Ecommerce: Five factors that demand attention

Swapping cash and other currency in exchange for a product or service online is a major player on the Internet these days. Amazon, eBay and others have all but cornered the market in providing this offering, and there are several other smaller players trying to get their own piece of the proverbial pie. What makes one successful and the other not can often balance between what digital solutions they opt for security-wise.

ecommerce security

Hosting

With numerous companies out there eager to have you house and accommodate your online presence with them, it is more vital than ever to have your presence sit with a real hosting expert. This host needs to know what they are doing, be doing it for hundreds if not thousands of other small and big fries, and be willing to meet your needs on a very consistent basis.

Once-off action doesn’t mean that inspiration will translate to habit – and the provider must be held accountable with a fair amount of regularity. If not, both of you will be found wanting in the end – and the detrimental factor will ultimately fall with you, who is more invested than they potentially are going to be going forward.

Security

When money exchanging hands, via electronic funds transfer services like PayPal and the like is involved, extra vigilant security measures simply have to be put in place. Double and triple layers after password and prompts are a good idea, while ensuring that the content management system that was used to build the site is bug or malware free is another solid piece of thinking. In these circumstances, one should be happy to pay pretty hefty prices for programmes and security software that will ultimately give you the peace of mind and business freedom to get on with other important matters.

Stability

As a front-end user, there is almost nothing worse than getting a timeout message or having a browser crash when you are in the middle of an online purchase. While it might not always be the company on the other side’s fault, as it could be a problem with your personal connection, it often is the former – particularly during a heavily overloaded time of day or later in the year. This has been seen on ticket-buying websites time and time again – and complaints vast and varied are often not enough to get companies to reconsider their hosting options.

Timelines

This is really for when it comes to building the ecommerce portal or platform – and needs to be adhered to strictly. If the sole purpose of the website is to have bodies buy and sell goods, then the ecommerce facility needs to be one of the first things, if not the first thing, instituted. It can’t lay dormant, as then the site will be just another weak link – excuse the pun – on the internet. When chatting to your potential developer and host, ensure they are willing to scale up and down their timelines according to your wants, needs and demands. Negotiate and compromise, but make sure it gets done soon enough.

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