What is E-commerce?

E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. In practice, this term and a newer term, e-business, are often used interchangably. For online retail selling, the term e-tailing is sometimes used.

E-commerce can be divided into:

• E-tailing or “virtual storefronts” on Web sites with online catalogs, sometimes gathered into a “virtual mall”
• The gathering and use of demographic data through Web contacts
• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the business-to-business exchange of data
• Email and fax and their use as media for reaching prospects and established customers (for example, with newsletters)
• Business-to-business buying and selling
• The security of business transactions

Why use Ecommerce?

E-commerce is one of the easiest and economical ways of getting a business going as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, business owners - be it small or large - should carefully consider the ramifications of basing their business model either partially or wholly on an e-commerce system.

Like any other form of business, e-commerce entails a certain amount of overhead that must be paid regardless of end results. Owners must consider such fixed costs as hosting fees, database license fees and maintenance costs that are entailed with any kind of computing or internet based service. Patches and software updates must be made regularly, network scans must be done periodically to ensure the privacy and security of your customer and company information.

In short, going the e-commerce route is much less painful than setting up traditional brick-and-mortar avenues, but it is not without its costs. Owners who keep this in mind and budget accordingly should be much more pleased with their end result.

How can E-commerce enhance my business?

Get your business online quickly with our standard e-commmerce service. Tailored for small and medium business’, this setup includes powerful functionality for adding and managing products, downloadable items, managing customer accounts, order histories and payment processing. Manage your product images, add wish lists, discounts and specials to your store. A favourite feature of our services, standard e-commerce only needs your desire for success to make it a worthwhile investment.

Feautures of E-commerce

Product Catalogues

Product Catalogues are one of the best forms of sales material for your online business.
It functions like this:

• A list of products is created and broken down into different categories.
• Products are added for each category
• Each product has it’s own product name, some relevant specifications or options, a description and then the price of the product.
• Many sites have added online payments to their catalogue, thereby enabling customers to pay immediately online and have their product delivered to their propery!

At Broadys Web Design we take your Product Catalogue very seriously, each product catalogue is unique to each individual client and we know it is not just a web page but a crucial sales channel that can be a cornerstone of success in your business.

Online Payments

As it suggests, the term online payments refers to the ability to make or receive payments via a facility on a website. This is the most common form of ‘e-commerce’. Integration of online payments can bring great benefits, often enabling customers to purchase goods or services in an ‘online shopping’ experience or to view and pay invoices online.

If you are considering implementing an online payment solution in your web site your most important considerations should be security, usability and reliability. Perhaps the most important single feature for addressing these considerations is real-time processing - the transaction should take place instantly when the user requests it. For instance, if your solution accepts credit card payments then it should be capable of transferring funds from the payer’s account into your account as soon as the payment is requested and authorised.

To achieve the most reliable and fast payments processing available Broadys Web Design maintains a partnership with DirectOne and SecurePay, who are Australia’s leading online payment gateways.