Know What's Needed in an Ecommerce Website

Ecommerce merchants have special needs to process payments online and seamless integration with payment providers and security of their customer's transactions SHOULD BE first on the priority list. Since the customer's credit information is not physically swiped, an online merchant will require certain steps. There are of course many options to choose from when selecting an ecommerce website platform as well as a shopping cart if needed. This may bring a few questions to mind along with our suggestions to guide you:

  1. Should I attempt to build my own ecommerce website? Not unless you are well versed with HTML and other markup language code and have lots and lots of time on your hands! This is meant for professionals in this specialized industry and they're well worth investing in. We can offer specific professional website development companies that we know are very good at what they do.
  2. Are all ecommerce website templates the same? Absolutely not! They all differ greatly. We suggest finding one that uses PHP code and has Search Engine Optimization (SEO) features built into it. Both of these features make your ecommerce website more easily read by search engines.
  3. How do I get a shopping cart? We suggest taking a look at our Shopping Carts page for more information, however we can suggest a professional website developer to assist with your shopping cart integration.
  4. Can I use any type of web hosting for my website? No, not all web hosting providers will provide your website with the resources and bandwidth needed to successfully operate an ecommerce website. Your website can crash at critical moments with the wrong hosting, or not setup at all.
  5. What about privacy issues with customer's credit information? If your website and payment gateway integration is setup properly, you will never have to see or store your customer's full credit card information during or after a transaction. Your website must have Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to transmit customer's data from your website to the payment processor. We have solutions to simplify this entire process for you. Contact us today and we'll help you get started with a FREE consultation.
  6. OK, now I'm confused. Can MerchantServices-Help.com just help me find somebody to do all this stuff for me? Absolutely! contact us today, tell us what type of business you have or plan to have, and we'll make suggestions based on your information. No obligation required.

Finding a Website Developer for Ecommerce

Website designers and website developers are not the same. Some do both, while most only do one or the other. What's the difference you ask? A website designer, the most common type, is much like an artist -- they make a website look nice (work with graphics) but usually with a lack of development skills to get a website to function properly and be easily found in a search. A website developer, on the other hand works the nuts and bolts of a website (the source code) but generally is not an artist like a website designer. When you blend the two together though, you get a well balanced website.

If you had to choose, the developer is the one for the job, especially for ecommerce websites. You are a business, therefore your website should be designed properly to get found using search engines like Google or others. After all, what good is a website if it cannot be found?

Professional website developers building website with search engines in mind use a method often referred to as SEO (Search Engine Optimization). SEO is the process (or the art) of creating quality, accessible content for both humans and search engines and designing the framework of a website to also be easily accessible. SEO can make or break a business website. Those who become aware of its use but ignore it due to expense often pay for it anyway through a lack of online business. Those who invest in SEO often praise its use and get an immediate return on their investment.

Contact us today, tell us what type of business you have or plan to have, and we'll help you find a professional website developer and designer. No obligation required.