Platform
Wordpress based plugin for creating and managing an online store, with reasonable levels of flexibility and several vital features such as inventory and tax management, secure payments, and shipping integration.
WooCommerce offers many helpful features, like order tracking, customer engagement, delivery status updates, inventory management, and more. With over 27 million downloads to date, WooCommerce powers 99% of all WordPress stores. WooCommerce has a low degree of difficulty. It’s easy to use for beginner site owners.
Some of the key features that are included with Woo Commerce
- Offer Flexible and Secure Payments
WooCommerce comes bundled with the ability to accept major credit cards, bank transfers (BACS), checks, and cash on delivery. Beyond the basics, there are 140 region-specific gateways to choose from and integrate with, including WooCommerce Payments, Stripe, PayPal, Square, and Amazon Pay. Apple Pay, Google Pay, subscriptions, and deposits are also supported.
- Manage Orders On the Go
Built on WordPress, the WooCommerce dashboard is a familiar interface for store managers to update products and fulfill orders. Save time with automated tax calculations, live shipping rates from leading carriers, options to print labels at home, and the mobile app for iOS and Android.
Security
Being an eCommerce business owner, the biggest concern for you is to protect your online store from hundreds of security attacks every day. Though WordPress is trying to ensure top-notch security for the users, according to a statistic, every day near about 70000 WordPress websites on average are getting hacked.
Does it mean you should avoid WordPress? Absolutely NOT! Instead, you should always be aware of these attacks and prepare your website in such a way that nothing can break down your security system.
Aspects to include when implementing e-Commerce security
eCommerce security isn’t something to be taken lightly. Major data leaks have fundamentally damaged trust in digital security. Consumers are comfortable making payments through familiar systems like PayPal, Stripe, etc. But it takes a bit more convincing to risk their credit card details with unknown companies like you, right?
- Use Impossible to Guess Password
While passwords are experiencing competition from technologies such as facial recognition and multi-factor authentication (MFA), they're still the standard access keys to most software. We need passwords for every service or website we log onto so, for many users, it just seems easier to use the same password for multiple services.
The problem with this approach is that, once the reused usernames and passwords have been taken by hackers, they can be applied to various services, leading to widespread fraud.
It is wise to never use the same password for two accounts. Use different passwords for your website database, hosting server, admin panel, FTP accounts and connected email accounts. It is better to use long passwords made of both numbers, special characters, and alphabets.
- Update Your Site & Plugins Regularly
One of the most important things to recognize about eCommerce security is that it is not a one-off event. You need to regularly monitor the security of your eCommerce site, make regular back-ups, and ensure that you are up to date with the latest software, plugins, and extensions.
As soon as new versions are released, patch your site up immediately, to avoid leaving yourself vulnerable to attackers. But avoid installing any questionable software that could put the security of your site at risk. Instead, install and update your WordPress version, themes, and all the plugins from the official website.
Monitor the PHP version you are using. It should automatically update with your WordPress.
- Choose Strong Hosting
There are many hosting providers. Choose the one that has automatic WordPress update and backup facilities. And if you are using a Payment Gateway such as Stripe or PayPal, make sure the servers meet the PCI Compliance requirements. More things to check;
- Firewalls
- DDoS Protection
- Domain Name Privacy
- Spam Filter
- Virus Protection
One of the most important is the firewall or a piece of software that is designed to protect your website by filtering requests to your web server. They will then block certain requests, based on a variety of factors before they reach your web server.
- Install an SSL Certificate
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a digital certificate that facilitates the establishment of a secure connection between server and users. This is mandatory for any website receiving sensitive user information such as credit card details. Many web-hosting providers include an SSL certificate in their package.
SSL plugins like Really Simple SSL plugin redirect every request to HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure). It is the online protocol for secure communications over the internet and one of the easiest ways to help secure your e-commerce website from fraud. Designated by a closed green lock icon on the browser address bar, HTTPS websites are deemed authentic and secure because they're certified.
- Stop Brute Force Login Attempts
Everybody knows about this attack, I guess. A brute force login attempt is where hackers will use specialized software to try every combination of symbols, numbers, characters, and letters until they find a combination that allows them access. Once they got access, anything can happen against you.
Your website can identify the forceful login attempts made by bots. You can solve this problem by setting a limit to the number of login attempts before the IP address is blocked from making further requests. However, the issue with this method is that the hacker can lock out vast quantities of user accounts, which will then cause a DoS (denial of service).
An even better method that you can use is to log out an entire IP address after a sufficient number of failed login attempts.
- Set Access Roles
If you’re the only person running your website, you don't need to think about WordPress user roles. However, if you ever need to give other people access to your WordPress site, WordPress user roles are essential for controlling what actions the various users at your site are permitted to take
You can specify certain tasks that you expect from individuals and give them access to only the portion of the data necessary to complete the task. By limiting the actions a certain individual is authorized to take, you can enhance your website security.
Shipping
Shipping is one of the most important elements of your eCommerce store. If you follow today’s best practices for shipping, you’ll be able to bring in more customers, boost customer satisfaction rates, and convert more visitors into paying customers.
And vice versa, if you don’t offer shipping that’s in line with your customer’s expectations, you may start to experience high cart abandonment rates, lower conversions, and fewer orders.
