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).

Want to create an online store?  If so, welcome to the exciting world of e-commerce!  You should know that building your online store correctly the first time saves lots of headache and hassle down the road.  To help you get started on the right path, here’s an overview of the 7 must-have components of an online store:

1.  Domain Name – Just like opening any business, you’ll need a name—but you’ll also need an address too, right?  Well, in many cases, your domain name is kind of your website address and name rolled into one.  Getting your domain name just right is important—here’s how to choose the right domain name.

2.  Web Hosting – If you think of your domain name as your address, then your web hosting could be considered your online business’s “building.”  Technically, your web host is the computer server for your website—it’s where all of your website files are stored for the world to see.  Just like you would avoid choosing a dilapidated, falling down building to host your brick and mortar business, you certainly don’t want to skimp when it comes to your online web hosting either.

3.  Dedicated IP Address – Without getting overly technical, one vital benefit of using a dedicated IP address is the fact that you won’t be penalized for having “bad neighbors” on a shared IP.  In other words, with cheap hosting, it’s common to share your IP with up to hundreds of different websites.  If just one of these sites uses black hat SEO tactics or broadcasts spam, you’ll be subject to penalties from the search engines…simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  If you’re serious about your online business, then it’s definitely wise to procure a dedicated IP address so you’re not adversely affected by bad neighbors.

4.  Web Design – As an online business, the image you portray to your customers can either make or break you.  Sure, web design must be eye appealing—it must look awesome—but at the same time, there are other components that quality, professional web design must account for too.  Effective navigation, accessibility, ease of use, and clean standards-compliant coding are just a few web design goals you should seek to achieve for your online store.

5.  Shopping Cart Software – This is what enables customers to browse through your portfolio of products, select the items and quantities they’d like to purchase, and ultimately, enter their contact and purchasing information to complete the deal.  Essentially, your shopping cart software works in harmony with your web design.  No online store would be complete without shopping care software!

6.  SSL Security Certificate – When it comes time to collect sensitive information from your customers to facilitate a sale, you’ll need a way to make sure that the contact and payment details they provide are transmitted securely across the internet without making it privy to prying eyes.  This is accomplished by maintaining and installing an SSL security certificate to ensure your customers that their data will be fully encrypted as it’s transferred.

7.  Payment Gateway – Finally, the last step in the online store process before fulfillment takes place is collecting the payment.  In most cases, the best way to achieve this is by using a merchant account provided by a bank along with a payment gateway (like Authorize.Net) to actually carry out the transaction.  It is this vital link that connects your store’s online shopping cart to your bank account.

While these 7 components are the basics of any online store, naturally there are few more things to consider as well.  This is why it always helps to work with experienced pros to get it right the first time!

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.