Trading Online otherwise known as E-Commerce.

If your website is intended to provide you with an online shop-front, you need to apply a great deal of thought and planning before you even start.  My first word of advice is to make very certain that you intimately understand what it is you're selling so you can answer queries and provide complete information.  Believe me, if the information and pictures are not on your website, potential customers will simply go elsewhere until they find a website where they are.  It's no use inviting them to phone you for more information or latest prices because they won't - read more about this below. 

If you need an online store, how you proceed will depend largely on how big your business (and catalogue) happens to be, and how much interface you require.  If you are simply selling a few items and using something like PayPal to collect payments, conventional web design solutions will easily provide what's required.  The same applies if you are offering a service of some kind.

If your business involves a great number of lines and categories, or perhaps specialized goods / services such as an Estate Agency, there are ready made scripts that are tried and tested for the purpose so buying one of those will make good economic sense.  They can be integrated into your own web design so you retain the look and feel of your unique style or theme and will also integrate with several merchant payment services, not just PayPal - so you can choose a payment collection option that suits you and your business needs. 

I have to be honest and declare that commercial websites on such a scale are probably beyond my scope and require a specialist service provider.  Nevertheless if you feel your requirements are of such proportions, there is no reason you can't discuss your ideas with me before you choose a service to suit your needs and thus be better informed when you make a decision.

Some Golden Rules for E-commerce.

Market research says that that online retailers are missing out on valuable trade simple by not understanding what their customers want. Three-quarters of online shoppers surveyed said that website content is insufficient to allow enough research to want to purchase a product online - always, most, or some of the time.

Nearly 80 percent of online shoppers rarely or never purchase a product without complete information and at least 72 percent will go to a competitor who does supply that information - rightly so in my view.

Consumers really want to buy online, but retailers are not making it easy for them. Sometimes, it seems as though retailers go out of their way to lose customers rather than win them. In a shop customers can walk around, ask questions, read brochures and even touch the goods - they do not have the same visual and tactile experience when shopping online and must place their trust words and pictures.

Provide as much information as possible and describe your sale (or want) as you would like it described if you were ready to buy something on trust. Failure to do this accounts for most lost sales online.

Provide pictures - lots of them, so your potential buyers can see what they hope to buy. Different views from different angles and close-up shots of special features will grab attention from potential buyers.

Be totally honest because experienced online shoppers can sense when a seller is trying to hoodwink them.  Do not describe goods or services inaccurately because it's illegal and you'll soon get a bad reputation on the Internet as a 'rogue' trader.

Be prepared to answer questions and do not be impatient when the questions seem naive or obvious.  Not everyone is familiar with technology or the attributes of motor cars and Wii games consoles so answer politely and fully, even if it means they realise what you are selling is not quite what they want. They would not thank you for selling it to them if it is not what they want or need.

When you agree on a sale/purchase you make a contract. The price, delivery arrangements and payment must be clearly stated and understood. DO NOT start to add extra charges after you set a price.  Also remember that a spoken contract is equally binding in law and it is no use claiming your word against someone else if you offer a discount by phone then change your mind. A County Court judge would have little difficulty establishing the truth and resolving the matter so, if you say it - mean it!

Review your website regularly, especially if it is not getting the attention you hoped for. Sometimes a few more pictures or better descriptions will make all the difference.

Remove anything you have finished with. Researching an advert with a view to buying something, only to find it out of stock or discontinued is an annoyance to say the least.  It wastes time, money and loses customers so don't neglect this aspect.

To sum up - describe what you're selling in great detail and in terms that buyers will understand.  Don't just rely on the description offered on the packaging because your customers don't have the benefit of touching and looking and asking questions on a website.  State your price and if shipping is extra, say so - don't wait until the customer is at the checkout before sneaking it in because they invariably drop out at that point if you do.  It is irritating and dishonest because it suggests that you're trying to make you price look cheaper when it isn't!  Not least of all state your delivery arrangements realistically so customers have some idea when to expect their purchase.  If it arrives early, it isn't normally a problem but it it arrives late, you could easily lose a customer and remember that customers have rights when it comes to buying off websites.  All this should seem like common sense but sadly, common sense isn't really all that common...

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Last Updated 14/08/2008