What is “Ecommerce”?

↑ Top

Ecommerce is the term used to describe the process of selling goods and services over the internet. In the most general sense, simply creating a website that advertises and promotes your products can be considered “Ecommerce.” Over the years, Ecommerce has become much more sophisticated.

Ecommerce businesses now offer elaborate online stores where customers can browse thousands of products, place an order, select the desired shipping method and pay for their purchases using their credit cards. You can even view if your order is in transit via UPS, USPS, or DHL tracking systems or any other carrier associated with the Ecommerce store.

Should I open an online store?

↑ Top

If you are reading this, you are probably already half-sold on the idea of extending your business online. Online sales in the coming year are expected to total at least $7 billion, and that’s a conservative estimate. As more people world-wide gain access to the internet, Ecommerce and online shopping will become second nature to consumers and businesses.

What software do I need to set up an online store?

↑ Top

With J.M. Field Fulfillment’s Ecommerce solutions, all you need to set up your online store is the browser you are using to view your shopping cart pages. If you know how to point and click, you’re ready to start. We take care of the hosting and the set up of your store – sounds great doesn’t it? Well it is, J.M. Field Fulfillment is an expert at online store development and set up.

Do I need to know HTML to set up an online store?

↑ Top

No, you don’t. You don’t need to know any HTML or Web programming. We provide you with an Admin-Login that helps you format a store without any prior HTML knowledge. However, integrating the store with your website will require some HTML or Web editing knowledge.

How many products can I sell in my online store?

↑ Top

You can sell any number of products on your site, from just a few items to thousands. Once you decide how many products you want to sell, you can pick the hosting plan that best meets your needs.

When you chose a plan, be sure to consider how your site and your product offerings may grow in the future, as well as what advanced features and functionalities you want to offer your customers. For example, you may want to provide a search feature that lets your customers search for a specific product. You want to be sure that the plan you choose will be able to accommodate your growth and your changing needs as your customer base expands and your traffic increases.

Can I sell products that can be downloaded, such as music, software or streaming video?

↑ Top

J.M. Field Fulfillment’s dedicated web hosting accounts are not configured for the purposes of distributing software and/or multimedia products. If you wish to distribute software and/or multimedia files, please contact info@jmfield.com to make special arrangements.

How much does it cost to set up an online store? Is there a minimum time commitment?

↑ Top

Ecommerce plans may range anywhere from $250.00 a month to $1500.00 a month, pricing depends upon the number of products you want to sell, the traffic you anticipate and the features and functionalities you want to provide to your customers.

There may be other costs associated with an online store. For example, if you want to be able to accept credit cards and process those transactions online, you will need a merchant account and a payment gateway service. Typically, there are initial set up fees as well as on-going costs for these services that will be in addition to your hosting costs.

How long will it take for my store to go online?

↑ Top

Once you place your order online with a credit card, you can start building your store within 24 to 72 hours. This is the time needed to activate your domain name (if it is new) and to spread information around the world about the physical location of your site on the internet. As far as the store going live, that depends on the timeframe we receive the date necessary for the store back-end which includes uploading products etc. The amount of products needed to be input into the store also makes a difference. Once you start building the site, it doesn’t take long. Sites with just a few products can be set up in less than an hour. For most stores, however, it takes from a few hours to several days. Two weeks is about average for our customers.

I already have a website. Can I integrate an online store into it?

↑ Top

Yes, J.M. Field Fulfillment makes it easy for you to add Ecommerce to your site. You can order a plan that includes Ecommerce. For more information, contact our support at info@jmfield.com.

Once you have built your online store, you can easily integrate it into your existing site by either providing a link to your new store front or incorporating your products into your existing website.

Will I be able to customize the “look and feel” of my online store?

↑ Top

Our shopping cart is completely customizable. You can request a specific look and feel and we will create it for you. Our programmers are fully capable of integrating any layout you need for your websites’ image and shopping experience.

What are my options for handling transactions?

↑ Top

You have a number of options for handling transactions. The most basic approach is to handle all of your transactions offline. For example, you could publish your address and have your customers send their orders along with a check or money order directly to you. You could also collect your customers’ credit card information via email or phone and then process the credit card transactions offline using your retail merchant account.

