e-Commerce Web Design Services

e-Commerce is a generic term in web design; really it just means any system that allows you to take payments online. For example Amazon and eBay are both types of e-Commerce, but they are very different in nature. For small businesses and independent professionals, e-Commerce allows you to sell products efficiently to a wider market, create and distribute information products or sell courses, services and appointments online without the need for expensive credit card processing facilities.

For a small business or an independant professional however, the prospect of starting an e-Commerce operation is quite daunting. How can you handle stock, tax and shipping? How can you comply with regulatory standards? Which software offers secure transactional facilities while still offering user-friendly interfaces? What software solution is right for the number of products you're looking to sell? How can you get an Internet Merchant Account and which payment processing gateway should you use?

MRMedia Group has implemented several e-Commerce implementations and we've won awards for them. Most importantly they've been created in consumer friendly fashion as indicated external auditing bodies. We are happy to design your e-Commerce implementation and guide you towards TrustUK certification. We'll guide you easily through the set-up process by explaining to you in clear English the pros and cons of various shopping cart solutions and helping you pick the one that is right for you.

Here are some commonly asked questions about e-Commerce web design:

• What is an example e-Commerce solution you provide for Small to Medium Businesses?
• How much does it cost to run e-Commerce?
• Can I see some examples of e-Commerce you've designed?
• What are payment gateways and merchant accounts?
• How much technical ability is required to run an e-Commerce web site?
• I'm an Independant Professional who wants to take payments online - do I need an e-Commerce store?

What is an example e-Commerce solution you provide for Small to Medium Businesses?

Our preferred e-Commerce software for stores looking to stock over 100 products is OsCommerce. It comes as an Open-Source Software Movement package that we then customise. It's main benefits include:

• Extremely fast and efficient operation using secure and reliable php/MySQL technology
• Support for an unlimited number of products in an unlimited number of categories and subcategories
• Support for physical products that need shipping or digital products available for download
• Performs tax, shipping costs (based on weight or flat rates to wherever in the world the order is being sent) and stock calculations on the fly
• Customers get an account which allows them to:
  • Store multiple shipping addresses
  • View order history and status
  • Make product reviews
  • Opt in or out of newsletters
• The store owner has a password protected area allowing you to:
  • Add, edit or delete products at will
  • Send newsletters
  • Print invoices and send order updates
  • See statistics for products, customers and sales
• A large choice of payment options including:
  • WorldPay
  • SECPay
  • 2CheckOut
  • PayPal
  • NOCHEX
  • Cheque or Postal Order

There's also support for multiple currencies or languages, secure SSL transactions, the ability to run special offers, bestseller and recommended items lists, the ability to include product options such as different colours or configurations and the whole package is highly customisable. We can bolt on additional modules such as Affiliate Schemes, Gift Coupons, News Feeds, Help Desks and Froogle Data Feeds.

We are also available to help existing OsCommerce users upgrade parts of their e-Commerce web site to include additional modules or features, to upgrade from MS1 or 2 to MS3, to add Search Engine Friendly functionality or to give the site a cosmetic overhaul. Call us on 0845 056 4413 for details.

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How much does it cost to run an e-Commerce web site?

You can get an idea of costs for this type of set up by reviewing our Entrepreneur Web Design Package.

Running costs thereafter will be:

• Fees paid per transaction to your Payment Gateway provider
• Any monthly fees or charges issued by your Payment Gateway provider and Merchant Account if you have one
• The cost of stock
• The cost of shipping

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Can I see some examples of e-Commerce web sites you've designed?

Here are two web sites running different customised versions of OsCommerce that you may view:

The Rising Dragon Feng Shui Store - integrated to fit in with the look and feel of the rest of the web site, this implementation also supports an Affiliate Scheme (see the Feng Shui Ambassador Programme) and Gift Coupons that are sent as promotional discounts to newsletter recipients. Choice of WorldPay, PayPal or Cheque payments

Dani's T-Room Discount Cosmetics Beauty Store - With constantly changing lines of cosmetic brands, this e-Commerce enabled web site makes extensive use of the Special Offer functionality within OsCommerce to sell cosmetics at less than High Street RRP. The ability for customer orders to subtract from live stock levels was also essential as when they're gone, they're gone! It's Affiliate Scheme is labeled the Virtual Beauty Consultant Program.

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What are payment gateways and merchant accounts?

E-Commerce web sites take a customer's credit card and process it by using a payment gateway. A layman's term for this would be a Credit Card Processing Company. That's not a bank; it's simply card processing. The funds that are cleared through your payment gateway are then passed to an Internet Merchant Account which a special type of bank account for companies that trade online. Depending upon the e-Commerce set up that is right for your business needs, you'll need a Payment Gateway and may want an Internet Merchant Account too.

