e–commerce

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Is my business ready for e–commerce?


Merchant Account

A merchant account is a bank account established with a payment processor for the settlement of credit card transactions. Anyone who wants to take credit card orders must establish a merchant account.
There are a number of different types of merchant accounts available. You will need to consider how you will process credit cards and how your website will 'connect' to the merchant accounts payment gateway (usually their secure website) to process the credit card details.
Merchant accounts are available from a select number of UK banks as well as a number of third parties. Depending on your trading history, type of product and/or service will affect the fees and charges.
For UK companies with existing non internet merchant accounts (PDQ machines) you will have to contact your provider as most have different terms for internet transactions.
Your website Terms & Conditions

The merchant account provider will have their own criteria. However these cannot be solely relied upon to make sure your website complies with legislation.
It is your responsibility to ensure your online activities comply with the relevant legislation. If you are intending to trade outside the UK, you will also need to ensure that the legislation of those countries is being adhered to.
It is recommended that you seek professional legal advice when creating your terms and conditions and to ensure your website complies with all relevant laws.
The following is a useful list of items that you need to consider providing to your end users:

full contact details of your business
details of any relevant trade organisations to which you belong
details of any authorisation scheme relevant to your online business
your VAT number, if your online activities are subject to VAT
clear indications of prices, if relevant, including any delivery or tax charges.Delivery/Shipping Costs

You should carefully think through how you intend to handle postage and packaging charges as this is an area that can easily cost your organisation in one of two ways:
1. By undercharging postage and packaging (taking into account the time to package the item) resulting in a hidden cost that can easily affect your profit
2. By overcharging postage and packaging! Whilst less obvious this can easily make you less competitive and drive business away.
Other considerations.

Do you want to display prices with delivery costs built in or have them calculated at during the check out process?
If delivery is to be added during the checkout you must consider how the system will calculate the cost.
In general if there is a logical delivery cost such as 'orders up to £20 = £5 delivery' this can easily be configured by most systems
Do you offer or want to offer recorded delivery, courier etc?
If shipping is calculated by weight, then the packaged weight of each product will need to be known and stored with the product data
Are any of your goods of high value and expensive to insure?
Are any user groups exempt from paying VAT on products?Are your goods suitable for export?

If so does your site need:

Translation?
To comply with Import /export regulations?
Additional carriage and taxation costs?Website Structure

Most current e-commerce websites use some form of hierarchical structure which is used to organise your product or service data.
For example a sports store might have a structure such as:
male > sports shoes > tennis > Nike
The above example looks like a good structure BUT it doesn't actually tell the whole story. Can you actually buy a Nike tennis sports shoe? The answer is NO not until the size, colour and model is known. This seems obvious in the context of a sport store but we have been surprised at the number of times this is not thought about properly. When in doubt ask yourself what is the actual product or service that you could, were you in that store, actually put into your basket and pay for!
Question: are your products available in standard form or do they have a lot of variations or options, such as size or colour that a customer has to specify?
The next question is this how do people actually want to use your website? For many companies the way in which they refer to their products is a far cry from how customers think of their products.
THINK ABOUT YOUR INTENDED AUDIENCE, INVOLVE CUSTOMERS, SUPPLIERS, PARTNERS, ASK THEIR OPINIONS!
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION REGARDING LEGISLATION

You can contact the DTI at:
Department of Trade and Industry
International Communications
Bay 202
151 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 9SS
Tel: (020) 7215 1853 Fax: (020) 7215 4161 E-mail: ecom@dti.gsi.gov.uk
Trading Standards Offices

You will find the address and telephone number of your local Trading Standards Department for England, Scotland or Wales in the telephone book under 'Local Authority' or on the internet by visiting www.tradingstandards.gov.uk (http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/) and entering your postcode.
The address for Northern Ireland is:
Trading Standards Service
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
176 Newtownbreda Road
BelfastBT8 6QS
Tel: (028) 9025 3900 Fax: (028) 9025 3953 E-mail: tss@detini.gov.uk
Office of Fair Trading

You can contact the Office of Fair Trading through its website, www.oft.gov.uk (http://www.oft.gov.uk/) or at:
Office of Fair Trading
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London EC4Y 8JX
Tel: (020) 7211 8000 Fax: (020) 7211 8800 E-mail: enquiries@oft.gov.uk

What next?