These are probably not the best approaches, though, because one the main reasons customers shop at an online store is for the speed and convenience it provides.

To increase the chances that customers will want to shop at your online store, it should be able to accept and process credit card transactions online and in “real-time.” You can handle your own online transactions or outsource them to a third-party credit card processor.

What are third-party online credit card processors?

↑ Top

If you want to be able to accept credit cards but do not want to handle this yourself, you can use a third-party online credit card processor. When your customers want to purchase a product, they click a link that takes them to the third-party’s website. There, they will submit their order and credit card information, which is then processed by the third-party processor. Essentially, these processors act as resellers. They may charge you a variety of fees for this service, including an initial set up fee, monthly fees and/or per-transaction fees.

While outsourcing your online transactions may seem appealing, you should consider the fact that it will be obvious to your customers that their transactions are being handled not by your company but by a third-party.

What do I need to handle “real-time” online credit card transactions myself?

↑ Top

If you want to handle online credit card transactions yourself, you will need an internet-ready merchant account, a payment gateway service and an SSL certificate.

What is a merchant account? How do I get one?

↑ Top

A merchant account enables you to accept credit cards as payment for the purchase of goods and services. There are different types of merchant accounts. For example, if you have a traditional “brick and mortar” store, you can get a retail merchant account. If you want to accept credit cards on your website, however, you need a special type of merchant account known as an “internet-ready” merchant account.

Internet-ready merchant accounts enable you to handle internet transactions in “real-time” without any human intervention. Because the risk of credit card fraud is greater when you are accepting credit cards over the internet, these specialized merchant accounts also provide additional checks that can significantly reduce the chance of credit card fraud. Once the transactions are processed, the merchant account provider transfers the funds received from the credit card transactions from your merchant account to your bank account.

A number of companies offer internet-ready merchant accounts. You are free to choose any merchant account provider, as long as they support one of the following payment methods:

  • CyberSource
  • Authorize.Net
  • LinkPoint/Cardservice
  • VeriSign (PaymentNet)
  • PayPal (Standard)
  • Google Checkout

I already have a merchant account. Can I use it with J.M. Field Fulfillment Ecommerce plans?

↑ Top

Yes. If you already have an internet-ready merchant account you can use it with J.M. Field Fulfillment’s Ecommerce plans as long as it supports one of the following payment methods:

  • CyberSource
  • Authorize.Net
  • LinkPoint/Cardservice
  • VeriSign (PaymentNet)
  • PayPal (Standard)
  • Google Checkout

What is a payment gateway? How do I find one?

↑ Top

A payment gateway is a service that connects your online store with your merchant account provider. This service reads the information from the order forms and translates that information for the merchant account. The payment gateway also verifies that the customer’s credit card account has the necessary credit available for the purchase.

You can obtain a payment gateway separately from your merchant account, however you may find it simpler to choose a merchant account provider that also offers a payment gateway.

How can I assure my customers that their transactions are secure?

↑ Top

If your customers will be submitting their credit card information to you online they will want to know that this information is safe. If they are not comfortable with the security your site offers, they will probably not buy products from you.

The best way to alleviate your customers’ concerns is to secure your site using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). When a site is secured with SSL—the standard form of encryption currently used on the Web—visitors will see a special symbol in their browser window that indicates the site is secure. Visitors can also tell that a page is secured by looking at the URL. A secure page’s URL begins with the letters “HTTPS” instead of the standard “HTTP.”

What is SSL?

↑ Top

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a method of ensuring that information submitted through your website is secure and cannot be accessed by unauthorized users. When a site offers an SSL-secured form, the information submitted via that form (typically credit card information) is encrypted using a special “certificate key” and then decrypted with another key after it has been transmitted.

When users access a site secured with SSL using either Netscape or Internet Explorer, a symbol displays in their browser windows indicating that the site is secure.

What is an SSL Certificate? How do I get one?

↑ Top

An SSL Certificate, or a digital certificate, is an electronic document that contains the information necessary to establish a secure SSL connection. When used in credit card transactions, the website collecting the credit card information and the site to which the information is being transmitted must both have an SSL Certificate.

J.M. Field Fulfillment can provide both the secure server and secure server certificate needed to support SSL.

Ecommerce FAQ was last modified: December 4th, 2014 by