Websites & e-Commerce part 2

By: Damien Nangle
In last week’s article on this topic we looked at a list of the key parts of an e-commerce website.
They were:
* Domain Name
* Web server space / Hosting package
* Database facility
* Payment Processor
* Bank facility / Merchant account
Now we will have a look at each one of these, its role within your e-commerce website, and what you should be looking for at a minimum.
Domain Name: This is the name by which your company will be known on the web. For more information about this see Seán Hearne’s article on domain names on February 28th. It’s important that you identify something catchy, short if possible, and easy to remember. Above all, it helps if the name is an integral part of your company’s existing branding. You can get domain names from many websites on the Internet, and it should be noted that prices can vary a fair bit. Starting at as low as 9.95 for .co.uk domain names, and going to EUR59.95 for .ie domains. Shop around and get the best value for money. If you haven’t got your Web Server space organised you may need to “park” the domain for a short time. Parking is a term used to describe placing a domain name in an active state, but not used.
Web Server space /Hosting package: This is the name given to describe a combination of services required to place something on the web so that it is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The domain name that you purchased should be pointing to your Hosting account. This provides the connection between your identity and your website. To provide your own hosting is complex and expensive if it is just for your own website. Again there are many hosting providers out there, and the key point is that you get what you pay for. Some provide expensive services, and others provide cheaper services at reasonable prices (from as little as EUR12.95 per month), which might suffice. Things to look out for on a hosting package are:
* Web Space – storage space expressed in MB (Megabytes)
* Bandwidth – web connection size expressed in MB or GB (Gigabytes) per month
* Email addresses and aliases – Email addresses the public can use to contact your company
* FTP access – access to upload and download files from the website
* Database software – usually MySQL or Microsoft SQL server
* Scripting – PERL, CGI, PHP
* SSL Cert – Security Certificate used to take credit card details
* Hardware redundancy – Depending on your needs this may be desirable
Often a web design company will provide an all encompassing price for the design and implementation of a website. Beware that they are not locking you into a particular hosting provider as breaking free can be expensive in some cases.
Database: As mentioned, the database software may be included in the Hosting package. You should try to make sure that it is, as providing it yourself can be costly. The database is required for two purposes. It provides you with a place to store the information about the products you are selling. It also provides you with a place to store information about the customers who have purchased goods from you.
Payment Processor: This is a third party service, which you need to organise. The payment processor is a company that provides you with a method to issue instructions to a bank to bill credit cards on your behalf. It is unlikely that you will be able to charge credit cards and other banks directly without the assistance of a payment processor. The payment processor will provide you with security checks to validate the credit cards you are attempting to charge. The payment processor may have several other value added features. You should check with your bank with regards to a payment processor, as they will have a preferred supplier.
Bank Facility / Merchant account: This is a special account that you must set up with your banking partner. Without the merchant account you will not have a way to receive funds from the online transactions. A merchant account is usually provided with the ability to receive credit card transactions. You will need to speak to your bank to organise this. Often a bank will have a preferred Payment Processor with whom they deal a lot.
Those are the key parts of the E-commerce website. Hopefully you will have a little bit more information than you did at the outset, and perhaps setting up that e-commerce web site will be more attractive now. These articles have not covered many other aspects of websites, including the very important need to register with search engines. This will be covered in a later article.
Summary of websites that you can check out:
Domains and hosting
www.register365.ie, www.hosting365.ie,
www.digiweb.ie www.blacknightsolutions.com www.darklite.ie
www.realex.ie
Payment processors
www.aib.ie www.bankofireland.ie – banks.
There are of course lots of other alternatives, but these are good starting places.