Internet business jargon - a short guide

Acquirer / Acquiring bank: this bank provides you with a Merchant Account specially for e-commerce payments. Not all banks are acquiring banks, so you may have a business account with one bank, and a Merchant Account with another. WorldPay can provide you with a Merchant Account alongside payment processing. For more information, refer to Merchant Accounts.

Card Issuer: the card issuer provides payment cards for shoppers. When a shopper pays at your online store, their card issuer has to authorise the payment.

CNP - Cardholder Not Present: this is when the payment card is not seen by the merchant and includes all online transactions as well as transactions by phone, mail order or fax.

Domain Name: this is your address on the internet. It's the way people find your online business, so having a domain name your customers can remember is really important. For more information, refer to Domain Names.

Host/Hosting: a web host is a company you can pay to maintain your website on a web server. And a web server is basically an internet space for your e-business, which means that it can be found 24/7. You can host your website yourself if you have the right resources. For more information, refer to Hosting.

IP Address: your Internet Protocol (IP) Address is the unique number that identifies every computer connected to the internet. When your web browser or email application requests a web page, it's the address other computers will email the information to.

Internet Service Provider: the company that gives you access to the internet and may also host your web pages. For more information, refer to ISP.

Merchant Account: see acquiring bank (above). A Merchant Account is specifically for accepting payments online - you can't trade on the internet without one. [WorldPay can provide you with a Merchant Account alongside payment processing.] For more information, refer to Merchant Accounts.

Mail and Telephone Order (MOTO) Payment Service: this allows businesses to take order and card details over the phone or by post. WorldPay provides a simple online MOTO form you can use. For more information, refer to Mail and Telephone Order Payment Service.

Payment Service Provider: to ensure that your customers' details are kept safe, this service provides secure links between your website, your acquiring bank and card issuers. For more information, refer to Payment Service Provider.

Pay-per-click advertising: online advertising is there to bring customers to your e-business. With pay-per-click you'll be charged an agreed amount every time a user clicks through to your website from one of your online ads. For more information, refer to Pay-Per-Click Advertising.

Search Engine: this provides access to a searchable database of website addresses and descriptions. Google is the most popular, with 90% of UK internet searches. For more information, refer to Working with Google.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): this is how you get more visitors to your website who are likely to buy something from among search engine users looking for particular keywords and phrases. For more information, refer to Search Engine Marketing.

Storebuilder/Shopping cart: this software lets you create an e-shopfront which acts as the site's virtual shopping cart, catalogue and ordering system. You can buy it 'off the shelf' or get it custom built for your business. Storebuilders can let you do everything from designing the look and feel of your website, stock control and delivering goods. For more information, refer to Storebuilders.

E-business success - top tipsGet you product and price absolutely right (our price is half that of competing products). Get your

timing absolutely right. Surround your customer with exceptional customer-care. The internet is the future, be there, be bold.

To make your online business a success, some things can make all the difference. We know what works for our successful internet business customers - here's what they've told us:

Plan: care at the planning stage - such as carrying out basic market research - makes your success more likely later on. More information at Before you start.

Get your website found: lots of new online businesses don't think about how potential customers are going to find their website. It's not rocket science, but you need to know where to start. More information at Online promotion.

Tackle fraud: if cardholders have their card details used at your web shop without their permission, you will be responsible for refunding them - plus if you've already shipped the goods to a fraudster, you'll loose the value of these too. As a result, you have to protect your internet business from fraud. More information at Fraud prevention.

Look after your e-customers: when you aren't face to face with your customers, the customer experience is even more crucial. Internet businesses really need to communicate with their customers and be realistic about delivery time-scales. More information at Customer service for e-business.

Website usability and content: if they can't find what they're looking for, they won't hang around. First impressions are vital on the internet too, and keeping your content fresh and accurate will encourage customers to return. More information at Creating a great website.

E-business: before you start

Setting up on the internet need not be complicated and there's plenty of business advice and business support out there. But planning before you get started is vital.

Tip: attracting customersThe number one thing you can do to get visitors to your site and develop a customer base is to give something away for free: a product or service, expert advice, free delivery.

An e-business niche: where are the gaps in the market? Look at what your competitors are doing. What sells well online? Things that are cheaper than on the high street, difficult to find and easier to

buy online. Who's your target audience, what do they really want and why would they want to visit your website?

The online marketplace: the online marketplace is not like the high street. Potential customers share information about online products and services using blogs, social media and online reviews. How can you attract them? Look at websites you like to see what they are doing right - making it easy for customers to find what they are looking for, for example. Look at how they use the internet to really interact with customers and potential customers.

A business plan: if you need start-up funding, get some advice on small business finance. You need a business plan even if you simply want to know how your e-business is doing. A good business plan will help you work out how you'll meet your goals and should describe your business, its objectives and strategies, the market you're in and financial forecasts.Have a look at Business Link's guide to creating, and implementing, a clear and realistic plan.

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Small business financeE-business start-up costs can be low but you'll still need to finance your upfront costs. Small business finance is available - but you need to know where to look.

Before you make a penny of profit from your business, you might need to set up an office, create a website, buy stock upfront or just finance day-to-day costs. This may mean you need to borrow money.

Some banks offer special start-up deals, including free business banking, to new online businesses. NatWest's Startup Information is a good place to start.

E-business banking, step-by-step

You'll need a Merchant Account to accept online card payments (see Merchant Account for more information)

Your online payment funds are transferred from your Merchant Account into a separate personal or business bank account

If you are a Limited Company, your bank account will need to be held in the company's name (a business account)

If you are a sole trader or partner, your bank account can be held in either the company's name or as a personal account in your own name. But NB, even if you are a sole trader it's advisable to get a separate bank account for your business needs.

The services offered by banks, along with the fees they charge, vary a lot so it's worth doing some research before you sign up.

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Online Trading Guide Forming an e-business Small business finance

Naming your e-businessE-business or high street shop - the name of your business has to attract potential customers. Choosing the name of your e-business can be fun, but it's vital you get it right.

The name game

Choose something original and punchy. Think of the sort of customers you want - will it appeal to them? And make sure it's easy to spell!

Think long term. A name that describes exactly what you do (Bargain Books) is good from a marketing point of view. But suppose you want to expand into other markets?

Think about your unique domain name. If you want to register your business name as the domain, check it's available. Getting ownership of a domain name later can be expensive and time-consuming. Refer to Naming your website for more information.

Making it legal

You've chosen the name - now there are legal issues to deal with.(Information for UK-domiciled merchants only)

Are you sure no-one is already using the name you want? Check the online Companies House search. Check business directories and the internet for any use of that name. To be absolutely sure, get a solicitor to check for you.

Make sure your company name doesn't conflict with any registered trademarks - you could face legal action if it does. Check on the Patent Office Trade Mark Database.

If the name is one you've made up yourself (it's not a name anyone could find in a dictionary) you could register a trademark yourself. After you've checked that it doesn't conflict with any existing registered trademarks (see above) you can file an application with the Patent and Trademark Office.Trademark applications can take a number of months and cost up to £200.

You haven't got a completely free hand in picking your business name. For example you can't imply a link with the government or the monarchy, or call yourself a limited company/ charity/ sole trader if you aren't one. Companies House has a list of restricted words and phrases, plus details of how you get permission to use them.

Business Link has useful information on choosing the right name for your e-business.

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E-business legal(Information for UK- domiciled merchants only)

You've spotted the gap in the market, weighed up the competition, researched your customers and done the finances. You're ready to get your online business up and running. Now you have to form a company.

E-business or not, the start-up process is much the same. In the UK, it's generally straightforward. If you are taking an existing company online, you'll also need to make sure your online store complies with Distance Selling Legislation - see E-commerce Regulations for more information.

For a new e-business, you'll need to register the right legal structure to comply with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and other authorities.

As a small start-up business, the extra financial cost of becoming a limited company meant we chose to register as a partnership. As a dotcom we didn’t think not being a limited company would diminish our brand status in any way and we plan to register as a limited company when our turnover is sufficient to apply to register for VAT.

Gary Cook www.mywoodentoy.com

The following legal structures are most common:

Legal Type Features Registering

Sole Trader If you have no employees, registering as a sole trader is the simplest and cheapest way to run a business. There's far less paperwork than for setting up a limited company. You only pay income tax on the company's profits and not on the salary you pay yourself. And you can turn into a limited company at a later date - for example once the business has grown and/or has reached the VAT threshold (see VAT for more information).You'll need to fill in yearly self-assessment tax forms and declare your earnings annually.

You're the only boss. You have to cover any business

debt or losses from your personal wealth or possessions.

You won't need lawyers or accountants to set up as a sole trader - just register with HMRC.

Call HMRC's Newly Self-Employed Helpline - on 0845 915 4515 - for advice on registering.

If you don't register within three months of starting to trade you can face a fine.

Partnership A partnership is similar to a sole trader and each partner pays income tax on their percentage of income from the partnership.

Each partner registers as self-employed with HMRC (as above).

Draw up a partnership agreement between you. It's not a legal

The risk and profit is split with at least one other person.

As with a sole trader, each partner is held personally responsible for losses.

requirement, but it's worth clarifying the length of the partnership and the responsibilities of the partners.

Without a partnership agreement, the contribution, liabilities and assets of each partner is considered to be equal.

Limited Company Setting up as a limited company means the company's finances are separate from your personal finances. It's worth considering if the business is higher risk or involves a large amount of initial capital.

You are only responsible for any personal debt you have incurred.

You'll get taxed twice: you pay tax on your income and corporation tax on the business' profits as well.

Use a lawyer or accountant to set up as a limited company - it's more complicated than Sole Trader or Partnership.

You'll need to register with Companies House - their contact number is 0870 33 33 636.

It's important to find out - before you start trading - as much as possible about the legal issues that may affect your business.

Business Link, part of the Department for Trade and Industry, provides a handy interactive tool to help you choose the right legal structure for your business. It's also worth speaking to an accountant to help you make your decision.

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E-business: registration(Information for UK - domiciled merchants only.)

You've registered your business and domain name, HMRC and Companies House have the paperwork and your bank accounts are waiting for you to start trading. But you still have a few legal tasks on your to-do list.

Health and safety

Even if you are a sole trader and the only 'employee' is you, as soon as you register your online business, you are obliged to create a risk-free environment for your employees. The Health and

Safety Executive is responsible for ensuring the welfare of British workers. Your responsibilities won't be difficult to manage - particularly if you are your only employee - but you should check them out on the Health and Safety Website.

Data Protection Act

If you store your customer details in a database (hard or soft copy) then by law you must register this activity in order to conform with the Data Protection Act 1998 UK. It's really straightforward, and around £35 covers you for two years.

For more information and to register, go to the Data Protection Website.

Or call the Data Protection Helpline on 01625 545745.

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Business advice: IT

Once your e-business is trading, you'll be spending a lot of your time online. Having IT equipment that does what you need and won't let you down will be crucial.