If you are hungry for more information please take a moment to read or even subscribe to our knowledgebase (http://www.i-kos.com/knowledge/) as this is where we are committed to freely sharing our knowledge on matters relating to marketing, creative design, e-commerce, SEO, CMS and as time permits much more besides.
If you would like to see examples of our work to see if i-KOS are an agency you could work with then please view our porfolio (http://www.i-kos.com/portfolio/1/priorityascending/catalogue-list.html).
To really get a sense of how involved we get with our clients please read the stories in the case study section (http://www.i-kos.com/case-studies/1/priorityascending/casestudies-catalogue.html).
Contact us (http://www.i-kos.com/contact-us/) or dial 01322 277255 and ask to speak to Myles Davidson (http://www.i-kos.com/contact-us/) or Simon Surtees (http://www.i-kos.com/contact-us/)

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Web Shop checklist


A checklist of the pages and functionality required for a typical web shop
Pages


Login
Registration
Shopping Basket summary (to appear on all pages)
Invoice Address
Delivery Address
Password Reminder
Password Change
Delivery Costs
Order Summary
Payment Gateway
Payment Confirmation
Confirm add to Basket (related sales)
Order Tracking
Order History
Receipts for previous orders
LoginFunctionality Checklist


Add item to basket
Remove item from basket
Change order line quantity
Select delivery options
Cancel order
Change password
Create account
Logout

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Portfolio



Publishing & Advertising

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Web Design & Development

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Marketing

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Not Seen Anything To Float Your Boat?

Our most recent work may not be shown here. Why not give us a call to discuss your particular project; we may have just the right ideas for you.



Publishing & Advertising



Regional International

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Qstik

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Harris

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Zenopa

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Glass Shed

C3 Headsets

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Payment Services
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Offline Processing (http://www.cyberstrong.com/eshop/gateways.asp#P1)
Obtaining a Merchant Account (http://www.cyberstrong.com/eshop/gateways.asp#P2)
Accepting Payments Without a Merchant Account (http://www.cyberstrong.com/eshop/gateways.asp#P3)
Online Processing: Payment Services (http://www.cyberstrong.com/eshop/gateways.asp#P4)
How Merchant Accounts Work (http://www.cyberstrong.com/eshop/gateways.asp#P5) Perhaps the most confusing aspect of getting your e-business online is that of payment processing. To start, you must first choose between online and offline payments.
Offline Processing
If you already have a merchant account and merchant terminal (sometimes called a ZON machine) you can continue to process payments in the way in which you are accustomed. Simply log into your eShop store, and click "View orders" to collect your payment information. To reduce typing errors, an optional credit card verification test is provided at the time of purchase which checks the card type, number of digits and card checksum. As a thoughtful touch, we reformat credit card numbers in groups of four digits to make easier the transcribing of credit card information from the screen to your merchant terminal.
CyberStrong eShop also allows you to specify check, cash, money order, or purchase order as payment methods. When selected, credit card verification and authorization are disabled.

Obtaining a Merchant Account
If you don't already have one, the first step towards accepting payments in real time over the Internet is to apply for an Internet merchant account. Need a merchant account? We recommend Humboldt Merchant Services (http://www.hbms.com/hbms/bannerprogram.asp?banref=7281270012).
Accepting Payments Without a Merchant Account
If you are not quite ready for the cost, commitment, and complexity of obtaining a merchant account, consider 2CheckOut.com (https://www.2checkout.com/2co/signup?affiliate=21103). This low cost alternative to traditional merchant accounts allows you to accept online payments for an initial setup cost of less than fifty dollars. A payment gateway is not required and your funds can be transferred to any bank account. Later, you can convert your CyberStrong eShop to a full merchant account if you wish.
PayPal (https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=33HWAQZV9VN3W) is the most economical way for small businesses to accept payments online. It is free to sign up! PayPal is an account-based system that lets anyone with an email address to securely send and receive online payments using their credit card or bank account. PayPal charges modest fees for Premier and Business members to receive payments.
Online Processing: Payment Services
Payment services verify an online customer's credit card details and perform the charge in real time. Some payment services will collect the credit card information for you, thus eliminating the need for your own SSL certificate. In the table below "CC Collection" indicates who can collect the credit card information.
CyberStrong eShop allows you to process credit cards at sale or review (fulfillment) time. In the table below "CC Auth Time" indicates which processing time you may use.
CyberStrong eShop supports the following payment services:

