E-commerce web site features  

At its most basic, an e-commerce web site is a one-item-at-a-time shopping experience. The e-commerce software displays a “buy” button with each product description, but there is no shopping cart functionality to allow for purchases of multiple items at once. Visitors click the button for the product they want, enter their credit card details, shipping address, and in some cases the quantity to buy, and the transaction is complete. The order information is relayed via email, and you process it the same way you’d process a telephone order. This type of e-commerce web site is only suited for the most basic purchases.

Most businesses entering into e-commerce need a more complete online store that helps streamline the shopping process by allowing customers to shop for multiple products at once. To be called an online store, an e-commerce web site should include shopping cart functionality and an order processing and tracking system.

Many purchases involve multiple options: size and color are two very common examples. In an entry-level e-commerce web site, you might have to create separate products for blue widgets, red widgets, and green widgets. Adding a “color” option simplifies the shopping process considerably and cuts down on the amount of work you have to do to manage your store.

Here are some other features important to complete e-commerce web sites:

• Shipping calculator. The system can determine shipping charges based on the weight of the items, the customer’s location, and the type of shipping they choose.

• Tax status. The location of your business and the customer’s location can affect whether or not you should collect sales tax on your purchases.
• Automatic charge processing. By connecting to your merchant account, an e-commerce system can automatically charge customers’ credit cards.
• Stored shopping cart. Saves the contents of customers’ shopping carts from one visit to the next if they are unable to complete their order.
• Search. Research shows that many web shoppers don’t even try to browse their way through catalogs – they go straight to search to quickly locate the products they want.
• Discount codes. The online equivalent of coupons: by entering a special code, customers can get free shipping, a discount on their order, or other special offers.

To review these and other useful e-commerce web site features, use our free vendor comparison tool.

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