You can't do this at all without a computer with internet connection (of course). But you are likely to need other equipment, perhaps a scanner or a camera. If you're setting up from scratch you can probably expect to spend between £500 and £5,000.

Here's what you'll probably need to get started online.

Computer

Processor: your processor is the power behind your computer. It has to be fast enough to run all the applications you'll need to run your online store. You can install extra gygabytes (GB) of RAM (random access memory) if you have an existing computer that isn't fast enough. As an SME retailer you should be looking at a minimum of 512 megabytes (MB).

Hard drive: most new computers come with hard drives big enough to store a few gygabytes of data such as text files, programs and other essential files. This is probably enough unless you do a lot of graphics work.

Internet access

Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer business-specific services. They'll cost a bit more but you'll be paying for a generally faster and more reliable connection and probably a better level of

service and support. Business-specific ISP services often guarantee up-times for connectivity and dedicated technical support.

The most important thing to look at in terms of speed is the bandwidth and download speed restrictions. Each time a visitor views your site they download a small amount of information to their computer. If you're hosting your site yourself, you'll need to make sure your ISP doesn't penalise you if this download amount is large. You might change to a connection that is faster and more powerful than broadband. If you have many employees requiring simultaneous and fast internet access, for example, you might consider an ISDN or ADSL connection.

Many ISPs also offer extra services such as multiple email addresses and domain names, web storage space and even website hosting.

Software

Much of the software you'll need to use is inexpensive, or free, and available on the internet. As well as the basic computer software that normally comes as standard with operating systems (such as Microsoft), you should consider:

Web browser: there are several popular browsers - including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Netscape Navigator and Opera - and your customers could be using any of them. Your website can display and even work differently depending on which your customer is using, so you'll need to test it on as many of them as you can. Check also how it displays on PCs, Apple Macs and hand-held devices.

Email: for business use, email software should have advanced features such as auto-responders, the ability to create mailing lists and to attach a signature file to the end of your email with your company name and other details.

Web editing programmes: these let you create and amend your website even if you don't know HTML. If you are using a storebuilder template, you won't need your own software. If you are creating web pages yourself, you'll most likely need web editing programs (such as Microsoft FrontPage).

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software: if you create your own web pages, an FTP program lets you transfer them from your own computer to your host.

Backup software: you should make sure you back-up your online business files using backup software. Running a business is demanding enough without worrying about losing all your files in case of a technical failure.

Security

Hackers, viruses and 'Denial-of-Service' (DOS) attacks are increasingly sophisticated and will always threaten the most vulnerable sites. Successful attacks could mean the theft of sensitive data or customers locked out from using your website.

You should make sure you have a clear understanding of the risks and how you'll deal with them, and have a practical security policy in place. The Business Link advice is really helpful on this.

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Business advice: e-business regulations(Information for UK- domiciled merchants only.)

E-business trading brings with it a few extra regulations you'll need to comply with, whether you're moving your existing business online or setting up a new one.

Like any laws and rules, online trading regulations can be complex and can often change. Our advice is an outline guide but you should also look at the Office of Fair Trading Website and/or obtain professional legal advice to make sure you are compliant.

The online regulations you need to be aware of include Department of Trade and Industry regulations and various rules for card schemes, as well as requirements outlined in your WorldPay Customer Agreement.

And of course there's the general trading legislation that applies to all businesses which supply goods and services - on- or off-line.

It's my job to set customers live with WorldPay and frequently we can't because the website isn't compliant. Mostly this is because Limited companies haven’t displayed their address and Limited company number. A lot of customers also haven’t displayed the card and WorldPay logos on the body of their website- do this and you’ll be able to go live sooner.

Lookpa, WorldPay Compliance team.

Trading regulations - compliance advice

Your Website

To comply with regulations, your website should display:

terms and conditions that your customers can print off your business name, address and other contact details including an email address your VAT number, if applicable details of any professional body you're registered with details of any publicly available register in which you are entered plus your registration number prices that are clear and indicate whether they include tax and delivery the card logos for all card types you accept along with the 'Powered by WorldPay' logo

Your Customers

Your customers are entitled to:

details in writing about your company and the terms of the transaction further information including a notice of cancellation rights, complaints procedure, after-sales service

and guarantees written confirmation of their order delivery within 30 days unless otherwise agreed

a cooling-off period of 7 working days in which to cancel the contract. If no details of the cooling-off period have been provided to the customer, it is extended to 3 months

choose whether they want cookies from your site on their PC and be provided with information on how to disable them.

Emails

Any electronic communications you send must clearly identify:

the person/business sending the marketing communication any promotional offer and its conditions whether the communication is unsolicited (spam) - this must be in the subject line of the email valid email address recipients can use to unsubscribe.

General Trading Legislation

Online or off-line, any UK trader needs to comply with a range of other laws on the supply of goods and services. To summarise, these stipulate that:

the goods you sell are fit for their purpose and of satisfactory quality under the Sale of Goods Act products are exactly as you describe them under the Trade Descriptions Act services are carried out with reasonable skill, in a reasonable time and at a reasonable price under

the Sale of Goods Act.

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E-business and tax(Information for UK-domiciled merchants only.)

Where there is business, there will be taxes, whether the business is online or off. If you are taking an existing business online, you're probably familiar with most of this advice. If not, this is vital information when you're starting out.

Income tax

Income tax is payable on your income from employment or self-employment. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) sets a tax-free allowance for you - you pay tax on the rest. The amount of income tax you pay on your business income depends on the amount you earn and the type of business:

Don't pay too much tax!

There are a number of tax reliefs than can reduce the amount of income tax you pay; find out which you are eligible for and apply for them via the HM Revenue and Customs Website.

Sole trader: you pay income tax on your business' profits rather than on the salary you pay yourself. You're responsible for paying your own income tax (and National Insurance - see below for more information) by filling in a tax return every year. Once you are registered as a sole trader, HMRC will automatically send you a tax return form that suits your particular circumstances.

Limited company: as an employee you pay income tax on your salary, normally deducted automatically from your wage via the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme. But as a director of a limited company, you'll also need to fill in an annual tax return. Business Link advice advice will help you with this. (A limited company also pays corporation tax on its profits - see below.)

See Tax Relief, below, for advice on reducing the amount of income tax you pay.

There are also a number of tax reliefs than can reduce the amount of income tax you pay - refer to Tax Relief for more information.

Corporation tax

Corporation tax is not payable by sole traders and partnerships but is payable on the profits of limited companies. You pay corporation tax, in the country you live in, on your worldwide online trading profits. Anything you make money from can be taxed once you are making at least a few thousand pounds a year.

You are legally obliged to let HMRC know your company exists and that it is liable for corporation tax. You can do this on the HM Revenue & Customs website.

You don't want to pay more corporation tax than you need to - keep accurate records of your income and expenditure.

Tax relief

Many new businesses can reduce their tax bills by taking advantage of a number of tax allowances and reliefs. Tax reliefs aren't awarded automatically - you'll need to find out which you are eligible for and apply for them via the H M Revenue & Customs Website.

As your business is taxed on its profits, it's important to work out how much your business has spent as these costs can be deducted from the tax you pay. You should always keep receipts from any business purchases or expenses that you can offset against your tax payments - such as fitting your home office. Calculate your taxable profits at the HM Revenue & Customs website.

Many new businesses can reduce their tax bills by taking advantage of a number of tax allowances and reliefs.

Your business is taxed on its profits, so it's important to work out how much your business has spent, as these costs can be deducted from the tax you pay. Have you bought IT equipment for your business? Or stationery? A desk? Keep receipts from any business purchases or expenses that you can offset against your tax payments.

Calculate your taxable profits at the HM Revenue & Customs website.

Tax reliefs aren't awarded automatically - find out which you are eligible for and apply for them via the H M Revenue & Customs Website.

National insurance

Most sole traders and the managing directors of limited companies must pay monthly National Insurance (NI) as well as tax to HMRC.

In exchange for NI contributions you'll most likely be eligible for certain benefits such as a state pension and Jobseeker's Allowance.

NI isn't one-size fits all: there are different types of flat-rate or wage-based contributions. Make sure you know what your correct NI payments should be. If you get it wrong, there could be a substantial bill and/or a penalty later on.

Have a look at National Insurance information.

Charging VAT

VAT applies to most business transactions that involve the sale of goods or services.

Once your turnover passes a certain level you'll need to register (with HMRC) for VAT. Then you'll have to charge VAT on your sales and repay the VAT to HMRC.

The amount of VAT you charge on your sales depends on what you are selling and who you are selling it to. It's not that simple, but - fortunately - the HMRC website includes a comprehensive guide to VAT rates.

VAT is considerably more complex on purchases that are made outside the UK, depending on whether you are supplying goods or services to business or non-business customers, inside or outside the EU. If your business has not previously been involved in cross-border trading, speak to an accountant or tax adviser before you start.

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Online business website: getting started

You've set up your company and your bank accounts, taken advice about regulations and tax, IT equipment and trademarks. Now you're ready to create your website.

E-business start-ups no longer demand technical know-how and a large financial investment. Which is good news for small businesses!

But to create a full e-business website you need:

Tip: all-in-one packages

All-in-one e-business packages are often the simplest way to get up and running and can be great value for money. They are offered by many of our partners - more information at our Storebuilder Directory.

1.a website name (domain)2.a host to house your site 3.web pages that display your goods or services.

Once your website has been built, you'll need to add the functionality to let your customers pay online (see the next section, Accepting Payments).

Small business web hosting offers you choices. You can buy, for example, a complete 'off-the-shelf' e-business store, including website hosting, domain name registration, shopping cart software and even website design. These packages are offered by a lot of shopping cart providers and specialist e-business solution providers.

This section aims to make sure you make the right choices for your business. The hyperlinks take you to step by step advice:

1.Register a website name2.Small business web hosting3.Building an online shop4.Top tips

You are here: Online Trading Guide Your Website Online business website: getting started

Domain Name

Registering a domain name means that you have an address for trading on the internet and that your company identity - your brand - is protected online.

Every computer connected to the internet automatically has a unique address - a string of numbers - called an Internet Protocol (IP) address. But a string of numbers is neither memorable nor informative about the nature of the business. So you'll need to choose a domain name.

Choosing a name

An e-business domain name is often the same as the registered company name. But if your company name is already taken, try creating something similar using slightly different letters or including numbers or hyphens. If Shoebox. com is already registered, for example, see if 'Shoe-Box2.com' is available instead

The name should:

be easy to remember

explain what your business does ideally be concise and easy to spell look good on company literature make an instant impression be easy to find - potential customers will be using search engines to find your website.

Domain name endings

There are three different kinds of domain name endings:

1.Generic Top Level - these aren't linked to any country and include the endings .com, .org and .net2.Top Level - the domain name belonging to each country, for example .co.uk for the UK or .de for Germany3.Second Level - top level domain names are subdivided into categories such as sch.uk for schools in the UK.