Payment
Service
Response
TypeCC
CollectionCC
Auth TimeMerchant
AccountComponent
RequiredService
Fees2CheckOut.com (https://www.2checkout.com/2co/signup?affiliate=21103)Link2CheckOut.comSaleNot
RequiredNoSetupAuthorize.net (http://www.authorize.net/)
(AIM)SilentMerchantSale or
ReviewRequiredNoSetup &
MonthlyAuthorize.net (http://www.authorize.net/)
(SIM)LinkAuthorize.net
or MerchantSale or
ReviewRequiredNoSetup &
MonthlyInternetSecure (http://www.internetsecure.com/)
(Merchant Link)LinkInternetSecureSaleNot
RequiredNoSetup &
MonthlyLinkPoint (http://www.linkpoint.com/)
(Connect)LinkLinkPoint
or MerchantSale or
ReviewRequiredNoSetup &
MonthlyPayflow Link (https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=33HWAQZV9VN3W)
(formerly VeriSign)LinkPayPal
or MerchantSale or
ReviewRequiredNoSetup &
MonthlyPayflow Pro (https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=33HWAQZV9VN3W)
(formerly VeriSign)SilentMerchantSale or
ReviewRequiredYesSetup &
MonthlyPayPal (https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=33HWAQZV9VN3W)
(Standard, with IPN)LinkPayPalSaleNot
RequiredNoNoneProtx (http://www.protx.com/)
(VSP Form)LinkProtxSaleRequiredNoMonthlyUSA ePay (http://www.usaepay.com/)SilentMerchantSale or
ReviewRequiredNoSetup &
MonthlyWorldPay (http://www.worldpay.com/)
(Select Junior)LinkWorldPaySaleRequiredNoSetup &
MonthlyYourPay (http://www.yourpay.com/)
(Connect)LinkYourPay
or MerchantSale or
ReviewRequiredNoSetup &
MonthlyAsk your merchant account bank which payment service(s) they support. Once you have selected a payment service, you will be provided with login information which you use to configure your eShop.
CyberStrong eShop's payment service support is "built-in" and completely configurable through its Web-based interface. Get one free payment gateway integration of your choice, per license.
CyberStrong eShop supports the simultaneous use of multiple gateways. Integration with additional payment gateways may be purchased (http://www.cyberstrong.com/eshopdb3/10Browse.asp?Category=Gateways:Payment) separately.

How Merchant Accounts Work
To understand how the online payment process works you need first understand the players involved. They are:

Your bank: the bank where your online payments are to be deposited. This can be the merchant bank or your own bank.
The merchant bank: the bank which collects your online payments
The acquiring bank (processor): a bank that specializes in managing credit card transactions for merchants. The acquiring bank is sometimes referred to as a "processor"
Fraud check service: a service that checks credit card numbers for fraud. Fraud check services receive credit card requests from multiple banks and use this information to look for and identify patterns of fraudulent credit card use. Ask your merchant account bank if they support the use of a Fraud check service. There may be an additional charge for this service.
The credit card gateway: a company that provides the electronic connection between your shopping cart and the rest of the system.
The issuing bank: the bank that issued the credit card to your customer

Fortunately this process is made transparent to you by CyberStrong eShop's fully integrated online payment system. Here's what happens when you or your customer submits an order for online payment:

A payment request is sent by CyberStrong eShop to your payment gateway.
The payment gateway sends the request for payment to the acquiring bank (processor) for approval. Optionally, the payment gateway can send your request to a fraud check service at the same time.http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/341.png
The acquiring bank (processor) sends the transaction data through the bank's private network to the issuing bank.
The issuing bank performs a variety of security checks, including available funds, address verification, and card number validation.
The issuing bank replies telling the acquiring bank (processor) whether or not the transaction is approved, and in turn, the acquiring bank informs your gateway service.
The gateway service replies to CyberStrong eShop's original request for payment with one of "Approved" or "Declined". CyberStrong eShop records this information on the order review page next to your order.
Transactions are settled nightly when the issuing bank pays the acquiring bank which then transfers the funds into your merchant bank account (less the bank's fees for servicing the transaction). If your company's account is not with the merchant bank, the funds are then forwarded to your company's bank account.

