Flash

Flash requires shopper to support version of Flash being used. People that support Flash 4 can't support Flash MX without upgrading. Customers will leave for another store if they are required to upgrade their plug-ins. At very least, it will require that they have to download plug-in and start shopping experience from very beginning.

Checkout Process

The checkout process should be as short as possible. The faster a person can checkout faster customer can be on their way to other things.

Checkout Progress

Each step of checkout progress should indicate current step and total number of steps. This helps customer know where they are in process and number of steps remaining.

Ask for Information in Proper Order

Credit card information should never be asked for until after all charges have been calculated and presented to customer. Asking for this information prior to disclosing full charges will cause shopper to abandon cart.

Advantages of Usable Shopping Carts

Usable shopping carts open market to consumer. By making a shopping cart usable to consumer process of shopping online is less threatening and actually becomes more inviting. NetIQ, developers of WebTrends, has developed a successful system that helps web site owners, marketing specialists and web development teams make more usable and helpful web sites.

Understanding how shoppers use one's site and shopping cart can help turn more visitors into purchasing customers. The national average for shopping cart conversion is two percent; however that conversion rate can be increased through having more usable web sites and shopping carts. Multiple paths to products and easier checkout processes can help greatly.

4. Applying a merchant account You may arrange for a merchant account with a company that offers payment-processing services that are known as merchant service providers. Alternatively, you can contact your local bank to open a merchant account.

For small e-business, you may have problems in getting a merchant account. Reputable banks and financial institutions are very selective about who they give merchant account to. Normally, you may not be able to open one if you are new to internet and just starting your online business. And it seems to be very complicated and expensive to set up your own merchant account, your gateway and secure order form. Fortunately, there are many companies on net offering these 3 services in one package.

So, you don't *ACTUALLY* need a merchant account to accept credit card payments. You can get service of these so-called 3rd party credit card processors. Of course, you will be charged a higher percentage of ticket price and will only be able to receive paychecks twice or three times a month depending on service providers you sign up with. But, it is a good start for small ebusiness.

For beginner, it makes most sense because setting up your site's ability to accept credit card is going to be lots easier. It is much set up and ready to go as soon as you sign up. This gives you more time to concentrate on other important stuff like finding new business venture etc. You can always move to a more expensive, more complex and possibly more reliable service later on if your business grows.

Below are brief descriptions of 3rd party credit card processors that provide real time credit card payment processing I found in cyberspace...

1. Clickbank Clickbank is online distribution center for digital products. It accepts online credit card payment. The best part of Clickbank is it has a built-in affiliate network that handles your affiliate program automatically. It boasts to have 100,000 members. In other words, you have 100,000 people ready to promote your products.

2. 2Checkout.com 2checkout.com has a broad range of services for small e-businesses, whether you're selling a digital product, a service or selling membership in which you will have recurring billing. It charges a one-time set up fee of $49 and a 5.5% commission plus a $0.45 on each transaction. No monthly fees, no minimum payment. I have been using their service for quite some time and found their service had been excellent.

3. Digibuy.com Digibuy.com is an electronic commerce solution for publishers of software, shareware, information and data. You can inexpensively build a secure storefront to merchandise your products, take orders online, process payments and distribute digital products over internet.

It lets you have complete control over all your online e-commerce activities like pricing, order form and delivery options. However, Digibuy.com charges a somewhat high processing fee : 13.9% commission for each transaction.

4. iBill.com iBill.com handles all banking, risk management, affiliate management and customer service issues for clients selling products and services on internet. It boasts to offer most comprehensive payment options on web including credit cards, online checks and telephone billing. However, it charges a flat 15% on sales go through them. It is a bit expensive but it looks very corporate and professional.

Ok, I'm not going to explain anymore. There are too many out there such as Paypal, CCNow, Paysystems, Charge.com, ifullfill.com and many more. I'll let you explore yourself. But keep in mind that rates and features can vary greatly. Research your choices carefully and make decision based on what your customers would prefer and your small business can afford.

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