Your choice of domain name ending is important.

It will reflect the nature of your business - are you a national or international organisation, for example.

Different domain name endings are known to appeal to different customers: '.com' is a highly regarded and a globally recognised ending, but your country's own domain ending (such as .co.uk) may endear you to national customers.

A survey showed that people searching for information online were six times more likely to click on a domain ending specific to their country than the more anonymous '.com'.

Ideally, register both .com and your country-specific ending. Even if you use only one or the other, owning both versions will protect your domain name and your brand.

Registering a domain name

Tip: Contract Length

Don't agree to a longer contract than necessary. Once you start trading you may decide to change your name/ domain name/ website structure but find yourself stuck with a particular name or provider.

Registering your domain name is simple. Over 6000 independent companies offer this service, or you can register via an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Companies that register domain names often offer other services such as creating and hosting websites. The levels and quality of service and support they offer can differ, so shop around for the best deal.

Always check the terms and conditions. Make sure you retain the right to move to an alternative provider if you choose.

Fees for domain registration vary but .co.uk names range from free to £200 and .com names are generally more expensive. Once your registration is accepted, your domain will automatically be searchable on the internet in 2-3 days.

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Small business web hosting

You've created your website and registered a domain name which should attract customers. But so that those customers can access your site, you need a place for it to sit on the internet.

What are your options?Shared Hosting

Tip: Third party host

If you're using a third party host, find out about their up-time guarantees. Customers can't get to your site if your hosting service is unavailable. And make sure that if you decide to move your business elsewhere, you'll be able to retrieve your files from your website host.

Companies that act as third party hosts - hosting your website on their servers - include ISPs, domain registration companies and dedicated web hosting companies. They can host many sites on the same server and are responsible for server maintenance and management. For most start-up and SME online businesses this lower cost option makes more sense than dedicated hosting.

Dedicated Hosting

If your site attracts thousands of visitors a day, you'll probably need a dedicated server. You can:

host this yourself, providing you have enough technical resource and a high-speed internet connection. The advantages are that you have complete control over the site, and can add extra websites at no extra cost. Or

a third party can host your web pages on a server dedicated to your website, taking responsibility for maintenance, connectivity and security. If you don't have a specialist IT department to maintain the server 24/7, at around £40 per month (in the UK) this probably makes sense.

Choosing a host

Small business web hosting is a highly competitive sector. Dedicated hosting companies should be able to offer you the best functionality, features and support at low prices.

How do you choose between them?1. Can their web server deal with the traffic you expect to receive on your site?2. Is their web server suitable for the type of website you have? Not all hosts support all file types (.php, .xml etc).

3. Your web hosting company should be able to offer you ongoing support once your site is live, as well as good connectivity. Look for features such as 24/7 customer support and access to technical staff.

Many hosting companies offer extra services - sometimes included in their monthly/ annual rates, such as:

supplying and registering domain names web page authoring software to create web pages yourself shopping cart software: many hosts can provide the shopping cart functionality and/or template

websites site statistics: most hosts can provide you with statistics on the number of visitors you receive. Look

for more advanced reporting such as analysis of where traffic to your site arrives from/ leaves to etc website promotion: some hosting services help publicize your site by listing it with internet search

indexes and searches.

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Online shop

On the high street or on the internet, your business has to attract customers and encourage them to buy your products or services. For your e-business, your website is your shop window, shop floor, back office and warehouse combined.

To create your website, you can:

use an off-the-shelf, customisable template that provides an e-business website and shopping cart

create a custom-made, bespoke site combine the two options by using shopping cart software along with a bespoke site.

Shopping CartWhen getting your website built make sure that ownership is yours and this is in the contract. We

had to change developers and because we hadn't done this, we had to get our site rebuilt from scratch! A mistake that we won't be making again.

www.holistic-community.co.uk

In a traditional shop, you have shopping baskets. Most e-commerce websites use a piece of software called a 'shopping cart' or 'storebuilder' which works in much the same way, allowing shoppers to select the goods or services they want to buy, add them to a basket to store until they are ready to 'check-out' and pay for the purchase.

Many off-the-shelf shopping carts offer extra functionality that lets you create a ready-made template online store - anything from designing the look and feel of your website to handling stock, calculating delivery costs and shipping transactions. But since functionality varies between providers, choosing the right cart for your business is vital.

What are your options?

Shopping carts vary greatly in terms of flexibility, functionality, the technical knowledge you'll need to work with it, as well as price.

Think about what you know. A low-cost or free shopping cart will require some technical knowledge (and time) from you. If you are a technical beginner, it'll be worth paying a bit more for a shopping cart which is ready to use.

Think about your budget and needs. Do you need a highly bespoke solution? Then look for a more complex shopping cart. Do you want to get up and running quickly and cheaply? An off-the-shelf package that is simple to customise and add products to would suit you better.

Can you add features as your business grows? Suppose you plan to expand your business to ship abroad at a later date. You'd need a shopping cart with functionality to calculate differing rates of sales tax for overseas customers.

Depending on the shopping cart software you use, customising a shopping cart template to create your online store can be simple or more complex. Find out how much technical knowledge - if any - you'll need to work with the template. You can also hire a professional web designer to work with a shopping cart template if you don't feel confident doing the customisation yourself.

Before you choose your shopping cart/storebuilder, consider:

How easy is the checkout process? 60 - 75% of carts are abandoned by customers because of slow or unclear checkout processes. A good shopping cart should do the following:

make it easy for customers to select and amend orders offer no surprises for the shopper, ideally explaining how many stages there are in

the buying process and indicating the shopper's progress present shoppers with the option to tick a box that indicates the same billing and

delivery address, so they don't have to re-enter duplicate information display meaningful error messages if customer information is missing or incorrectly

filled out. it's easy to test all this. Look at websites and checkout processes of customers already using the particular shopping cart. Ask the company for contact details of sites they have created - avoid using them if they can't do so.

How easy is it to implement? Is it - like most major shopping carts - already integrated with WorldPay? (That means you don't have to do any of the integration work yourself.)

What can the system do/automatically generate? For example: how are orders received and processed? does it include all the usual shopping cart functionality - customer order

confirmations, shipping, order tracking, sales tax, delivery cost calculations, displaying stock availability, providing details of delivery costs early on in the buying process etc? Anything else?

does it allow you to set discounts and redeem vouchers? Can you maintain your own site? Avoid the solution providers who maintain control of the site

- it's better if you can make updates and changes yourself. Do they enable you to contact their technical support department direct? Is the shopping cart compatible with your web host? Does your web host support the

shopping cart's file type (for example .php, .xml).

Do they provide template websites? If so, are they easy to customise? What are the reporting capabilities like? Can you report on best-sellers and profit margins,

for example? What are the terms and conditions? What is the contract length? How easily could you

transfer your data to an alternative provider?

WorldPay's payment processing facilities are already built into the majority of shopping carts: meaning that you can start taking payments with very little technical effort.

Would your online business benefit from a more complex, custom-made site? See Creating a bespoke site

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Creating a Bespoke Site

If you need a unique look or functionality - if you are in a creative industry, or you have niche requirements for the site that template websites cannot meet - consider a custom-made (bespoke) site.

An off-the-shelf shopping cart is a simple, low-cost option for most start-up e-businesses. But a bespoke site can be built to your exact specifications, either with the help of a web designer, or - if you have the knowledge and the confidence - by you yourself.

Professional help

Look for a web designer who has worked on e-business stores - and be sure that you like what they've done before. Ask for contact details of previous clients- do they think the designer benefited their site? - and avoid any designer who can't give you any.

Your site will need updating. Will the designer need to do all updates (impractical if your site needs updating frequently) or will control of this be handed over to you?

Make sure that you get a written contract from the designer transferring ownership of all work over to you (usually on payment of the fee).

Doing it yourself

If you have a good knowledge of web design, there are a number of pieces of software, such as Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver, that let you create your own site. You don't even have to have mastered html - the markup language used to create web pages - to create a basic site.

But creating your own site can be time consuming. And unless you have the necessary skills and experience it will be hard to create a site with all the unique features and functionality you want.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Your Website Building a webshop Creating a bespoke site

Online business website: top tips

An appealing and engaging website is not difficult to create: above all, it needs to be easy for your customers to use. Look at the sites you enjoy using. Consider how easy competitor sites are to use.

If you're using a shopping cart in combination with a template or off-the-shelf site, the features you can offer your customers will depend on the functionality supported by the shopping cart.

Look at other stores that have been created using the same template to see how appealing and user friendly they are.

As a new online loan Company, all of our business is generated via our website. We have found that by making sure we use a bright, eye catching colour scheme and making our site as simple, straight forward and user friendly as possible, the number of applications - and in turn business we receive, has increased.

Adam Freeman, MrLender.com

What makes a user-friendly website?

Keep it simpleo Don't try to fill all the space on your pages - cluttered pages can be difficult to navigate.o Visitors should be able to find and buy what they're looking for with the minimum of

clicks. Avoid having a front page or 'doorway' page to your site if it could put visitors off. Easy to navigate

o It's often more difficult online than in a traditional store for visitors to find what they're looking for. A search box can lead to extra sales: according to a survey, 70% of online retailers believed that visitors who used search tools were more likely to convert from browsers to buyers.

o 'Breadcrumb trails' show users where they are on your website - for example home > women > shoes.

o Back-out links let users 'back out' from the category they are in to the previous level, back to the home page and to other parts of the site.

o A site map displays all the pages on your site, which helps users if they get lost or can't find something. Having a site map also helps with your search engine rankings - see Promoting your Business for more information.

Structureo Include the most important, popular and attention-grabbing content first, such as

information about special offers and best-sellers.o Include on your homepage your basic company information, such as name, logo, links

and contact information. This will help reassure customers that you are a genuine business.

Speed

o Pages need to be quick to load. Make sure your website host is fast enough and don't use unnecessary graphics as they can slow the site down.

o Use Flash carefully. Not all users have it and it can slow things down. Test, test and test again

o Test your website using different browsers - the appearance and/or functionality can differ. Popular browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Netscape Navigator and Opera.

o Test web pages using different devices as they can display differently on PCs, Apple Macs and hand-held devices.

o Test all links thoroughly to identify any that don't work. Even a single broken link can undermine the credibility of your website. You can use tools to check for broken links such as the W3C Link Checker.

Informationo Deal promptly with any out-of-date or incorrect information. Make sure out-of-stock

items are clearly identified.o Include as much information as you can whilst keeping it readable. Customers,

understandably, want to know about the product or service they're buying. o Reassure customers by clearly displaying information on delivery costs and options,

your terms and conditions, contact details and refund policy, before they get to the checkout.

o Give customers a way to contact you directly - an email address or telephone number - if they have any questions or concerns.