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E-commerce Introduction

http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/344.png E-commerce Software 101 / Primer
E-commerce is the activity of selling things on the Internet. Retail e-sales have been growing by an average of 26.4 percent every year since 2000 (http://www.census.gov/eos/www/papers/2004/2004reportfinal.pdf (http://www.census.gov/eos/www/papers/2004/2004reportfinal.pdf)). E-commerce allows merchants to reach millions of qualified buyers 24/7.
An online store can serve as a logical extension of a brick and mortar store, or starting a business on the Internet can be a profitable standalone business. Online stores do not require cashiers or expansive buildings to display merchandise, therefore, making online business very cost effective compared to brick and mortar stores. Buyers can easily search your web site for the items they want.
Typically, buyers browse your website and put items they want into a virtual shopping cart. When finished, they can checkout by providing their credit card information which is authorized real-time (within seconds).
Why should you start an online business?
Merchants can reach millions of buyers worldwide. You can also gain buyers more cost effectively than by using traditional advertising. Buyers can come to you searching for products, instead of you trying to entice them.
Necessary items for an e-commerce store

Shopping cart software that resides on an Internet server
An Internet Merchant Account
A secure certificate

ArCart software has everything you need to set up your online store, including adding products, images, and setting shipping and tax charges. Click here for more information (http://www.arquan.com/products.htm) on getting started. Arquan will also help you to get an Internet Merchant Account and a secure certificate, needed to complete your online store.
An Internet Merchant Account (IMA) is needed in order to accept credit cards on the Internet, and serves as a temorary holding tank for funds until they are transferred into the merchant's business checking account. A payment gateway connects the shopping cart software with the merchant account and the card issuer's bank. It authorizes/declines the credit transactions and communicates the results to the shopping cart software. For more information about Internet Merchant Accounts and how to obtain an account, visit our merchant accounts page (http://www.arquan.com/merchantaccounts.htm).
Identity fraud and theft is a fear among some would-be online buyers. A secure certificate encrypts sensitive data between the client's computer and the web server and also helps to quell buyer hesitation about a web site's security. Every online store using ArCart software is required to have its own secure certificate. Secure certificates can be obtained from companies such as Thawte, Comodo, or Verisign. Arquan will manage the entire certificate issuance process for you making it is easy as possible.

Thawte (http://www.thawte.com/ssl-digital-certificates/buy-ssl-certificates/)
Comodo (http://www.instantssl.com/)
Verisign (http://www.verisign.com/ssl/index.html)

How it works


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It all starts with the User (or customer) and their computer. They want to do some shopping online.
The user will connect to the Internet using their computer. They will reach your site by typing in its web address (URL), clicking on a link they find, or by finding you using a search engine or directory such as Google (http://www.google.com/) or Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com/).
A connection request will then be sent to the Web Server where your web site and online store is hosted. Once the web server receives the connection request, it will send the web site content to the user's computer. The web site will utilize the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol and the secure certificate to encrypt sensitive data.
Once the user decides to purchase items from your online store, the transaction information is sent to a Payment Gateway.
The gateway communicates with the Card Issuer's Bank to request the credit card authorization. The gateway then communicates the results to the shopping cart software and indicates if the transaction is authorized or declined. The result of the transaction is displayed to the user.
Assuming that the transaction is authorized, the customer's payment is transferred to your Internet Merchant Account.
Finally, the money in your Internet Merchant Account is transferred to your Checking Account.

