e-commerce Website Design Exeter

As a business owner, you may not know how to sell your product or service online, so we have created a simple guide to selling online to help you get started.

The real benefit of this guide is that it will simply what can appear to be a very complicated subject and fast track you to the web site you really need.

Selling products on your online store

Selling physical products online is probably the most common type of online store. When selling any product ,the most important thing is to provide as much information as possible for your visitor. Buyers will always gravitate towards those suppliers that provide the most information and are the most helpful.

The biggest mistake you can make is not putting the effort in at the beginning and cutting corners on how much information and how many pictures you provide. If you put the effort in at the start, you will be paid back handsomely, not for months, but for years to come.

Here are some ideas for the sorts of things you may consider:

• Product Photographs – Including the full product and closeups of any specific details that are important. to the buyer
• Product Description – A detailed description of the product’s features and benefits will encourage a visitor to purchase.
• Product Materials – Ingredients or materials used in the production of the product.
• Product Size – Dimensions of the product to allow the customer to see how large the product is in real life.
• Product Price – A full price including taxes if selling in the UK.
• Comparisons – Comparisons with similar products and also links to other products you sell.
• Testimonials – What previous purchasers thought about the product and what they liked.
• Suggestions – offer other products that would supplement the purchase (and also increase the size of your order).

The key factor to remember when selling physical products online is that the customer cannot see or touch the product on line. They have no sense of size, weight and, most important of all, the quality.

So your product page needs to show as much detail as possible to allow the customer to make an informed decision before purchasing.

What about Selling Services instead of products on your online store

Selling services online is just as simple as selling physical products, it just requires a slightly different set of information.

Again here are a few ideas to get you thinking about what to include:

• Service Photographs – Examples of the actual service being provided and/or past projects and examples e.g. kitchen extensions, window cleaning, interior decoration, garden landscaping.
• Service Description – The service description is the most important element. Here you can describe what the service covers, how long it takes and what is included in the price.
• Customer Testimonials – Just like products, nothing sells a service better than your previous customers’ experience.
• Frequency – Is the service a one-off, monthly or annual offering?
• Price – A full price. Don’t try and be clever by offering a low price and then loading it later on. It will only backfire.
• Any additional charges – is VAT included for example?

A major difference when selling services is the frequency of the sale.

You may offer a one-off service, but you also have the option to sell monthly or annual services as your website can charge your customer on a recurring basis if required.

Websites are particularly good at taking money for things like annual memberships.This massively reduces your admin time and makes sure you don’t miss out on any repeat payments.

Unlike selling a product which is delivered to the customer, services can be provided at any location.

If you are selling car servicing or beauty treatments , for example, you may want your customer to come to you. This can be explained in the service description or you could offer multiple locations if they are available.

Taking e-commerce payments

You now have an idea of the products or services you want to sell but how do your customers actually pay for them?

This is a highly regulated area but after 20 years in the business we will ensure that everything is done properely.

First of all, your new online store will require a payment provider to accept payments.

A payment provider is not a bank. A payment provider is a company that merely provides the technology to check the customer’s payment details with their bank both quickly and securely.

They will then process the payment once all the details have been verified. Finished payments can be sent directly to your business bank account or held and deposited every week (or month) if this is preferred.

Examples of payment providers are PayPal, SagePay, Stripe and Apple Pay.

Each provider is different, but common features include:

• Payment is taken without your website storing all of the customers bank details avoiding the need for extensive security audits.
• Customer bank details are verified using bank systems such as ‘Verified By Visa’, reducing the chances of fraudulent payments.
• Payment providers accept a large number of card types such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express without additional setup.
• Most payment providers will accept international orders in multiple currencies and even convert the currency to GBP before depositing the funds into your account.

The final part of processing payments is the cost.

Some payment providers charge a monthly fee for their service, while others charge a small fee on each transaction.

There are benefits to each approach. Only charging per transaction is great for a start-up online business as there are no costs until a sale is actually made. You don’t want to be paying monthly fees if you have no sales.

On the other hand, the monthly payment provider may offer much lower transaction fees due to paying the monthly service cost, which can be beneficial for online stores with a larger number of monthly orders.

We will be happy to advise you on which would work best for you.

Shipping and Returns

Selling your products online is only the first step in completing a customer order.

As well as taking payment you will be expected to ship the item to the postal address provided at checkout. One of the major benefits of an online store is the ability to integrate with postal services.

A great example is Royal Mail. Your store can connect directly and allow you to purchase postage using the exact details provided by the customer. This can be a huge time saver, as not only is the postage ready to print, but also the tracking information can be sent directly to the customer.

The final aspect of selling online is the possibility of a customer return.

In the UK online sales are covered by normal consumer rights and also distance selling laws, which state that a customer can return an item for any reason (within 7 days) if purchased online. This is because they did not have the opportunity to see the product before they made the purchase.

If a customer does request a return for any reason, your online store has the ability to offer partial or full refunds to the payment card used during checkout.

If you do use a shipping provider such as Royal Mail, you can email the customer a prepaid returns label to ensure you get your product back in good time.

E-Commerce Website Design – The Next Step

As a business owner looking for a new e-commerce website design, we would recommend first looking at each product (or service )you provide to see how much information you have to show a potential customer.

Online payment and shipping providers will offer a secure purchasing experience for your customers and make the day to day management of orders much easier for you as the business owner.

Whether you are selling products or services, it’s never been easier to sell online.

With over 20 years of experience building websites and online stores, our website design team in Exeter knows how to create an online store that will look fantastic from day one.

Our friendly team would love to discuss your next e-commerce website.

So give us a call today at 01392 980012 or 01494 730000.