Designo Aim to impress. Make sure your site looks professional. If you are using a template site

and are not technically confident, consider hiring a web designer to customise it. o Brand it. Make sure your website looks and feels like your business. Use visuals your

target audience can identify with.o Display high-quality images of your products. Consider multiple images or zoom to help

customers get the best possible feel for the product. Text

o Use short and snappy sentences. Most online browsers aren't keen to read large chunks of text.

o Headings are great for breaking up content. Use as many as possible to make your site easier to read.

o You need your copy to appeal to your target audience. Hire a copywriter or editor if you don't feel comfortable writing the website content yourself.

Engaging

Interactiveo Many consumers are more likely to buy from a site that has reviews. Look for a

company that can syndicate and manage reviews on your behalf.o Consider including a discussion area such as a blog or forum to give customers a

reason to return. Post regular news that's likely to be of interest to your target audience. Content: Regularly updated content helps keep your site fresh and encourages customers to return. Customer Loyalty

o Help generate loyalty and obtain potential customers' email addresses - invite them to sign-up for newsletters or enter competitions.

o Consider giving something away for free - it's a great reason for people to come to your site.

o Offer to save buyers' names and addresses to make it easier for them next time they make a purchase. You can do this using a cookie on their browser but you must (legally) ask their permission to do so.

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Online payments: what do I need?

To accept payments online, your website has to be connected to a Payment Gateway, which encrypts and sends your shoppers' payments for authorisation.

In turn, the Payment Gateway is connected to a Merchant Account - a bank account specifically for processing credit and debit card orders.

WorldPay can offer a Merchant Account combined with payment processing in a complete package. Have a look at Business Gateway Plus for more information.

This section takes you through everything you'll need to do to enable your website for online payment as well as apply for, and connect to, WorldPay's service:

Merchant Account for online funds

Payment processing

Applying to WorldPay

Connecting to WorldPay

You are here: Online Trading Guide Accepting Payments Online payment: what do I need?

Merchant Account for online funds

A Merchant Account is a bank account specifically for processing online credit and debit card transactions. No online business can function without one.

You need both a Merchant Account and a standard business account. Online trading payments are paid into your Merchant Account before being transferred to a separate business bank account. (You'll need a separate Merchant Account for online trading even if you already have one for face to face trading.)

Tip: Protecting Data

All businesses that accept payments must protect any card payment information from fraudsters and hackers. Security breaches can result in large fines so you'll need to find out about your obligations before you start taking payments via our dedicated PCI DSS microsite

Merchant Accounts are readily available from several banks and other financial institutions. But prices vary and so does the level of flexibility they offer.

A two-stop solution

If you choose a separate supplier for your Merchant Account, you'll need to go through an application and approval process. Costs will depend on a number of different factors - how long has the bank known you? what is your likely turnover? - and will typically be a percentage of each transaction.

Whatever supplier you choose for your Merchant Account, WorldPay can provide you with a payment processing-only account from just £19.95 a month including processing up to 350 transactions. (See our Business Gateway information.)

The good news? WorldPay - through Business Gateway Plus - can provide you with your Merchant Account and payment processing in one package.

A one-stop solution - WorldPayWe were attracted by the simplicity of an all-in-one solution provided by Business Gateway Plus.

This is hard to find and it really has saved us money compared with getting a Merchant Account and Payment Gateway separately.

www.companiesmadesimple.com

WorldPay's combination of a Merchant Account along with multi-currency payment processing - called Business Gateway Plus - is not easy to find elsewhere and will save you time and effort.

This solution is perfect for:

small and start-up businesses that may struggle to obtain a Merchant Account from their bank businesses wanting to accept multi-currency payments.

And it's quick and easy to sign up for. Just go to Business Gateway Plus for more information

You are here: Online Trading Guide Accepting Payments Merchant Account for online funds

Payment processing: your Payment Gateway

Your customers have to be sure that the payment details they give you are secure when you send them for authorisation.

A Payment Gateway provides that reassurance, supplying secure links to all major banks and card issuers.

WorldPay has been processing payments on behalf of small and SME online stores since 1993. We offer a level of service and support to our customers that our competitors can't match:

The Business Gateway 350 all inclusive monthly tariff is just what we were looking for. It is affordable and has made our business model simple: calculating percentages per transaction is a thing of the past.

www.mrlender.com

WorldPay can provide your merchant account and payment processing in one, easy-to-use package, saving you time and effort.

Set monthly fees - from £19.95 a month including payment processing costs - mean that small and start-up businesses know up-front exactly how much they'll be paying.

Global service - we offer an unmatchable range of payment methods, currencies and payment page languages.

Customer service - we provide telephone and email support 24/7, including direct access to dedicated technical support and fraud prevention teams.

Simple to integrate - we have an existing connection with more than 120 shopping cart solutions, so you don't have to do the technical work to connect your website to WorldPay.

Simple to use - we offer administration and reporting tools to help manage your transactions. Other products and services (included or add on) include a repeat billing service, an internet terminal to take mail and telephone order payments and advanced fraud screening. You can even specify a delay between the authorisation of a payment and when the shopper's card is debited.

What are my WorldPay options?

Business Gateway Plus offers you a combined account that offers payment processing and a merchant account - details on our Business Gateway Plus.

Business Gateway offers payment processing only from £19.95 a month all-inclusive - you need to apply separately for a merchant account. Details on our Business Gateway.

You are here: Online Trading Guide

Accepting Payments Your payment gateway

Online payment: applying to WorldPay

Payment processing for your e-business is only a step away. Applying to WorldPay could not be simpler.

You'll find an online application form on our WorldPay website. The application process takes around 15 minutes. Before you start, have the following details to hand:

your company's registration number and registered address your company's bank account details information about the company's owners - the address, date of birth and percentage of the company

each owns (if applicable) information about your technical administrator (if applicable) information about your store integration software - shopping cart or storebuilder (if you are using

one) a credit or debit card to pay the application fees.

Need to conme back later?

Just save the page you have reached in your browser favourites, and you'll be able to continue with the application later.

Tips for successful completion

Before you start the application you should think about the type of account you want and what extra products and services might help your business. See Payment Service Options.

Type of company - to process your application we need to know what legal structure applies to your company (eg limited company? sole trader?).

VAT number - please enter your VAT number in the format which is standard for your country. Bank account details - non-UK merchants need to enter a SWIFT code where indicated. UK-based

merchants should enter 'n/a' in this field. Confirm your bank details - the final page of the online application links to a form you need to print

off and send back to us, as soon as you can, to confirm your bank details. We need this form before you can start trading. For more information on completing this form (called a Bank Compliance Form for Business Gateway Plus merchants or a Direct Debit form for Business Gateway merchants) see Confirm your Bank Details.

Next Steps1.WorldPay will email confirmation of your application almost immediately.2.We review your application and will contact you by email, if necessary, to request further information to support your application, for example about your products or services. This can take up to two working days.3.Once your application has been approved, we'll supply the information you'll need to start integrating your website shop with our payment service. This will include a URL and login

details for our Merchant Administration Interface (MAI), a tool that provides various administrative facilities to help you manage your payments.

You can check your Application Status at any time from within the Merchant Administration Interface (MAI) Application Status menu item. For more information refer to the Merchant Administration Interface Guide.

Once you have confirmed your bank details (see above), you can begin Connecting to WorldPay.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Accepting Payments Applying to WorldPay

Online payment: application options

What sort of online payment account will best suit your business? Are there add-on products and services which would improve your business performance and make your life easier?

Before you complete the WorldPay online application think about:

Account Types

We offer two different account types:

1.Business Gateway Plus: an all-in-one package combining payment processing and a merchant account. See Business Gateway Plus for more information.2.Business Gateway: a payment processing only account - you'd need to obtain your own merchant account. (This applies to UK-domiciled merchants only.) See Business Gateway.

Which is the right option for you?

Business Gateway Plus: the combination of an merchant account along with multi-currency payment processing will save you time and effort and it's quick and easy to sign up for.

Business Gateway: multi-currency payment processing only costs you £19.95 a month, including processing up to 350 transactions. Do you want to know exactly, upfront, how much you'll be paying each month? Have you already got a merchant account? If so, this may be the option for you.

If you choose a separate supplier for your merchant account, you'll need to go through an application and approval process. Costs will depend on a number of different factors - how long has the bank known you? what is your likely turnover? - and will typically be a percentage of each transaction.

Extras

WorldPay offers a range of extra products and services to help you expand your business and encourage sales. You can select these products and services during your WorldPay application, or add them on at a later date:

Take phone and mail order payments

Take payments from customers who prefer to pay by telephone, fax or mail order - all you need is a computer with internet access. See MOTO.

Accept repeat payments

Similar arrangement to direct debits or standing orders but payments debited from your shopper's card. See Recurring Payment Service.

Detect fraud

Identify and prevent fraudulent card activity with our Fraud Screening and Fraud Protection solutions. (Fraud Screening comes as standard with Business Gateway Plus.) See Fraud Screening.

Delay payment acceptance

Specify a delay between a payment being authorised and the shopper's card being debited. This gives you time for extra fraud checks or to have the goods in stock before charging your customer. See Capture Delay.

Extra Currencies

Promote your business world-wide by enabling your shoppers to pay in over 144 local currencies. See Currencies.

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Confirm your bank details

This is really important!

You won't be able to start making money online until we have received an original version of this form confirming your bank details. We want to make sure we don't pay your funds into the wrong bank account!

There's no point in selling your goods if the money you are paid goes into the wrong bank account!

The final screen in WorldPay's online application form confirms you have successfully completed the application. It also links you to a legal document we use to confirm that your bank details are correct.

Business Gateway Plus (payment processing plus merchant account): To make sure we are paying your online trading profits into the correct business bank account you'll be required to complete a bank compliance form.

Business Gateway (payment processing only): Because your online trading funds are paid straight into your own merchant account, you'll be required to complete a direct debit form which authorises us to debit charges for payment processing service from your business bank account.

Bank compliance form

The bank compliance form is a legal document and must be completed accurately.

If it's wrong, you can't start trading. So please make sure the bank compliance form:

has been stamped by your bank, with the name of the bank and the sort code matching the details on your compliance form

has been signed by a bank representative as well as being stamped. We need both a stamp and a signature to accept the form

hasn't been changed after the bank account details have been entered. If we can't tell whether the change has been made before or after your bank confirmed the details, we can't accept the form

has your name on it both signed and (next to the signature) printed is returned by post to the address stated on the form (original form only - we can't accept copies).

Direct debit form

To ensure we can accept your direct debit form please remember to provide information on:

your Administration Code (beginning WPCOM) - you'll find this in the email we sent you confirming receipt of your application

your bank's address as well as its name.

Legal requirements

There are additional requirements, depending on the legal status of your business:

Sole Trader

The address given on the form must match the business address given in your WorldPay application.

The bank account holder's name needs to be either the business' name or (if it's a personal account) under the name of the applicant or the owner of the business.

he signature on the form needs to be that of the business owner.