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Use your current Internet Merchant Account & Payment Gateway - Or Apply through FORTUNE3™
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If you already have an Internet Merchant Account and Processing Gateway, we can link it to your FORTUNE3™ online store and online shopping cart solution for just a $69.95 one-time setup charge.
FORTUNE3™ already has the following payment processing gateways integrated to our E-Commerce Solutions:
• Authorize.net
• PayPal Website Payments Pro
• PayPal Payflow Link
• PayPal Payflow Pro
• Google Checkout
• USAePay
• SkipJack
• CyberSource
• CyberCash
• BluePay
• Innovative Merchant Solutions (Intuit)
• Quickbooks Merchant Services
• PayPoint USA
• e-xact
• WorldPay
• LinkPoint
• YourPay
• PROTX (U.K.)
• OnlineMart.ca (Canada)
• eSelectPlus / Moneris (Canada)
• Transfirst
• Orbital / Paymentech
• Clear Commerce / Barclays / ePDQ (U.K.)
• EProcessingNetwork
• PSIGate (Canada)
• 2CheckOut.com
• St. George / IPN (Australia)
• ElysNet (France)

Don't see your processing gateway in the list above? We will integrate the payment system you use for just $249.95!http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/359.png


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If you need an Internet Merchant Account and Processing Gateway for your online business, we can provide you with one and link it to your FORTUNE3™ online store and Ecommerce shopping cart solution.

Select your business location:

http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/361.pngUnited States http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/357.pnghttp://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/361.pngRest of World

http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/357.pnghttp://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/362.png (http://www.fortune3.com/en/merchantfees.shtml) http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/363.png (http://www.fortune3.com/en/credit_card_services/worldpay.shtml) http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/364.png (http://www.fortune3.com/en/merchantfees.shtml)http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/364.png (http://www.fortune3.com/en/credit_card_services/worldpay.shtml)

http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/365.png
http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/366.png (http://www.fortune3.com/en/PayPal_Integration.shtml)http://www.atyafonline.com/vb/imgcache/367.png (http://www.fortune3.com/en/Google_Checkout_Integration.shtml)


Link your Shopping to these payment processors for FREE!:

PayPal Express Checkout (http://www.fortune3.com/en/PayPal_Integration.shtml)
PayPal Website Payments Standard (http://www.fortune3.com/en/PayPal_Integration.shtml)
Google Checkout (http://www.fortune3.com/en/Google_Checkout_Integration.shtml)

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آليات ووسائل التجارة الإلكترونية
ECommerce


دون أدنى شك سوف تؤثر الإنترنت على الكثير من مجالات حياتنا بما فيها الاقتصاد.

ونقصد هنا أن الكثير من المعاملات التجارية من بيع وشراء وخدمات مصرفية وبنكية وتصدير واستيراد سوف يتأثر حتماً بهذه الشبكة التي هي بمثابة دمج كل شيء من أنظمة اتصالات وحاسب وتلفزيون في مكان واحد ولنبدأ بالتجارة الإلكترونية ecommerce. من منا لم يسمع بالتجارة الإلكترونية إما عن طريق الإعلانات التجارية في وسائل الإعلام أو عن طريق الضجة التي تحدثها بعض الشركات التجارية التي بنت لها مواقع أو يسمى متاجر افتراضية على الشبكة.

يعرف علماء الأعمال التجارة على أنها سلوك لتبادل البضائع والخدمات للحصول على المال. وهي عملية تدخل فيها عدة أطراف.. مشترٍ، بائع، ومنتجون (لديهم بضاعة أو خدمة). وأمكنة.. يمكن أن تكون رقم هاتف أو سوقاً تجارياً كبيراً وتسويقاً، وطريقة الدفع نقداً أو ببطاقات ائتمان أو بشيكات أو بفاتورة مثل خدمات شركات الماء والكهرباء، وطريقة توصيل المنتج سواء كان بضاعة أم خدمة، كذلك في حالة عدم رضا الزبون عن المنتج يجب تحديد سياسة الإرجاع وسياسة الضمان وسياسة خدمة ما بعد البيع.

