These days, it seems everyone has an online shop that sells products and services.
And rightfully so.
With 71% of people believing they can get a better deal online, it’s no wonder businesses of all sizes and kinds are throwing up eCommerce stores to supplement their income.
To add to that, it is estimated that by 2019, there will be nearly 224 million digital shoppers in the United States alone.
Online shopping is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that spans the globe. People all over choose to buy online because it is simple, easy to price compare, and is relatively low pressure. Plus, they can do it from the comfort of their own home if they choose to.
And in response, as I mentioned above, website owners worldwide are jumping in and building their very own eCommerce shop so they too can reap the benefits online shopping brings to business owners.
But what if you are just starting out in the eCommerce biz? How are you supposed to know what you need on your website in order to securely collect payments from your customers?
[clickToTweet tweet=”Find out what essentials you need on your eCommerce website in order to accept payments.” quote=”Find out what essentials you need on your eCommerce website in order to accept payments.”]
If this is something you are struggling with, keep reading. Today I have a list of what it takes for you to accept payments on your website so that you too can generate revenue from the slew of online shoppers that prefer to buy online.
Must-Have Features so You Can Accept Payments on Your Website
1. eCommerce Platform
This piece of software is an essential building block to being able to accept payments on your website. For instance, an eCommerce platform allows you to manage your online shop, sales, and associated operations. In addition, it often comes with all the necessary tools to begin accepting payments directly from customers on your website.
Popular eCommerce platforms include:
Depending on the size of your shop, and other factors such as support, cost, mobile-friendliness, security, and scalability, you will want to make sure you do your due diligence in researching which eCommerce platform best suits your needs.
*Keep in mind that many of the essential “must-haves” I am about to share with you come included with some of the top eCommerce platforms on the market today.
2. PCI Compliance
The PCI Security Standards Council is responsible for the ongoing development, enhancement, storage, dissemination, and implementation of security standards as it applies to your customers’ data. In short, they make sure you are protecting your customer’s credit card data during checkout.
No matter how big or small your eCommerce shop is, it’s your responsibility to make sure you are PCI compliant. The level of compliance you need is determined by how many credit card transactions are processed through your shop annually. The more transactions you process, the higher your PCI compliance must be.
3. Payment Processor
For smaller eCommerce shops, integrating a simple payment gateway onto your website such as PayPal, Stripe, Google Wallet, or Authorize.net may suffice for finalizing transactions.
However, for larger retail sites that process thousands in revenue daily, it is better to install a payment processor onto your website. This will ensure top notch security, prevent chargebacks and revenue loss, and make sure your website can handle the traffic that flows through your online shop on a consistent basis.
Though we have discussed popular payment processors in the past, here is a look at some of the best options you have to choose from:
4. SSL Certificate
The purpose of an SSL certificate is to protect your customers’ personal and financial information. In short, SSL certificates guarantee that data passed between a web server and a browser remain secure and private.
If you do not have an SSL certificate on your eCommerce website, all data that is processed through your website, including sensitive information such as credit card numbers, are vulnerable to hackers looking to steal and use that information.
You can tell when a website is SSL certified by looking at their URL. If you see an “https://”, the site is secure. On the other hand, if you see “http://” it is not secure.
Getting a free SLL certificate is not difficult to do, especially if your eCommerce platform or website hosting provider provides one. If not, however, you can always use the popular Let’s Encrypt SLL certificates.
5. Secure Login Options
Have you ever tried to purchase something online and realized that the only way to finalize your purchase was to register an account with said shop?
Pretty annoying right?
Cater to customers that hate the thought of registering for accounts in order to make purchase by having multiple login options available. This means having an account section for those that are interested or already have an account with you. Additionally, have a “Checkout as Guest” option.
In addition, you will want to make sure that any login requirements you have are secure. This includes answering security questions in the case of a forgotten password or locked accounts after a specific number of failed login attempts.
6. Smooth Checkout Process
In order for you to collect payments from your customers, you must provide easy ways for them to finalize their purchases. This is done in a number of ways:
Checkout Buttons
Make it very clear to customers where the checkout process begins by using an extremely visible checkout button such as the one found on Target.com.
After all, the less time a customer has to spend figuring out how to get to their cart and make their payment, the less likely they are to abandon their cart. And, with abandonment rates reaching nearly 70%, it’s important to prevent this as much as possible.
Visible Checkout Process
Customers get anxious the longer the checkout process is. Especially if it spans across multiple pages. This can lead to cart abandonment, which does no good for your bottom line or customer satisfaction.
Amazon does a good job of directing customers through the checkout process step-by-step. You always know which part of the process you are at, can easily navigate back if necessary, and in the end you can always make changes to your purchase.
Refund and Return Policy
Though not exactly required to accept payments on your website, a clearly defined refund and return policy will help satisfy your customers’ need to know what steps to take in the case something goes wrong with their purchase.
Customers place a lot of trust in your company when they buy something online from you because they cannot physically check out the product they are purchasing. In addition, they want to know that if for whatever reason they are not satisfied, they can return or exchange the item.
If you make your refund and return policy visibly on your website, you solidify that trust and put customers at ease to continue finalizing their transaction. This of course generates you more revenue and provides your shop an opportunity to grow.
Final Thoughts
In the end, there is a lot that goes into accepting payments from your customers online. From payment processors to site security, checkout processes to refund policies, it is important you touch on all of the essentials.