Partnership

The majority of the partners need to sign the form. So if there are 3 partners, at least 2 must sign the form. If more than 3 signatures are required, additional signatures can be given on a separate sheet, You need a bank stamp on the form (and any additional sheets) to confirm the signatures.

The address given on the form must match the address given in your WorldPay application. If the bank account holder's name is held under the name of one of the partners, this partner must

sign the form.

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

Same as for a partnership except that the full business name and the bank account holder's name must be the same and must include the 'LLP' suffix.

Limited company & non-profit organisation

The full business name and the account holder's name must include the 'Ltd' suffix. Limited companies outside UK must include country-specific suffixes such as 'SA', 'SARL' or 'SL'.

The full business name given on the form must match that given in your WorldPay application. The full business name and the account holder's name must match exactly.

Registered Charity:

If the charity is a limited (Ltd) charity the requirements are as for limited companies. A charity can use its registered working name for its bank account (charity commission).

You are here: Online Trading Guide Accepting Payments Applying to WorldPay Confirm your bank details

Connecting to WorldPay

Before you start trading online, you need to connect your online store to WorldPay's payment processing system. We call this process 'integration.'

Avoid the hard work!

Make it easy for yourself by using a Storebuilder that is already integrated with WorldPay can save you timeand money - our Storebuilder Directory has lots on offer.

WorldPay is already fully integrated into a wide range of leading shopping carts/ storebuilders. If you are using a shopping cart/ storebuilder, you should check with your provider if the integration work has already been done. If so, you won't need to complete all (or any) of the integration yourself.

Using a shopping cart that is already integrated with WorldPay can save you time and money - have a look at our list of shopping carts for more information.

Getting started

Once your application to join WorldPay has been approved, we will contact you to provide you with the following information you'll need to start the process of integrating your website shop with our payment service:

Installation ID - Your Installation ID is issued by our Support Team. You will need this to complete your integration as it must be included in the order details you send from your website

shop to us when a payment is processed. For more information, please refer to A Basic Order Details Form. This installation ID should not be confused with the WorldPay Administration Code, which is your unique account identifier sent to you as soon as your application is provisionally accepted

Two separate URLs for each installation - These URLs are also needed to complete your connection to our service and test it. One will be the URL to use when testing and the other when your website is ready to take live payments

Merchant Interface URL - The Merchant Interface provides various administrative facilities to help you manage your payments, settings and reporting.

Merchant Interface user name and password - when completing the WorldPay application form, you will be asked to enter a password. In addition to this, we will send you an email with your user name. You should use both to login to the Merchant Interface for the first time. We recommend that you change your password immediately and you can change this user name and password as often as you like.

Integrating

You can now begin the process of integrating your website shop with our payment system. If you are using a pre-integrated shopping cart, please go to the next section 'Testing.'

Integration is very straightforward - when you can successfully send us the order details of a purchase from your website and get an email response from us, you have integrated your website. There is nothing to install.

To integrate with WorldPay, all you need to do is:

1.gather order details2.establish communications between our server and your website - basically this just means sending a test transaction to us and getting an email response

As soon as you have integrated you can then activate your installation and, subject to some checks, you can go live.

How does it work?

HTML Redirect uses HTML forms to pass information to the WorldPay Payment Service, for payment processing. You create the form, inserting certain parameters that describe the purchase (the form is known as a "purchase token").

When a Shopper is ready to pay for their goods, your shopping site should present them with a button or link which, when clicked, submits the purchase token and so passes the purchase information to the WorldPay secure server. The shopper is then taken to our secure payment page to enter their payment details.

Skills and Requirements

You can get going without being an html expert. If you have a basic knowledge of html, all you need to do is copy some lines of html provided by us and paste them into your website page to complete a basic integration (refer to integration examples for more information).

For a more complex integration including functionality such as automated ordering systems or shopping cart functionality, you will to have web development expertise, including server side scripting languages. If you do not have these skills or want to get up and running as quickly and simply as possible you may prefer to buy an off-the-shelf shopping cart that is integrated with WorldPay.

To integrate with WorldPay using HTML Redirect you need:

a computer with Internet access a WorldPay Installation ID (you will be given an Installation ID when you apply for a WorldPay

account)

More Information

Our HTML Redirect Guide provides all the detail you will need to be able to complete your integration. We also provide information on creating a simple integration to get your website integrated quickly and easily.

Our Troubleshooting section helps you find solutions to common problems and get up and running as quickly as possible.

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Getting Started

From completing our online application through to taking your first payment, this section guides you through the main steps in our set-up process to ensure you're ready to start taking payments as quickly as possible. It also provides an overview of the options and configurations that can be made to our standard service so you can customise it to meet your specific requirements.

1.Before you start - your choices and options when using the WorldPay payment service.2.Complete the WorldPay application form - hints and tips for successful completion3.Complete a Bank Compliance/Direct Debit Form - this is to verify your bank details.4.Integrate - if you're not using a shopping cart that already integrated with WorldPay, you'll need to connect your online store to WorldPay's secure payment service.5.Customise your Settings - your payment service options explained including how to modify the standard WorldPay payment pages.6.Test your website - before you can start taking live payments, you'll need to submit some test transactions.7.Activation - once your integration, customisation and testing are complete, your integration is ready to be activated and you'll need to submit an activation request.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Accepting Payments Connecting to WorldPay Getting Started

Online payment - customising the service

You've signed up to WorldPay's standard payment processing service. But there are lots of ways you can tailor it to suit your business.

You can customise the payment pages to look and feel like the rest of your brand.

You can display your own messages and images in emails that you and your shoppers receive.

Select one of the links below for more information on each category:

Payment pages - you can customise our payment pages so that they fit in with the look and feel of your own website

Emails - make changes to the standard payment confirmation emails we send you and your shoppers

System settings - these cover options such as: o setting up a payment response to automatically update your shopping cart with

payment or order details o setting up shopper response to return shoppers to your website after they have made a

purchaseo changing the address(es) WorldPay sends automatic emails to

Payment notifications - return transaction details to your server to update your systems (such as your shopping cart) and if required display your own transaction confirmation message to your shoppers.

Customising the payment pages

Our Payment Page Editor lets you to carry out a range of standard customising tasks and is the simplest and fastest way to customise your payment page with no need for HTML expertise. You access the Payment Page Editor via Merchant Administration Interface's Installations Page. More information on the Payment Page Editor at Payment Page Editor.

For a more sophisticated level of customisation you will need to modify the files used to build the Payment Service, and that does require HTML expertise. You can find more information about this in our Advanced Customising Guide and the tools you'll find in the Payment Page Editor.

What can I customise?

Popular changes you can make to our standard payment pages include the following (select each hyperlink for more detail):

Basic:

Add your company name/logo Change our standard payment page colours Add or change the text content and font Display the payment page to your shoppers in one of our standard foreign languages

Advanced:

Bypass the payment selection page - if you already know a shopper's desired payment method Pass on your shopper's contact details - if you already know a shopper's address or delivery details

you can use them to populate fields in the Payment Page Add a description of your website or services to the payment page Change standard headers and/or footers Customise the existing language versions or add your own languages Let your shoppers enter different billing and delivery addresses Return shoppers to your website after they have made a purchase Display your own transaction confirmation message to your customers

Shopper/ merchant confirmation emails

Changes you can make to our standard emails include the following (select the hyperlink for more information):

Change the text and images of the standard confirmation emails we send to your shoppers Amend the transaction confirmation email we send you to include extra data such as a different

billing and delivery address

Tip: Installation Settings

To set live changes to your installation settings, you'll need to log in to the Production Environment in the Merchant Interface (rather than the Test Environment) and copy them to Production from there. You can't copy to live from the test environment.

Installation settings

From the Installations page in the Merchant Administration Interface you can configure a number of settings:

switching on payment response and customising the payment response settings specifying your email address for payment receipts specify whether confirmation emails are sent to your shoppers specifying a description to be displayed to your shoppers on the payment page

More information on all of the above in our Advanced Customising Guide.

Payment notifications

This optional feature posts information about a payment from our server to a URL on your server via HTTP(s).

It updates the order information in your shopping cart and, if required, displays your own shopper result pages. Payment notifications don't return shoppers to your website after they have made a purchase.

Advantages include:

you can get more information about the payment than you would receive in the merchant confirmation email

send the shopper additional information about their order in your own result pages or an order confirmation email

use the information received to trigger actions in your own system.

For more information on Payment notifications and how to set them up, read the Payment Notifications guide.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Accepting Payments Connecting to WorldPay Online payment - customising the service

Online payment: testing

Your payment processing integration is complete. But before you can start trading, you must test your installation.

Tip: Test in Production

The Test Environment is for testing your installation only. If you want to make any changes or customise the service, you should do it in the Production Environment.

The test environment

When you register with WorldPay you will be given two separate URLs:

the URL for the test environment the URL for the production environment.

The test environment lets you test your installation without actually transferring money when you submit transactions. You can try out your pages with real debit and credit cards and access details of test transactions in the Merchant Administration Interface (MAI) to confirm your test payments have been successful.

And don't worry - you cannot accidentally trigger a live transaction when you start integrating/testing. The live production environment will not pick up your transactions until you and WorldPay have agreed that you are ready to go live.

How to test

You'll need to submit at least one test transaction, as described in our Test and Go Live Guide. You can do this using one of a number of test card numbers.

WorldPay's Fraud Screening service may decline transactions - test or live - that are identified as likely to be fraudulent. When you are testing, avoid transactions with the following attributes:

suspicious cardholder names such as 'Test' or 'Mickey Mouse'. Use real cardholder names multiple transactions made from the same browser session. To avoid this, close the browser session

and open a new one transactions submitted from 'high-risk' countries - contact us if your developers are based in a

country that could be considered high-risk for fraud, or if you are concerned.

See our Test and Go Live Guide for more solutions to common error messages and problems.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Accepting Payments Connecting to WorldPay Online payment: testing

Online payment: going live

Just one more step before you can start trading.

You've integrated your website and tested your installation. Now you need to fill in the online Installation Activation Details Page in the Merchant Admin Interface to let us know you are ready to go live.

Tip: Card Logos

Even though they've submitted an activation request, lots of our customers' websites aren't displaying all the necessary card details and logos - which means we can't set them live and they can't start trading. Make sure you've read all the online regulations in this guide.

Setting your website live1.When we receive your activation details, we assess your site and ensure that it meets our website rules and that all connections with the banking system are working correctly.

If these are successful, we will set your installation live on our system and confirm this by email. THEN2.Change any Test Environment URLs in your order details submissions to Production Environment URLs. Remove the testMode parameters (or specify live mode by setting them to 0 - zero). Then transactions will be in live mode. For more information on this last stage of the go-live process, refer to our Test and Go Live guide. THEN3.We advise you carry out a final check on your site by running through the payment process using a live card. You can subsequently refund this transaction. But as this will be a live transaction, you will be charged the normal processing fee: so test with a low value transaction. THEN4.As soon as you have confirmed that this payment has been processed correctly, your site is ready to start taking live payments - congratulations!

