Ecommerce Web Design Blog

This week, the credit card turned 50 years old.  Credit cards are an invaluable part of everyday life and for many owners of online shops, essential.

The worldwide credit card network was started by American Express in 1958. Bank of America followed quickly with their BankAmericard. The Bank launched the card in a novel way, sending out 60,000 cards to consumers in the area. At first, few had any idea what to do with the cards but they learned the benefits of credit cards quickly and a year later customers had spent more than the equivalent of over $70million Australian dollars on their cards. This inital drop of cards was followed by another 2 million cards throughout all of California, USA. The credit boom never looked back.

Bank of America's overseas affiliates programme which operated with their card evolved into the system that eventually became Visa. A group of banks then also set up rival MasterCharge in 1966 - which later evolved into MasterCard.

Accepting credit cards is an important ingredient in running a high volume, successful shopping cart. There are many payment options online: third party providers like Paypal and Paymate as well as internet payment gateway providers like eWay, Camtech, ANZ eGate, CommWeb, and DirectOne.  All of these payment gateways are supported by ozCart shopping cart software. New Zealand customers can also opt to use NZ based payment gateway providers like Payment Express (DPS) or Paystation.

For an introduction to payment gateways or information on starting your own shopping cart website that accepts credit card, have a look at the information on our website and contact us at Osc Works to find out how we could help you run your own online shop.

When shopping for ecommerce software to start your own online shop, features and the monthly costs are important factors to consider.  But even if the monthly payments are affordable for your business, what about the setup cost? Small businesses need every cent they can save when they set up given the costs of business registrations, phone and Internet connections, business cards, stationery, suppliers and buying stock.  So why spend too much for your ecommerce store setup?

What does setting up your website involve? At most of the top shopping cart providers you will be paying for their specialist technicans to install the ecommerce cart into the website and pre-configuring it for Australian business conditions. At many, the customisation of the graphics and colours to suit your business will also be included.  Setup also covers the level of features you get in the shopping cart software and being entered into the cart provider's billing system to make your ongoing payments.

There is a lot of variation in the setup costs of hosted shopping cart software providers in Australia so it can pay to shop around.  For example, some providers charge $800-$1,000+ to get an ecommerce website set up whereas others charge between $100-$400 setup for a similar level of customisation and as many features.

Ask also whether the price of gst is included or excluded. Even if you can claim back the gst against your tax, paying the gst initially is still a cash flow expense that you must meet. For a small business setting up, this could be significant for you. It pays to check.

If you are unsure about what you are paying for, just ask your potential shopping cart software provider exactly what their setup costs cover.  We think a competitive price in today's market is between $100 - $400 including gst depending on the level of features you are receiving, but what you are prepared to pay will depend on the value you feel you are getting from that shopping cart provider.  

One important point to note is that ensuring you don't pay too much does not mean that the cheapest ecommerce website is necessarily the best shopping cart.  You still need to consider how many ecommerce features the site has, how much flexibility you have with payment and shipping options, the ability to import and export products and customers, and how images will be displayed. Most importantly how will your customers experience your shopping cart? If it is not easy for them, it doesn't matter how easy it is to manage.