Fore ground:
To begin with, we will look at a
straightforward online store like Amazon.com or flipkart.com. Such stores sell
physical objects like books, DVDs and clothing, and digital information like
MP3 music files, digital videos and software.
Most
online stores have the same fundamental structure:
- An interface that allows you to search for products or services
- A shopping basket where you can list items you wish to purchase
- A checkout procedure
Some
online stores will require you to create an account with them before you can
purchase anything. Others will allow you to do once-off purchases without
signing up for an account.
Why sign up for an account at an online store?
An
account can be useful:
- It allows the site to record your credit card and contact
information so that you do not have to re-enter it every time you want to
make a purchase.
- It can keep a record of things you bought in the past.
- It can generate suggestions for things you might want to buy,
based on your past browsing and purchasing record.
Some
sites offer additional benefits to account holders, such as:
- Member discounts and special offers
- Newsletters or updates on the items you purchased
The checkout process
Most
sites make it very easy to buy online. Every step is clear, and you will have
many chances to change your mind. You can cancel the process at any point and
see the total you will pay, including shipping costs, before you make the
payment.
Example: Amazon.com
In
this example, we are assuming that you have searched for and found an item you
wish to buy on Amazon.com.
Choose
the item you want, and add it to your shopping cart by clicking on the “Add to
Cart” button. The “Buy with 1-Click” option means that you will bypass the
checkout procedure described below and buy the item immediately.
If you
first want to check what you are about to buy, you can go to your “shopping
basket” by clicking on the shopping basket icon at the top of any page. The
shopping basket is a page that keeps track of all the items you wish to buy or
have bought in the past. Notice the “Save for later” and “Delete” buttons in
the screenshot below.
If you
are ready to buy, click the “Proceed to Checkout” button. This button takes you
to a page where you can specify how you wish to pay for the items in your cart.
This
will take you to a series of pages in which you can fill in your personal
details, your postal address and your payment method – for example, your credit
card number. There may be several “continue” buttons. These will take you to
the next page, and won’t trigger payment.
When
you have filled in all the necessary information, you will be shown a final
page on which all the details are displayed.
If you
are satisfied, you can click on the “Place your order” button. This button will
trigger payment. On other sites, this button may be called “purchase”, “submit
payment”, “pay now” or something similar. Don’t click on this button more than
once, as in some cases it could result in more than one order being placed.
Once
your order is processed, the site will give you feedback on its success. This
may take the form of a page containing an order number, or an email with the
details of your transaction. This is important information. You will need it if
anything goes wrong with your order or if you are not satisfied with the
product you purchased.
Some tips for pain-free checking out
- Stay calm. You can change your order or cancel at any stage –
right until the final stage of submitting payment. Many sites even allow
you to cancel the purchase after that point, but that is obviously not
ideal.
- Don’t hit the “back” button of your browser, as this may
confuse the process. If possible, look for “edit”, “delete order” or
“cancel” buttons in the shopping site itself.
- Only hit the final button if you are sure. An incomplete
checkout won’t be processed, and no payment will be made.
Shopping safely
- Check the URL in the address bar. If you are about to enter
sensitive information on a website, always have a quick look at the URL of
the site in the browser’s address bar. If it is a secure site, the URL
will start with the letters “https”. A normal site will have the letters
“http” without the final “s”.
- Look for the lock. Your browser will display a small lock icon.
Depending on the browser you use, it may be in the status bar at the
bottom of the browser or in the address bar at the top.
- Take care when sharing your information. Never give your credit
card number over the telephone unless you initiated the call. Never
respond to an email that asks for sensitive information.
Back Ground:
eCommerce stands for Electronic Commerce, which is in itself a broad term for selling on the internet through a website, electronically. With the ability to process credit cards electronically on the internet, just about anything can be sold on the web.eCommerce websites are built differently, but they all use the same basic functions. The ability to accept credit cards is clearly a defining factor. Most times the credit does not actually process through your website, for security reasons, but processes through a payment gateway(like paypal.) A payment gateway is a company that works with the credit card companies to be sure that all credit card transactions are processed securely and credit card numbers are not stored by small businesses. 
You must have an account with a payment gateway to accept credit card on your website. Although your transactions will process through a gateway, the viewer will never know or be directed away from your website. Your website will be guarded with 128-bit encryption using an SSL certificate, making fraud nearly impossible. When a purchase is made the money will be transferred directly into your businesses' bank account.
When an order is placed, the customer's purchase and payment information will come into your administration section. You will login with your desired username and password to view this information.