You are here: Online Trading Guide Accepting Payments Connecting to WorldPay Online payment: going live

Credit card fraud

Online fraud is a growing menace to e-businesses and their customers as fraudsters target online payments using stolen card details.

The crucial thing to know before you start selling is that you will be responsible for any fraudulent transactions made at your store. It’s up to you to ensure that your customers are genuine. If you don't, you are liable for reimbursing cardholders whose cards were used without their authorisation.

The good news? WorldPay’s dedicated fraud-fighting tools will help you reduce your losses due to fraud.

But you need to take your own fraud prevention measures as well: many new online companies go out of business within six months because they fail to do so.

You'll also need to make sure any card payment information you store is protected against hackers and fraudsters who might attempt to steal credit card information. This is in order to comply with requirements introduced by the Card Schemes (called Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or PCI DSS) to protect cardholder data. Large fines can be imposed for non-compliance or data breaches so it's vital you understand your obligations before you start accepting payments - have a look at our dedicated PCI DSS microsite for more information.

Why e-business appeals to fraudsters

Because there is no physical interaction with the card and cardholder, you are unable to:

physically check the card's security features to ensure it is genuine verify the customer is the genuine cardholder via a signature or PIN guarantee that the payment information has been provided by the genuine cardholder.

Some online retailers don't understand the risks, don’t take steps to prevent fraud – and are easy targets for fraudsters.

Is my business high-risk?

Although all types of e-business can and do experience fraud, the following types of business and product are particularly attractive to fraudsters. If you do sell any of these products or services, we strongly recommend that you take the time to review your fraud controls, tools and company policy to ensure you are prepared:

Financial services sector Gaming sector Computer and electrical goods inlcuding electronic toys, videogames and gadgets Travel sector Technology and telecommunications - especially Voice-over-IP services Domain name registration and web hosting Downloadable goods - the product can be downloaded and the fraudster is long gone. Fashion items, clothes, jewellery and accessories such as handbags and sunglasses for example Furniture especially modern and contemporary items Charities - can be susceptible to 'card testing' whereby fraudsters make small payments simply to

test whether the card will be authorised, before they go on to use it to purchase expensive goods or services

Any other highly desirable items that can easily be re-sold

High risk or not, you want to protect your business from fraud. This section advises you on spotting fraudulent activity and dealing with it before it damages your customers and your business.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Preventing Fraud Credit card fraud

Fraud: how can you spot it?

WorldPay’s fraud detection tools will help you identify fraud but you should also look out for other signs that a payment may be suspicious.

Potentially fraudulent payments are often out of the ordinary for your average customer or purchase. Many have the following things in common:

late night orders high-risk countries - refer to our Support site for more information P.O box addresses or hotels/ guest houses free/ anonymous email addresses express delivery high quantity orders high value orders different shipping and billing addresses or IP country and billing/card issue country frequent purchases

frequent contacts from anxious fraudsters mobile rather than landline number suspicious behaviour by the customer indiscriminate purchases inconsistencies in shopper details across multiple purchases, e.g. same shopper e-mail address but

differing name or address provided

Checking on these types of transaction is common sense. We strongly advise you to do so – have a look at Manual Checks for more information.

Case Study

We have developed three ways of spotting potentially fraudulent transactions:-

The Honey Trap. No time to check. Old fashion detective work.

The Honey Trap.

A customer has ordered a birthday cake. Then we offer a number of additional products including a deliberately over-priced party pack, containing plates, cups, banners, candles etc. Experience has shown us that someone using a stolen credit card is not worried about value for money! They are not expecting to pay for it themselves so they will order any extra ‘bells and whistles’, even if it’s obviously bad value.

No Time to Check.

Many fraudsters try to order at the very last minute to avoid being contacted. They hope that the order will just go ‘through the system’ without being noticed. Large orders ordered at the very last gasp? We’re highly suspicious.

Old Fashioned Detective Work.

When an order looks too good to be true, it probably is. We call the customer, alerting them to a potential payment issue, and ask for three further bits of information:

a work email address (if they have given only a hotmail address) a home landline number (if they have given only a mobile number) a work telephone number

We call the phone numbers and use Google and Facebook to verify the information given. Five minutes spent now saves hours making and distributing goods which may never be paid for. You might have to apologise to an indignant honest customer now and then, but they’ll probably be grateful that you take their card security seriously.

Graham Brookes from www.londoncakes.com

You are here: Online Trading Guide Preventing Fraud Fraud: how can you spot it?

Fraud prevention: dealing with disputes

When you’re a shopper paying with your credit card, it’s reassuring to know that your card issuer will usually reimburse you in case of fraud. But the money doesn’t come from the card issuer – it comes from the business the shopper was buying from.

And that could be your business.

In an online/telephone environment where no card, cardholder or signature is physically present, it is more difficult to identify the real cardholder. So card Issuers try to protect their cardholders by giving them the right to raise a 'dispute' with the business their card was paying.

There are two types of dispute:

Tip: Avoid Disputes!

Dealing with disputes can be time consuming and result in big financial losses. Make sure you avoid losses by doing as much as you can to prevent disputes in the first place. More at Avoiding Disputes

1.The shopper isn't satisfied with the goods or services you provide. They claim (for example) the goods are faulty, haven't been received or aren't as described on your website. Normally you can settle it by offering your customer a refund. But shoppers have the right to take their grievance to their card issuer, and the card issuer may guarantee to get them their money back.2.The payment is fraudulent. The card might have been lost or stolen. Card data, such as the card number and CVC code on the back of the card, might have been 'phished' (illegally obtained). However it happened, if it’s fraud you are liable for reimbursing cardholders whose cards were used without their authorisation at your business.

Credit card fraud

Cardholders can dispute a payment up to six months (sometimes longer) after the payment is complete, after the full delivery of the product or service. They can take any dispute direct to the card issuer without contacting you first.

When a payment is in dispute, WorldPay, the card issuer, and the acquiring bank work together to resolve the dispute. The process is goverend by rules set by the Card Schemes (such as Visa and MasterCard) that each party must comply with.

An automatic process (a chargeback) removes funds from your merchant account and places them in the card issuer's account for repayment to the defrauded customer.

Prevention is, of course, better than cure. Better avoid disputes over credit card fraud in the first place by:

using WorldPay's fraud screening tools and your own manual fraud checks focusing, from the start, on customer service and good communications with customers

But if you are faced with a payment dispute, you need to know what to do.

How does the dispute process work?1.Depending on the scenario, the card issuer may send you a Request for Information (RFI) about the disputed sale. This comes to you via your acquiring bank – WorldPay if you subscribe to our Business Gateway Plus account. However, if the card issuer believes it to be a clear-cut case of fraud, they may not issue an RFI and may charge the funds back immediately (see step 4). 2.The RFI requires you to send any documents or information that support your side of the dispute: a signed delivery slip, for example, if a shopper is claiming not to have received the goods.3.Our Knowledgebase explains the types of information you can send, but be warned: if the payment really was fraudulent, no evidence you can provide will prevent a chargeback. This is why it really is crucial to identify and reject potentially fraudulent payments before it gets to this stage. 4.Once you’ve submitted any evidence, the card issuer decides whether the shopper's dispute is genuine. If the card issuer does not receive your RFI response in time, and/or decides against you in favour of the cardholder, you’ll be subject to a chargeback. The money you received from the cardholder will be moved from your merchant account to the card issuer’s account. 5. It is possible to appeal against a chargeback - more information on our Knowledgebase

Our Knowledgebase has all the information you’d need about the dispute process: have a look now, so that you’re in the best position to prevent disputes or successfully defend yourself.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Preventing Fraud Dealing with disputes

Fraud prevention: WorldPay toolsBEFORE you accept your first payment online, get to know the tools that’ll help you combat fraud.

We provide a number of automated tools that, alongside your own manual fraud checks, help you combat fraud and reduce your fraud losses. Take advantage of these tools from the word go – which means understanding how to use them.

With Risk Management we can check each transaction and get fraud advice from experts. As a result our fraudulent transactions are less than 0.1%

www.londoncakes.com

Fraud screening

The Risk Management service monitors each transaction and provides automated alerts indicating possible/probable fraudulent transactions.

This is one of the most effective ways of identifying potentially fraudulent transactions. The service is constantly updated and new checks automatically made available to all our merchants with the Risk Management service. Checks include those made on the following:

order, shopper and address details inconsistencies in purported and actual location if multiple addresses are used by the same person or card if known fraudulent details are being used payment behaviour and purchase patterns of the shopper when submitting payment details repeat occurrences of order data (for example, credit/debit card number, IP address, shopper email

address) over a specified period of time logical patterns in shopper and payment data the number and total amount of payments for a particular credit card or bank account number.

Risk Management comes as standard with our Business Gateway Plus account, and can be added on to our Business Gateway account for a small fee. Have a look at our Knowledgebase for more information.

In-house fraud experts

If you subscribe to our Risk Management service, our in-house fraud specialists will be on hand to provide support and advice in identifying, preventing and tackling fraud. They can help with individual queries, as well as assisting with more comprehensive reviews of your fraud controls and order review processes and providing recommendations for improvements to your fraud controls. To speak to the team, simply contact our Customer Services department and they'll put you in touch with the right person for your query.

Tip: Avoid Refund Costs!

If you accept a payment and subsequently refund it because you suspect it's fraudulent, you'll be paying twice - for the processing and refunding costs. But setting a capture delay means there's no transaction or refund processing charges to pay if you decide not to accept the payment.

Capture delay

You can specify a delay between the authorisation of a payment and when the actual payment is taken (called 'capture'). With capture delay you can set payments to:

be automatically taken ('captured') after a specified number of days if you have not rejected the payment, or

expire after a certain number if days if you have not manually confirmed you wish to accept the payment.

The capture delay functionality gives you time to carry out additional manual checks before you decide to accept or reject the payment. You won't pay any WorldPay charges for processing payments you subsequently decide not to accept, and you'll avoid the costs involved with refunds and with dealing with fraud because, as no payment has been taken, there is no risk of payments you decide not to capture being disputed.

Capture delay comes as standard with our service but you'll need to specify the delay yourself as it's automatically set to immediate capture. Have a look at our Knowledgebase for more information.

Authentication

If your shoppers join a cardholder authentication scheme, you can use our no-charge authentication feature to identify these shoppers as genuine cardholders, before they pay for their online order. This authentication reduces your exposure to fraud, and increases shoppers’ confidence in your site.

Our payment systems support the MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa authentication schemes, so you can check if shoppers are genuine MasterCard or Visa cardholders. The shopper enters a password to confirm their identity with the card issuer. Then you can accept the shopper's payment and complete their order with more confidence. Have a look at our Knowledgebase for more information.