In doing so, you will instill customers with a sense of confidence in your brand. Plus, you will breed loyalty amongst customers and give your online shop the ability to grow and succeed.
Looks like another really useful post here, Lindsay. 🙂
Thanks for your very helpful reply over here: https://domainnamewire.com/2017/10/03/how-to-add-a-contact-form-on-your-wordpress-site/#comment-2246947.
Andrew’s blog and his podcasts are one of the solid gold things in the industry, but honestly I’m not sure if he’s really worthy of all these valuable posts you’ve been contributing. 😀 And he’s been totally useless helping me get email notifications again, which stopped coming for all the domain blogs except for the rarest of strange exceptions. 😀
Hi John,
Thank you again for your very kind words. I love writing for Andrew and appreciate all of the activity his loyal visitors have been sending my way via post comments. It’s great to see other people’s perspectives, as well as know when I have helped someone. As for the blog comment notifications – that’s a tough one. Since DNW is not my website, it is impossible for me to see where to the problem is (and even then, I am not a developer so I would probably have to reach out to my commenting plugin developer for support or some of my developer buddies). Additionally, I have no idea what commenting system Andrew works with right now, though I can ask him, but for now I am not even sure where to direct you. That said, the only thing I can recommend is to make sure you always click the “Notify me of new comments via email” button at the bottom of each comment you make on his website.
And try to remember, Andrew has a lot going on 🙂 I am sure he wishes he could respond to each and every comment, issue, and concern, but sometimes things just slip by. And, websites can be a pain in the butt sometimes and cause weird problems. For example, for a long time on my own personal website I was not receiving email notifications that people were submitting my contact form, so until I went onto my website I had no clue anyone was trying to reach out to me. Everything was set up correctly, it was just a weird glitch. That may be the case for you. I am sorry that I am not more help. This issue is just a bit out of my wheelhouse.
Thanks again though for stopping by…I hope you will continue to do so!
Oh Andrew has definitely tried and responded, Lindsay. 🙂 It’s not just his blog – it’s all the major ones. They all died on me for email notifications, and that of course includes clicking and checking to subscribe. I’m referring mainly to what I used to consider the “Big 3” and now consider the “Big 4” blogs, DNW, TheDomains, DI, and OD. Now what happens is that once in a very rare blue moon an email or two from some of them comes, but almost never.
I kid you not: as I get more into the WP I avoided for so long and am now starting to actually like, wondering why I hated it so much before, despite the other resources out there your posts here on DNW are going to be my go to starting point for an initial “mental framework” about it. And yes I’ve already seen other stuff out there, but I’d rather review your posts on a domain blog first. 🙂
Thanks John, I appreciate your loyalty!
You can’t help but be yourself, Lindsay, and I simply know quality and value when I see it. 😀
And of course, see my suggestion for a new topic I’d love to see you cover. 🙂
Excellent write-up! This is the kind of writing new investors need to read. 🙂
Hey Hey Eric Lyon,
Thanks again for your kind words. I really think that you are right. Anyone dealing with transactions on their website should have a thorough understanding of the process in order to know how to boost revenue. This is especially true when it comes to site security. Many website owners fail to understand their responsibility when it comes to securing customer data which is frightening as a consumer.
Thanks again for stopping by, as usual, it’s a pleasure to hear from you!
New idea for a WordPress topic, Lindsay:
Would like your take on:
Optimize Press vs. Thrive Themes vs. LeadPages vs. ???
Hey John!
That’s always a great topic to take on…I imagine that will spur an exciting debate! However, I don’t make the call when it comes to topics for Andrew’s website…he is in charge 🙂 Though if he doesn’t like it, I could always write it up on my website, which is all about WordPress. It has been a ghost town for some time because I have been so busy lately (all year!) but I have been meaning to post some good stuff there. You can always check out my link 🙂
Oh he’s is charge, ay? 🙂 Well in case you haven’t noticed I have very big teeth and very big paws. 🙂
If you don’t cover that one here but do cover it on your site then do please let me know and I’d be delighted to see your take on this. 🙂
(And yes of course, I’m curious enough now to probably be checking your site out myself too…) 😀
You are so funny! I have been re-designing my site for some time now…it is a long process and my content has been neglected. However, I always appreciate new visitors and will let you know for sure about that post!
The strategy is always in the service of the order to less time of delivery plus sales of your buyers.
I like DHL in 48 hours from US buy from Amazon to get home in Spain, that was 5 years ago now the imternational transport with the new technology is much faster.
E-commerce is now like making churros you write that all the web tenet your store I wonder if you sell a service in a local niche itself there are many like you who are in the same.
The best e-commerce yet to be built and planned to be the best thing ever seen, I know young people to have ideas but these ideas also have repercussions on the payment method in a few years, possibly the digital monies will be valid to buy and sell and all current e-commerce in the world should adapt to a difficult reality that neither be accustomed to move with this digital currency out more currencies from other countries.
All e.commerce will suffer a sales breakdown that is faster to make assimilate your customers in a collegial way to give an example will be the first to gain more market share, local, country, and worldwide.
Who will be this e-commerce?
Thanks for this valuable knowldge.
Hi satyadeep,
You are so welcome! I hope that you learned something and can apply it to your very own business if you have one. And if not, should you decide to open up an online shop, make sure you understand the entire process before you start. It is much easier that way!