A domain name is the address of your website people will type into their web browser to access your website.
In order for your website to go live, you need a webhosting company to host your domain name.
Below are some tips you can follow when setting up your domain and website hosting:
- Decide what you would like your domain name to be. i.e. www.yourdomain.com
- Find a reliable webhosting company that provides services based on your eCommerce needs (i.e. a hosting service that allows you to connect to
a shopping cart)
- Register and purchase your domain name and a hosting package through your chosen webhosting company
The following webhosting companies can provide adequate services for eCommerce businesses:
AussieHQ
WebCentral
SmartyHost
MD Web Hosting
Once you have your domain name hosted, it is a good idea to begin contacting banks to begin setting up your Internet merchant facility.
An Internet merchant facility is required in order to accept online credit card payments and receive funds into your bank account.
Contacting banks can sometimes be a hard process and is why we have made talking and setting up your Internet merchant facility an easy process.
By beginning the eWAY Sign up process, you will have the ability to select which banks you would like us to organise to contact you.
Most banks will require you to provide information and a live demonstration or screen shots of your eCommerce business website. If you need help
building, designing and integrating eWAY into your website, feel free to use our Developer Directory.
Read more about what you will need to setup your Internet Merchant Facility by reading our Banking Requirements
section.
Your website should have a virtual presence that reflects the quality of your products and your business. If you are unsure how to go about
creating your eCommerce website you can employ a professional web developer to create it for you. Our Developer Directory can help you find
a web developer in your area.
Below are some suggestions you may wish to include on your website:
- Ensure your website is user friendly so your customers can navigate through your website and make a purchase without
getting lost or confused.
- Include a products/services page to outline what you are selling.
- Include a contact page with numerous ways you can be contacted (i.e. e-mail, mail address and phone number) allowing your
customers to easily contact you if they have an enquiry.
- Integrate a shopping cart into your website to allow your products/services to be purchased. (Find more about shopping carts
in the next section)
Your eCommerce website will need a shopping cart in order to provide an effective online service. A shopping cart allows your customers
to view a list of all your products/services and provides a facility to purchase them online through your website.
When choosing a shopping cart it is important to ensure that you can integrate the eWAY payment gateway. You can find a shopping cart we
have been integrated into on our shopping cart directory page, giving you a choice of over 120 providers around the world.
Below are some considerations to take into account when choosing a shopping cart:
- Ensure the shopping cart provides you with features you need (i.e. inventory control, warnings, stock-on-hand, purchase history,
sales reporting).
- Ensure the shopping cart allows you to include product images. And if necessary, allow you to resize and/or import the same
image to multiple products in one step.
- Marketing tools can be a part of some shopping cart providers which can assist in tracking and targeting customers, sending newsletters
and/or including advertising banners or Adsence advertising on your website.
Integrating the eWAY payment gateway allows you to accept online credit card payments in real-time, 24/7. We provide you with two options
of accepting online payments through your eCommerce website.
Our Shared Payment solution allows your customers to be directed through to the eWAY secure payment page which can be customised to maintain
branding and keep the look and feel of your website.
Our Merchant Hosted Payment solution allows your customers to enter their credit card details on your website. This allows you to alleviate
any concerns your customers may have with being directed to another website for payment. An SSL certificate is necessary for your customer
security when using this payment gateway solution (Find more about SSL certificates in the next section).
If you require assistance in integrating the eWAY payment gateway into your website, our Developer Directory
can help you find a developer in your area.
An SSL certificate is required for any eCommerce business in order to provide security encryption of customers' information when making a
purchase from your website.
If you choose to use our Merchant Hosted Payment solution, you will need to purchase and install an SSL certificate. eWAY is a trusted
reseller of VeriSign, GeoTrust and Thawte SSL certificates. Find more information and purchase
an SSL certificate.
The eWAY Shared Payment solution is secured with the highest level of SSL encryption available and doesn’t require you to purchase an
additional certificate.
Once your eCommerce website is online, it is time to start marketing in order to generate traffic and sales.
The right form of marketing is different for every eCommerce business. Some methods of online marketing are free and some cost money.
Below is a list of suggested online marketing strategies you can consider implementing:
- Search engine optimisation (SEO) involves onsite and offsite keyword density and linking resulting in your website appearing
in the free search engine results. Some companies offer SEO services if you choose not to spend time working on SEO yourself.
- Partner with other websites, trading banners or links and/or newsletter content.
- Create an affiliate program for your products, allowing other websites to advertise your business while paying them a commission
fee based off sales generated from their website.
- Create a pay-per-click account which will display your ad on thousands of different websites around the word and only pay when someone
clicks on your ad and goes to your website.