10 things to remember when building eCommerce

Having developed a few eCommerce platforms in my time I have thought it would be good to come up with a listing of things to remember when implementing such systems on your website.

1. Get a gateway provider that allows for multiple currencies. We don’t all like US dollars.
2. Include a currency converter on your site. For people who want to know how much they are paying in their own currency.
3. PayPal is not going to be easy. Too many times from implementing PayPal i’ve come to realise their ‘one click button’ just isn’t the case.
4. Make sure the customer knows how much GST is, and what it is.
5. It may go without saying but SSL is critical. If you don’t have an SSL then you are not going to make many sales.
6. Be prepared for refunds.
7. Test and test some more. Make sure you’ve stress tested all those codes supplied by the gateway provider for success and failed payments
8. TRACK EVERYTHING. When dealing with customers money you better be sure you record every piece and step of their purchase experience. This is from the point they put something into the cart to the point when they get that thankyou message.
9. Don’t store any credit card information. It may go without saying but there have been some sites that used to think storing a customer’s credit card details was a good thing. No it is not. There are these people out there called hackers and they will find you and your customer details and then the feds will find you too.
10. Inventory is important. If you intend on using an inventory system you better ensure it is up to date and accurate. Customers will get a bit annoyed if they have just spent their hard earned dollars on a product that was in stock on the website only to get an email from dispatch saying it will be another 4 weeks.