What is e-Commerce
e-Commerce stands for Electronic Commerce, which is in itself a broad term for selling on the Internet. With the ability to process credit cards electronically on the Internet, just about anything can be sold on the Web. More and more people are buying online and enjoy the benefits of convenience and, sometimes, lower prices. Online stores are often able to reduce prices because they are able to reduce overheads such as commercials rates, employee costs and marketing costs to run a brick and mortar shop. In a busy world, convenience is everything! Shipping times are so fast that when an item is ordered online it can often be at the buyer's doorstep within twenty-four hours.
e-Commerce websites are all designed and built differently, but they all use the same basic functions. They display an electronic catalogue of goods for sale and the opportunity for a customer to select items from the catalogue. The ability to accept credit or debit cards is very important. The credit or debit does not actually process through the website, for security reasons, but processes through a 'Payment Gateway'. A Payment Gateway is a company that works with the credit card companies to be sure that all credit card transactions are processed securely. The business must have an account with a Payment Gateway to accept credit or debit cards on the Web site. Although the transactions process through a gateway, the customer will never know or be directed away from the website. The Web site is guarded with encryption, making fraud nearly impossible. When a purchase is made the money will be transferred directly into the business' Internet Merchant Bank Account.
When an order is placed, the customer’s purchase and payment information will come into the administration section. Staff can login with their desired Username and Password to view this information. Through the admin section it is also possible to add new products, update products, and maintain the whole website.
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