Here's an overview of the types of set ups we can provide based on integrating the offerings of respected leaders in the field of e-Commerce:

WorldPay
Part of the Royal Bank of Scotland, WorldPay is the top end of Payment Gateways and due to their high standards, it's recognised brand is an asset for consumer confidence on any e-Commerce enabled web site.

• Pros:
  WorldPay gives you a Payment Gateway and Merchant Account in one. It's secure, recognised and it's Fraud Protection System is highly recommended for those selling higher value goods online. They also offer Telephone Order payment terminals and Recurring Payments.

• Cons:
  WorldPay are more expensive than owning a separate Payment Gateway and Merchant Account, although in the case of high value goods it's brand value outweighs that cost. For those selling lower value goods, you'll need a higher volume of sales to offset their costs. WorldPay hold transactions for 4 weeks before making a BACS transfer to your bank; that's great if you need to make a refund but can be troublesome if cash flow is needed for more stock

SECPay
SECPay is a leading Payment Gateway. To use their services, you'll need an Internet Merchant Account from a bank and you'll find that your money transfers into your account in around 48 hours.

• Pros:
  Cheaper than WorldPay in their charge structure and much faster for you to get your money out from, typically more than 3 weeks faster. Ideal for lower value goods or where cash flow is a priority

• Cons:
  SECPay does not have any Anti-Fraud capabilities in it's system, so higher value goods may be better served by WorldPay. You'll also need to set up an Internet Merchant Account which can take some time if you are a new trader. Although they serve over 3,000 merchants the brand isn't as strong as WorldPay who's logos tend to help sales

PayPal
Originally quite a cumbersome tool, PayPal has undergone massive changes since being acquired by eBay and that, combined with the growing familiarity of eBay has led to many web users having a PayPal account. There are now over 78 million PayPal users worldwide and it's flexibility and low cost has seen it grow to become one of the top internet payment gateways.

• Pros:
  No need to get an Internet Merchant Account or pay set up fees, growing popularity due to eBay's success, ability to transfer funds by BACS to your bank as soon as you get paid, versatile with the ability to send payment links by email, receive ad-hoc payments and make recurring payments. Also PayPal is integrated into eBay which gives you the option of using their huge market place to offer your goods or services, clear off overstock etc and has Fraud Prevention facilities built in as standard. A great choice where start up funds are limited or for Independant Professionals who want to take payment for goods or services but won't be making the higher volume of sales needed to justify a WorldPay or SECPay account.

• Cons:
  Some stigma of the old style "long sign up form" remains (although PayPal is not this way anymore and can accept orders from non-members), sometimes seen as being somewhat cheap, probably due to the way it requires extra fees to upgrade your account so that the payment page looks like part of your web site.

Making the right choice of payment gateway(s) is an important step in planning a successful online business and our experience in advising a wide variety of clients will be yours, ensuring you make informed decisions that are right for your level of business.

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How much technical ability is required to run an e-Commerce web site?

On the whole, if you can pick up your email, view and print web pages you have the majority of skills needed to run an online business. Picking up the phone when customers call is a good idea too! It really is that easy when you have a professional web design company like MRMedia Group make you an e-Commerce web site. We take the sting out of the whole set up and leave you with just the good parts - making money!

If you want to add products to your store, we can do it for you or you can get a digital camera and some image editing software and we can include the option for you to update the store in our design specifications.

Using the store online simply requires logging in to a password protected area - anyone who has used a Hotmail account will find the log in and types of screens presented thereafter pretty comfortable. Once logged in you can add, edit or delete products, run special offers, print invoices and update order statuses, see traffic reports and send newsletters to your customers - in short, all you need to run a profitable e-Commerce business.

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I'm an Independant Professional who wants to take payments online - do I need an e-Commerce store?

Independant Professionals such as musicians, therapists, speakers, psychics and so on have somewhat different needs to an online retailer. Often there is no need for a powerful e-Commerce software solution such as OsCommerce to be employed since your product range is likely to consist of your services and and information products you create such as books, songs, manuals or instructional courses. If these are delivered as digital downloads (such as MP3 audio files, video clips or eBooks) then your whole business overheads can be streamlined significantly.

For those making their initial forays, our experience tells us that branding and marketing will bring you more business than elaborate e-Commerce software and we would advise you to place your initial spend there while using simple, low cost purchasing solutions such as PayPal. As your customer or fan base grows, you can then re-invest to create a suitably sized e-Commerce web site.

If you already have existing brand equity and a progressive line up of of products, it makes more sense to look at a scaleable e-Commerce web site - something that can grow as you do.

In both these cases, we can advise on effective, low cost solutions to help take your career and business to the next level. Check out our page on Web Design for Independant Professionals.

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We are happy to give you a free no-obligation consultation and quote; simply call in on 0845 056 4413.