AVS/CVV2/CVC

The Address Verification Service (AVS) and Card Verification Value or Card Verification Code (CVV2, CVC) check the authenticity of a transaction by comparing cardholder information which the shopper has entered during the payment process, with details held by the card issuer. Both services are available as standard to all of our merchants, at no extra cost. Have a look at our Knowledgebase for more information.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Preventing Fraud WorldPay tools

Fraud prevention: is the customer genuine?Credit card fraud is a major threat for any online business. Carry out your own manual checks on suspicious, out of the ordinary or high-value transactions.

A lot of fraud detection is common sense and carrying out the checks needn't be time consuming. Make manual checks for fraud part of your business processes.

Potentially fraudulent transactions are marked with a warning or caution by WorldPay. It makes sense to check those transactions yourself because:

it’ll help you to reject high risk payments, but you’ll avoid rejecting legitimate payments that may have been flagged as potentially fraudulent

(because of a shopper typing mistake, for example)

Tip: Registered Post

Send goods by registered or recorded post and obtain a signed and dated delivery note to help you protect yourself against fraudulent claims that the goods were not received.

If you're not satisfied that the person placing the order is genuine, don't ship the goods and refund the money immediately.

Use your manual checks to identify high-risk names, email addresses and IP addresses. Merchants using WorldPay's Risk Management service can then set up so-called 'negative databases' to block suspect shopper names, email addresses and domains and IP addresses and ranges. Have a look at our Knowledgebase for more information.

Manual ChecksName and phone number

Look out for a shopper whose name is not correctly formatted and/or shows nonsense details. Check the electoral role for the shopper's details using a service such as www.192.com.

A mobile phone as the contact number is riskier. If the shopper has provided a landline, use one of the free web-based look-up programs such as (UK

only) http://www.ukphoneinfo.com/section/tci/locator.shtml to check that the area code of the phone number matches the address

Addresses

Remember: a fraudster who has obtained card data by copying elements from a card will not usually have the genuine user's billing address and will have to make one up. Look out for:

an incomplete billing address a shopper who refuses to confirm their credit/debit card and billing address details a delivery address that's not the same as the billing address an export delivery address, particularly to certain countries (please refer to the table in Country

Checks for a list of high risk countries) a temporary address such as a hotel or boarding house deliveries to airports or other unlikely addresses such as industrial estates if it's not a business to

business transaction.

These aren’t necessarily evidence of fraud. A shopper on holiday, for example, may request delivery to a hotel and not the billing address. But they are all worth checking. Consider using the Electoral Register in the UK or your local equivalent to check names and addresses.

If you are not convinced your customer is geniune after carrying out the checks above, consider checking the shopper's ID to try and confirm they are the geniune cardholder by requesting a copy of:

a passport and/or driving license a utility bill with an address that matches the billing address provided a bank statement or credit card statement showing the correct billing address (sensitive data can be

obscured by the shopper)

Remember, you as the merchant have responsibility for how you manage confidential or sensitive information, so you'll need to destroy or securely file this information after you've used it.

Email

Free-site email addresses (eg, noname@hotmail.com) are more risky than those provided by an ISP that requires the user to register properly (eg, noname@rbs.com)

to check email addresses try opening the domain of the email in a browser (eg, www.consultant.com). You may find the domain isn't registered or is registered abroad. Websites such as www.verify-email.org can also help confirm whether the email address actually exists, although it doesn't work with all email providers.

Send an email to the email address supplied to confirm that it exists. If it doesn’t it may be returned by your email server as undeliverable.

shoppers often enter their email addresses wrongly: for example, another character where the '@' symbol should be or misspelling of .co.uk, .com. You might detect obvious misspelling by comparing the shopper’s name with their email address

if you can’t identify an obvious problem and you can’t make contact by email, try the phone number the shopper provided.

IP address

Check the IP address supplied on the order confirmation matches the shopper's billing country using a free IP address lookup tool such as http://www.ip-to-location.com/free.asp. You can find similar tools by carrying out a web search for 'IP look up tools' or similar.

WorldPay's Risk Management service lets you to automatically block transactions from IP addresses that you know from experience have been associated with fraud in the past. Have a look at our Knowledgebase for more information.

Orders

Signs that should alert you to potential fraud include:

a shopper ordering unusually large amounts of an item without any preference for the size, colour, make or model

an existing shopper who suddenly orders an unusually large volume of goods an unusually small order or unusually big order top-of-the range item or multiples ordered an unusual order swiftly followed by a repeat order multiple transactions attempted using a range of different cards (called 'card testing'). This is done

by fraudsters to validate whether card details are valid and will be authorised

In each of these instances, call the phone number to confirm the order details and, at the same time, check that the number and the shopper exist.

Tip: Intercept servicesIf you're sending items by courier, instruct them not to allow so-called 'Intercept' or 'Redirect' services, which mean shoppers (or fraudsters!) can change the delivery address whilst the goods are in transit Deliveries

If you spot any of the following it isn’t necessarily evidence of fraud, but it's worth checking:

a request for fast deliveries where delivery cost is not an issue – genuine shoppers often avoid the expensive delivery options the delivery address is not the same as the billing address an export delivery address, particularly to certain countries (see list of high-risk countries below)

a temporary address such as a hotel or boarding house instruction to leave goods on doorstep (or similar)

We advise you carry out further checks on such orders to reassure yourself the purchase in genuine.

High risk countries

Some countries have a higher risk of fraud than others, including the following:

Algeria Argentina Belarus Bulgaria Indonesia Lithuania Macedonia Nigeria Philippines Romania Russian Federation Ukraine Yugoslavia

Credit card fraudsters know lots of ways to part you and your customers from your money. With WorldPay’s fraud prevention service and your own checks, you’ll protect your business and your profits from them.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Preventing Fraud Is the customer genuine?

Fraud prevention: top tips for avoiding disputesDealing with a cardholder dispute will at the very least take lots of your time, and may take lots of your money too.

To avoid disputes you need to communicate well with your shoppers right from the start, and be vigilant about suspicious transactions.

You can’t be too careful. Carry out futher checks if you have any suspicions about the identity of the shopper. See Is the customer genuine?

Use WorldPay's Fraud Screening tools which alert you to potentially fraudulent transactions. Then carry out further investigation and your own manual checks on those transactions before you send out any goods

Use our Risk Management service to block known or suspect fraudulent details associated with undesirable shoppers. You can block shopper IP addresses, email addresses and names.

Carry out manual checks on high value or out-of-the-ordinary payments, even if the Fraud Screening tools didn’t pick them up. (The fraudster might have stolen all of the cardholder's legitimate details.)

Make it easy for your customers to contact you. Cardholders can be quick to take a dispute to their card issuer if they think you’re ignoring their query

Provide clear and detailed descriptions of your goods or services on your website – it’ll avoid shoppers claiming to have been misled

Publish your refund policy: it reassures customers they can get their money back from you rather than having to escalate to their card issuer

Be realistic with customers about delivery timescales and keep them informed if there are any delays. This is good customer service in any case. And if you don't they may go straight to their card Issuer complaining of goods not received

Immediately refund any payments you believe to be fraudulent and do not send out the goods. Once you have refunded the payment, the issue cannot be escalated by the cardholder

Shoppers may not recognise your trading name on their bank statement if it’s not the same as your website name. Make sure that your trading name – which is used as default on your customers' bank statements – is recognisable. Contact your merchant account provider about changing it if it is not.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Preventing Fraud Top tips for avoiding disputes

Customer service and online business

Starting a small business, whether on the high street or online, involves a series of technical, legal and financial steps before you can begin trading. But then the difference between success and failure can be customer service.

Online businesses need to get their customer service just right. Of course it's important for all businesses - you can't win and keep your customers without it. But for online businesses customer service is the only way to connect with your shoppers.

Online shopping is a more impersonal and remote experience than the high street. Nobody to talk to, nothing to see or touch. So it's even more important to use good customer service to instil trust in your company and help reassure the customer that you are genuine.

Great expectations

E-business customers, these days, are often extremely sophisticated, demanding instant information, multiple communications channels and a personalised and interactive service. And there's no reason not to give them what they want: the internet is open for business 24/7 and the technology you can call on allows you to interact with customers.

Delivering the goods

Fulfilment - or delivery of goods - is one of the biggest gripes for online shoppers. Getting it wrong can wreck your reputation. The key to getting it right? Communicate with your customers. Set realistic deadlines. Alert them to any delays.

Bad press

Get it wrong and bad press spreads more quickly online. Social media sites, blogs, forums and user reviews are all available for people checking out your brand. Unhappy customers are unlikely to keep quiet about poor customer service - and potential customers are more likely to find out about your reputation in advance.

And of course the competition is just a click away. It's much easier online than on the high street for customers to go elsewhere.

As small businesses rely more than large businesses on each individual customer, small and individually-tailored touches can win a customer for life. This section offers you tips on how to win and retain customers by making customer service your unique selling point.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Customer service and online business

Online business: dealing with deliveryE-business succeeds or fails on fulfilment - or, delivering the goods.

For the customer, delivery is the riskiest part of online shopping:

they're unsure if or when they'll receive their goods they are worried about receiving goods later than they expect they are unwilling to pay for delivery and returns.

Good customer service, combined with an attractive delivery policy, should reassure your customers. Do it well, and your business stands out from the competition.

Top Tips

Put your fulfilment policy on your website, clearly visible, and stick to it without fail. Keep customers updated about their order. Contact them promptly if there'll be any delay. State realistic timescales for delivery, from the start, to avoid disappointment or anxiety. Shipping options - present them clearly, as many as you can. Consider using a service that allows

your customer to track their order's shipping status. You might send all orders by signed delivery. A

signed delivery receipt reassures you that the goods have been received and can also help defend against potentially fraudulent claims.

Consider free delivery or free next-day delivery and returns to set you apart from the competition. One of the biggest disadvantages of online shopping over traditional retail stores is this extra charge, which does deter some customers.

Make it clear to customers they can send goods back (and make it easy for them by having a lenient refund policy) and they'll be more likely to make a purchase in the first place.

Keep your stocks up! If you haven't got the product they want in stock - and if your website doesn't make that clear, quickly - customers may never come back to you. It's common sense, but it's better to have too much stock than risk running out.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Customer service and online business Dealing with delivery

Online marketing: understanding search enginesOnline marketing is crucial for the success of most small e-businesses. Many potential customers will be searching for your products and services and if they don’t find their way to your site, you might as well shut up shop!

Online marketing is profitable!

Over three quarters of SMEs intend to increase their online marketing in 2010. Why? Because it's the most profitable way for them to market their business.

The key to online marketing is understanding what search engines need. (Since 90% of all searches in the UK are via Google, ‘search engines’ pretty much means Google.)

When you get it right, search engine marketing gives Google exactly what it wants to put your website at the top of customer searches. In most markets today this will yield thousands of additional visitors and produce increased leads and business.