الفرق بين التجارة الإلكترونية والتقليدية
ليس هناك أي اختلاف جوهري بينهما، ولكن هناك بعض نقاط الاختلاف البسيطة نذكر منها:

* يصبح المكان موقعاً على شبكة الإنترنت وبالتالي يجب عمل الدعاية والإعلان لإخبار الناس عنه ليقوموا بزيارته.

* تحديد الطريقة التي تتلقى بها الطلبات.. مثل تصميم نموذج يعبأ من قبل الزبائن، لتحديد ما يحتاجونه.

* تحديد طريقة وأسلوب الدفع.. وعادة ما يكون عن طريق حساب لدى إحدى البنوك، يقبل البطاقات الائتمانية ويتطلب صفحة آمنة مرتبطة بالبنك ويمكن الاستغناء عن ذلك بطريقة الدفع عند توصيل المنتج COD (Check On Delivery)

* خدمة توصيل الطلبات إلى عناوين الزبائن.
يمكن أن تتم في بعض الأحيان عبر الإنترنت مثل حالات بيع برامج الحاسب الآلي.

* تحديد طريقة لتلقي المرتجع والضمان وسياسة خدمة ما بعد البيع.
متطلبات عمل متجر افتراضي إلكتروني

في البداية ونظراً لعدم توفر الكثير من الخدمات المطلوبة لنجاح التجارة الإلكترونية في وطننا العربي فإننا لا نوصي بعمل مزوّد ويب بل يمكن استئجار مساحة مجانية لدى العديد من الشركات التي تقدم الخدمة أو الشركات التجارية التي تساعدك على التسويق مثل ياهو، أو حتى الذهاب إلى موقع من المواقع المجانية التي توفر مساحة تخزينية.


أقول هذا في ظل ضعف الثقافة الإلكترونية وحتى نتعود على هذا المفهوم أو حتى ندرب كوادر قادرة على التعامل مع أدوات الإنترنت، فإن هذا الخيار هو الأفضل على المدى القصير. أما على المدى المتوسط والطويل فيجب أن تخطط الشركات والمحال التجارية لعمل مزودات (ملقمات) واستئجار خط هاتفي leased line مفتوح دائماً على إنترنت، كل ذلك من أجل سرعة وصول الزبائن إلى منتجاتك.

ولكي نفهم التجارة الإلكترونية يجب علينا أن نعرف أن الأمن هو الشغل الأول والأخير لكل الزبائن ويجب أن يكون عملك أنت كتاجر أو صاحب متجر إلكتروني، حيث إن الزبون، فور وصوله إلى موقع المتجر الافتراضي يجب أن تصافحه واجهة المتجر الافتراضية، وهي عبارة صفحات ويب عادية ولكن يجب أن تحاكي الواقع.. أي أن المتجر يجب أن يختلف تماماً عن صفحة أي موقع يقدم خدمات أخرى غير تجارية.

حيث أشارت الكثير من الدراسات التي أجريت على زبائن التجارة الإلكترونية أن الزبائن يرغبون في رؤية واجهات شبيهة بتلك الموجودة بالسوبر ماركت الموجود بجوار منازلهم.

أما بالنسبة للمتاجر الافتراضية العربية فنقترح أن تكون صفحات عربية ليسهل التعامل معها وحتى يكتب لها النجاح. كذلك يقترح أن يكون عرض البضائع والمنتجات في متناول الزبائن أي أن الزبون لا يقوم بالبحث عما يرغب في شرائه.

كما أنه في حالة كون الزبون راغباً في الشراء يجب أن يتم تعبئة نموذج الطلب على أن يتم نقل العمليات إلى الخادم الخاص بالعمليات، مع ضرورة إجراء علمية تشفير Encryption لكل خطوة تتم هنا، حيث توجد برامج لضمان أمن المعلومات المالية للزبائن، وإدارة التعاملات المالية مع البنوك ومؤسسات النقد الافتراضية.

حيث من الضروري الحصول على حساب مصرف تجاري لشبكة إنترنت An Internet Merchant Bank Account وذلك لتكون قادراً على قبول بطاقات الائتمان credit cards مباشرة ويتم الحصول على مثل ذلك الحساب عن طريق البنوك المصرفية.

