to 2.9% of the transaction amount.

Benefits:

• Offers fraud protection to both buyers and sellers.
• Gives your customer a trusted name to process their payments—those familiar with the service can assume that PayPal will stand behind them in specified circumstances.
• There are very few restrictions on who is allowed to create an account and begin accepting payments.

Disadvantages:

• Processing a customer’s payment through PayPal adds an extra step to the checkout process—and the opportunity for the customer to click away from finishing the transaction.
• Extra steps are required to claim, transfer, and account for money that’s been paid to you.

In the end, we definitely recommend going the Authorize.net route whenever possible.  You’ll certainly benefit from the professional image that corresponds with its seamless integration into your website’s e-commerce platform!

Overwhelmed while trying to select the best e-commerce shopping cart solution for your website?  If so, it’s completely understandable-after all, this is a really complicated area of internet technology these days.

What’s our advice?  Well, first things first, take a deep breath and try to slow down.  It’s just not worth rushing into the wrong solution.  Next, it’s time to take a look at the basics of choosing the right e-commerce solution.  Ready?

Define Your Specific E-Commerce Needs.

For example, will you be selling thousands of different products across a wide variety of categories?  Perhaps you’re just seeking the best shopping cart solution to sell a single product…maybe an e-book or something similar.  Think about the overall objective you’d like to accomplish with the shopping cart solution before going any further-it’s incredibly easy to talk ourselves into a very complex solution when something simple, easy, and more affordable will not only suffice, but probably even work better for the particular situation.

Free Solution, Premium Software, Open Source – What’s The Difference?

Because there are so many different types of e-commerce out there, it’s only natural that the shopping cart solutions being offered are just as diverse.  It can be confusing to decipher one variety from the next, but here’s kind of a quick, simple rundown:

• Free Shopping Cart Solution – This is something like the solution offered by PayPal to their customers (or something similar anyway). In this case, the shopping cart is set up through the account with that service and is designed to direct transactions on your site through the service for payment processing. It’s a win-win in simple cases…you’ll receive an easy way to accept payment and enable e-commerce on your site, while the service will take a small percentage fee to cover their end of the deal. Again, because this option is not a robust, full-scale solution, it’s probably best for those promoting a smaller product inventory.

• Premium E-Commerce Software – There are several well-known names out there when it comes to premium e-commerce shopping cart software. Most premium choices available are very good-packed with both practical and advanced feature sets and designed to handle complete e-commerce inventory management, payment processing, and beyond. In many cases, it’s worth paying extra for a premium solution for the support alone-and in this regard, it’s always a good idea to make sure that the support offered will stand up to that which is promised before committing to the purchase.

• Open Sources Shopping Cart Software – This type of e-commerce solution is becoming more and more popular with web developers and e-tailers alike for good reason…it’s free! Many of the open source options available are truly excellent. One thing that is typically lacking in this category though, is the ability to pick up the phone and call for support. Not usually a problem if your web designer or developer is your point of contact on all such issues (and they know their way around the software they’ve installed), but in the worst cases, you could end up being left out in the dark.

The Last Word.

As with any major purchase, doing the background first will save lots of hassle, headache, and expense later on.  Be sure to ask plenty of questions.  Don’t just settle for a one-size-fits-all solution for your website’s e-commerce shopping care solution.

Authorize.net is the #1 payment gateway used in e-commerce websites to take online payments and we use this gateway on our e-commerce web development projects almost exclusively. Sleepless Media is an authorized Authorize.net reseller and offers this service as a convenience to our clients.

To sign up for an Authorize.net Payment Gateway online, please click here.

You’ll need to create a Login ID, and then sign in with the ID and password to start the online application process.

If you prefer, you can also download the application form and fax it in to apply. Just download the Authorize.net Application Form. (PDF)

Once you’ve downloaded the application form, you must fill it out based on your needs, and fax it directly to authorize.net at (801) 492-6546. If you need any help filling out the form, please contact us.

For more information on Authorize.net products and services, please visit their website at www.authorize.net.

Sometimes your e-commerce website needs are extremely custom, and would have a hard time squeezing into an off-the-shelf cart like osCommerce, X Cart, Prostores or Zen Cart. In these situations, we find that building a completely custom online store for you, that fits your every need, is a far better option for both your budget and the flexibility.

Sleepless Media specializes in building custom shopping carts in PHP/MySQL. All of our stores are SSL Security enabled and make it easy to keep your products and your entire website up to date at all times.

For more information on our Custom E-Commerce Website Development, Contact Us.

We use authorize.net exclusively as the payment gateway in both our osCommerce and custom e-commerce carts. Sleepless Media is an authorized Authorize.net reseller so please contact us if you are interested in signing up.

To sign up for an Authorize.net Payment Gateway online, please click here.

You’ll need to create a Login ID, and then sign in with the ID and password to start the online application process.

For more information, visit their website at www.authorize.net or contact us with any questions or comments.