How do search engines choose top positions?Keywords

If you or your web designer adds keywords to your website pages – keywords are the words most searched for online by people looking for products or services like yours – it can help your website towards your sector’s top search engine position. Google looks for common words on your site to give it a better idea of the subject matter, and matches these with words and phrases that people are searching on. Have a look at the next page, Optimising Your Site, for advice on generating and using keywords.

But although keywords are important, they don't tell search engines all they need to know about your site. In fact, Google doesn't like finding the same keyword lots of times on a page – they call it 'Keyword Spam'. And because lots of competing websites are likely using the same keywords, search engines need to look at other factors when calculating which site should be top of the search engine hit parade.

What else does Google want?

The job of a search engine is to provide the best performing, most relevant results possible for their users. Search engines like Google profile the internet's most popular websites, compile a list of elements that make a site good and award points for each element.

It’s simple: the more points your website receives the higher your website is placed. But you can also lose points if Google thinks you’re trying to manipulate its results. There are various different ways this can be done, such as unnecessarily repeating the same keyword (keyword spamming) simply to try and get to the top of the search results for this word.

So what are these elements that search engines look for? Google makes many thousands of calculations when visiting a site, which can be broken down into a number of main categories (you can find out more about how to improve your score for each of the items below in Optimising Your Site):

Your website is built correctly and Google can read the pages easily. That your pages conform to Google's content and technical guidelines. That your website's content is frequently changed/updated Your website grows in size (Google likes big websites) and – most important Links or references to your website on other websites (called 'backlinks'). The more relevant and

authoritative/popular these websites are that have backlinks to you, or reference your site, the better this will be for your Google ranking. Backlinks are so important because they act as a barometer of your popularity, help Google determine your subject matter as well as how relevant your site is in relation to your targeted keywords.

The more of the above you give Google, the higher your positions will be. If your competitor does more than you then they will rank higher than you. In simple terms, it is a popularity contest!

You are here: Online Trading Guide Online Marketing

Online marketing: optimising your siteWhen you're starting out, you can do a lot to optimise your site for search engines yourself.

Many small new businesses are able to implement the basics of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) when they start out and get their business found on Google and other search engines. Once they are better established, or want to grow the business further, they might well call in a search engine marketing company.

Before finding a web development company learn all you can about websites and Search Engine Optimisation. If you have a basic understanding of these areas you will be able to communicate your requirements more effectively and understand what people are telling you. This will be invaluable in deciding whether a web firm is right for you and to make sure you are getting what you pay for.

www.holistic-community.co.uk

Website build and readability

The first task is to make sure your website meets Google criteria and guidelines. Read Google’s own comprehensive guide:

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35769

The following will also help ensure that search engines like your site:

Make sure your website technology is search engine friendly and the code readable. Check this at http://validator.w3.org/.

Make your URLs more Google-friendly. Dynamic websites often include a (?) within the code and Google doesn't always add pages with this symbol to its database (have a look at Google's Webmaster Guidelines for more information)

a. (Good URL) www.awebsite.com/category/product.aspb. (Bad URL) www.awebsite.com/category/cf_03/?=12345/product_03.asp

Keywords

Having checked your site against these guidelines, you'll need to research keywords using tools which tell you exactly what words are being typed most often in your industry.

Ideally, you should try to come up with one primary and up-to four secondary key words per page.

Mostly, these keywords will be common sense and you should reflect the terms your potential customers will be searching on.

If you need some inspiration, Google's Keyword Tool at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal can help you get new keyword ideas based on your website copy or on a search word or phrase you already have.

Once you have established your keywords, you should aim to use your primary keyword or phrase three to four times on a page and your secondary terms up-to three times.

Tools such as the keyword density checker at http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword-density/ analyse your site to check how often you are using keywords and can also make new suggestions. These tools can also be useful in analysing competitors' websites to uncover some keywords you might not have thought of.

The next step is adding your chosen keywords to your pages, making sure they remain within Google's guidelines so that Google will classify your pages properly.

Because there are some parts of your website copy that Google places more importance on than others, it's worth making sure that you try to include your keywords in the following places:

The page title - this is certainly the first and most important place Google looks. Headings The first sentence on the page Make your primary keywords bold to signal to Google that they are more important. In the first paragraph on the page In your meta descriptions (the information in the 'head' section of a webpage that is not displayed to

users but is typically used to specify the page description and keywords). Try to include your unique selling points (USPs) as well as your keywords

These changes will certainly help Google to place you in the correct categories, but there’s more to do if you want those top positions

Now your site is Google compliant. It’s time to concentrate on content. Have a look at the next page for more information.

You are here: Online Trading Guide Online Marketing Optimising your Website

Online marketing: content and linksOnline marketing means getting shoppers to your website and the content of your web pages is critical.

Google is an information resource and its entire system is designed to measure the popularity of your website content. To measure that popularity Google is looking for your content on other people’s websites (commonly called reach).

How does that work?

When Google visits your pages for the first time it takes a ‘snapshot’ and knows that the pages shown belong to your site.

If chunks of your pages are then copied and placed onto other websites, Google is aware that the original content belonged to you.

This increases your overall profile – reach – and adds value to your site in the form of points. (Remember: the more points your site has, the higher its search engine position.)

To increase your points, you can include a link within the text which points back to your website. This is called link popularity. The more of your content Google finds on other sites, the more popular you are and the higher your website will go.

How to increase link popularity and reach

In some highly competitive markets online businesses have placed content onto literally thousands of other people's websites, generating huge positions for their own sites.

In such highly competitive markets, achieving an increase in Google points yourself would be enormously time consuming.

The good news is that on a more local level, there are simple ways you can make a big difference yourself.For example, try writing interesting articles or content within your own website and then syndicate this content across the web.

Syndicating website content

You want to syndicate your content and send it to many content publishers. Cheap or even free packages are available to help you, such as: http://feedsubmitter.com/,a free RSS submitter (RSS

stands for Really Simple Syndication). And your web designer can convert your content into the correct format before you submit it.

What else?

Send copies of your content to trade organisations and to information suppliers relevant to your kind of business.

Generate relevant and newsworthy PR/news stories and issue them to a free press release site. Add your website to free directories. Join relevant forums and blogs and discuss your company's products or services. Ask friends or colleagues to link to you from their site. You can even pay for links on popular sites.

You can monitor how successful this all is using the following tools:

You can check the number of links in to your site at http://www.backlinkwatch.com/ You can check your Google Pagerank, which measures how many backlinks you have, how relevant

the site is that is linking to you, as well as the pagerank of those pages that are linking to you. More information at http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php

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Online marketing: monitoring successAfter all this SEM activity, how are you doing?

You – or you and your SEM company – are putting all this work into increasing your website’s search engine positions. You need to know how well it’s working.

There are lots of software tracking packages available. You can get some for free or spend up to £25,000 a year.

But it’s probably worth starting with Google itself. Google Analytics is free and it’s very easy to set up and use. It’ll monitor functions such as:

Number of visitors Where they came from How long they stayed What keywords they typed in

You can set up your own free account by going to: http://www.google.com/analytics/

Monitoring links/reach

As mentioned in Content and Links, you can check the number of links into your site at http://www.backlinkwatch.com/.

Check your Google Pagerank, which measures how many backlinks you have and how relevant the site is that’s linking to you is, as well as the pagerank of those pages that are linking to you at http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php

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Online marketing: costWill search engine marketing get the orders coming in?

Nobody wants what are called 'vanity positions', where you type in a keyword and find yourself in a top spot, but it still doesn't get the phone ringing or the orders coming in. Use your Analytics software (http://www.google.com/analytics/) and keep track of the number of visitors it takes to generate a lead or sale.

How much do search engine marketing companies charge?

Professional search engine marketing companies charge from around £250 a month for simple search engine optimisation through to £1000s in highly competitive markets. What you are paying for is time and expertise.

The greater the number of keywords you choose and the more competition each keyword has, the longer it takes to gain your site points. And the price goes up.

For most online businesses, monthly SEM budget should be around 1-2% of their total monthly turnover.

Search engine marketing: why it’s worth the cost

Many small businesses still don't understand search engine marketing. Yet the figures show that using search engine marketing properly is essential to being successful online and is profitable for most small business. The UK's top 500 companies now spend more than 60% of their annual marketing budget online. High street numbers are dwindling, with more sales completed online than ever before, not least because if a buyer is looking for a particular service or product, it’s much easier to look on Google than trail round the shops or send for loads of brochures.

Your search engine marketing strategy is the future of your online business – so it's critical you get it right. It’s not worth cutting corners or you may find yourself wasting the money you’ve spent.

If you use a professional company you should think about the following:

make sure they are well established ask for several client testimonials, or even

ask to talk to their existing clients.

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Online marketing: pay per clickIf you type a word into Google you’ll see ads appear on the righthand side of the page, usually highlighted in yellow. These are sponsored ads, which means that the advertiser pays a rate whenever a user clicks on them – known as Pay Per Click.

Achieving top search engine positions isn't the only way to get more business online. The pay per click system works on a highest bidder basis. It can be particularly good and rewarding for small or start-up businesses who find getting to the top search spots naturally takes time, but who still want to make sales in the meantime!

The pay per click system works on a highest bidder basis as follows:

Depending on your ‘bid’, you have a daily budget for your ad Once this budget is used up your ad disappears for the rest of that day (and the next highest bidder

moves up) For example: if a keyword was £0.50p for each click – your bid – and your agreed daily budget was

£10.00, then you’d be entitled to 20 clicks before your advert disappeared

The advantage of this system: there’s no waiting – you can be getting clicks on your ad within seconds of going live.

The disadvantage: it can be expensive, with some extremely popular keywords costing more than £10,000 for a single click!

The basic idea is simple, but getting the best out of it can be more complicated.

Hire a search engine marketing expert or you or a colleague could go on a Google training course – have a look at http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/ for more information.

Top Tips for Pay Per Click

Google will suggest a daily budget to you. If you can't afford it, don’t reduce the total budget amount as it means your ad won’t be displayed all the time. Instead, reduce the amount you are bidding on each click and your ad will be shown consistently, just lower down on the page.

One of the biggest mistakes that web-marketers make is that their Google ad takes the visitor to their home page rather than to the page directly related to that ad. If visitors don't land directly on the page where they can find what they're looking for, they'll leave.

Testing with ads can even be better than market research. If you run a few ads simultaneously (even before you've launched your site) and see which gets most clicks – for only a small spend you can test what people are most interested in.

Consider two different ad campaigns targeting local and national customers – this helps because some potential customers might search for a local design agency and others not specify the location, for example.

First is not always best – top positions often get lots of low quality clicks, whereas lower positions can attract more serious buyers, lead to more actual purchasing (and cost less!)

The best ads display the benefits of your product/service in line 1 and the features in line 2. Tiny copy changes in your advert can make a big difference to the number of clicks. It's worth

experimenting with your advert copy - close matches on very specific phrases are best for converting clicks into buyers.

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