كذلك يجب الحصول على a Digital Certificate أو ما يسمى Secure Socket Layer encryption أو اختصاراً SSL الذي يقدم الحماية لعملية الاتصالات.

وذلك حتى تتمكن من أخذ طلبات البطاقات الائتمانية وتمنع المخترقين من الوصول إلى تلك المعلومات. وهي مطلب ضروري يجب الحصول عليه قبل أن تسمح لك الشركات التي تقوم بتأجير المساحات لعمل متجر افتراضي.
يوفر هذان الموقعان

http://www.thawte.com

http://www.verisign.com

إمكانية الحصول على ذلك، مع ملاحظة أن بعض الشركات تسمح لمن يستأجر منها استخدام الشهادات الخاصة بها.كذلك نقترح عليك تأمين عربة تسوق Shopping cart وهي عبارة عن برنامج تشغيلoperating system يسمح للمتسوقين بشراء المنتجات من متجرك، كما يساعد هذا البرنامج على متابعة الحسابات
keep track of your accounts

كذلك ضرورة تصميم البرامج بحيث يصل بين واجهة المتجر الافتراضي، وبين قاعدة بيانات الزبائن، وقواعد بيانات المحاسبة، والمستودع الذي يحوي المخزون من البضائع وربط ذلك بطرق ومتابعة الشحن.
برنامج للرد على جميع الرسائل الإلكترونية الواردة تلقائياً Automatic Email Software يعمل دون أدنى تدخل.

مواقع نقترح زيارتها قبل البدء

وهناك العديد من المواقع التي نقترح زيارتها قبل البدء، منها:

http://www.zd.net

www.ebusiness.enterprise.com (http://www.ebusiness.enterprise.com)

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.cdnow.com

http://www.peapod.com

http://www.priceline.com

مواقع توفر خدمة استضافة المتاجر الافتراضية

http://store.yahoo.com

http://www.is4b.net

http://www.interhack.net

http://www.wrqwam.com

http://www.cme.com

http://www.qwallet.com

http://www.estorefront.com

http://www.amtinternet.com

http://www.biet.org

http://www.dbserv.com

نقاط نقترح مراعاتها عند إنشاء متجر افتراضي

* الأسعار: في الحقيقة وبسبب المقارنات التي تجري بين المواقع يجب أن تكون أسعار منتجاتك منافسة في سوق يعرف بالشفافية.

* ضرورة الاهتمام بموضوع الرسائل الاستفسارية التي تصل إليك مع التأكيد على الرد عليها بسرعة وبمعلومات وفيرة عن المنتج موضع السؤال حتى يشعر المشتري بأن هناك اهتماماً.

* ضرورة الاهتمام بشكاوى وملاحظات الزبائن ويجب الرد عليها فوراً حتى تكسب ثقتهم.

* ضرورة الاهتمام بإنشاء قسم خاص لعلاقات الزبائن Customer relations يهدف إلى ربط الزبائن بموقع متحرك، حيث يمكن تخصيص جزء من الموقع لغرف الدردشة وللمعلومات العامة حول فوائد وكيفية استخدام المنتجات المتوفرة بمتجرك، ولكروت المعايدة وغيرها.

* ضرورة الاهتمام بإرسال هدايا للمشترين ومتابعتهم بين الحين والآخر وبحث مدى رضاهم عن الخدمة المقدمة من قبل متجرك.

* ضرورة عمل خطة للخصومات الخاصة التي تعطى في الأعياد والمناسبات السعيدة وإرسالها إلى زبائنك.

* ضرورة عمل خطة للمبيعات الموسمية أو الدورية ومراعاة تسويق ذلك.

* قم بتقديم موقعك إلى أشهر أدوات البحث.

* ضرورة الاهتمام بالدعاية عن طريق ما يسمى banners في المواقع المشهورة العربية منها وغير العربية.

* ضرورة وضع عنوان موقعك كجزء من توقيع البريد الإلكتروني ليصبح جزءًا من كل بريد ترسله.

* ضرورة الإعلان في الصحف ومجلات الإنترنت المتخصصة وغير المتخصصة حتى يعرف الجميع بموقعك.


http://al-jazirah.com/digimag/08082004/elc41.htm