Using proper shipping best practices is a critical part of a great, seamless shopping experience. The buyer’s journey doesn’t end when they check out and make a purchase from your online store – it ends when the package arrives at their address, on-time and in good condition.
Want to make sure you’re setting yourself up for success? Let’s go over just a few of the best eCommerce shipping best practices – and explanations about why they’re so important.
- Be Clear with Your Order Fulfillment and Return Policies
Having a working shipping strategy can mean the difference between having a customer purchase your product or abandoning their shopping cart. Shipping strategies can also be utilized as marketing tools. This strategy begins on your website and it’s the first step of an eCommerce transaction. Your order fulfillment policies and information should be front and center on your website to attract the most attention. If you’re considering offering free shipping, that should be one of the first things the buyer sees when landing on your eCommerce site. This can greatly influence their decision to make the purchase or not.
The essence of an eCommerce business is its convenience. Consumers are forgoing leaving their personal space to find goods online. Capitalize on convenience and create a site that is easy to navigate with an amazing user experience. Make sure the information is easy to find and clearly stated. If the flow of the website is compromised, this will impact sales and the bounce rate of the website.
- Free Shipping
According to the 2018 Pitney Bowes Global eCommerce study, a staggering 91 percent of consumers will leave an online retail site if fast and free shipping is not offered. With these staggering statistics, most businesses realize that free shipping can be utilized not only as a delivery option, but as a marketing one as well. In order to offer free shipping, you must understand how it affects your profit margin. Even if the option of free shipping is bringing in more sales, the cost of covering shipping expenses for each sale may not equal beneficial results.
To strategically utilize free shipping, you can try a variety of options. One option could be to including free shipping if a certain amount is spent on your products. Studies show that 66 percent of consumers often expect to spend at least $25 in purchases to qualify for free shipping. This can help increase the amount the consumer spends per sale. You can also use free shipping as a promotional offer during a certain time of year or apply it to special products. Companies can also offer free shipping for standard delivery times and expedited shipping at an additional cost. There are a myriad of ways to use free shipping, just make sure it doesn’t affect your bottom line.
- Flat Rate Shipping
The term flat rate shipping is pretty self-explanatory. It is when one cost for shipping is assigned to any product purchase. Using this option means that the weight, size, and value of the product do not factor into the total cost of the shipping. This gives customers an upfront look at what they can expect for the final total. Since you can dictate the cost of flat rate, you can create a shipping total that will help you cover shipping or even help with the packaging costs. Although not as popular as free shipping, a lot of consumers can see the benefits of this option if they plan to spend more or buy bigger items.
- Table Rate Shipping
Table rate shipping is almost the opposite of flat rate shipping. This type of shipping allows companies to customize their shipping solutions. For table rate shipping, you can dictate different shipping costs based on a variety of factors. Most often, factors such as delivery destination, product size and weight, and number of items ordered are considered when setting the shipping costs.
An example of table rate shipping is if your business charges a cost for deliveries within a certain radius of their location and a different cost for shipping to locations outside of that radius. Companies can also choose to charge one shipping cost for the order of one item and a different cost if two or more items are purchased. There are a variety of different shipping cost options eCommerce sites can set when using table rate shipping.
- Live Shipping Rates from a Carrier
This option gives exact shipping rates to your consumer directly from shipping carriers such as UPS, DHL, or FEDEX. Although not traditionally used as a promotional item, live shipping rates do show the consumer exactly what they are paying for when choosing their shipping options. Live shipping rates are a great strategy for B2B shipments where rates are calculated by precise factors such as quantity, size, weight, or shipping distance.
For the live shipping rate strategy, you can still cover your costs in packaging or order fulfillment with added surcharges to the shipping rate that the consumer ultimately chooses. By having live rates, you can pick and choose the best carrier for your product by current shipping rate.
- Packaging
Now that you have a good understanding of shipping options, you can then move on to prepping your goods before sending it out. Before placing your product in the mail, think through how this item will be introduced to your consumer. As the world of commerce evolves, packaging has become much more than just a functional object. In many B2C transactions, consumers are looking for an ‘experience’ when they receive their products. The packaging and branding all plays a role in the reception of the product. To stand out among your competitors, you’ll want to take some care when packaging your product. Some time should be spent creating the right design for your packaging. Consumers really respond to personal touches when they receive their goods. You are basically using a well-crafted package to replace the in-person customer service. For business to business (B2B) transactions, designed packaging might be less important, and the ultimate functionality is more desirable.
When thinking about packaging, also keep in mind that the weight and size will all factor into the cost of shipping. So a good compromise must be made between design and functionality. Make use of this aspect of order fulfillment to leave a lasting impression with your consumer. This can help a customer decide to shop with you again.
- International Shipping
Once you have a basic grasp of the type of shipping strategy that might work best for you, you can then consider widening your radius. International shipping may seem like a huge next step, but it’s also a potentially profitable one. With the increased growth of international sales, it might be a good idea to see if that is a possible avenue for your business. Depending on the country you are planning to expand to, you will have to carefully research the import and export restrictions for that country. Then there are the considerations of the customs taxes or additional documentation that your goods will need. You will also have to then choose an international carrier to work with.
Payment Gateways
The payment gateway is the middleman between the customer and the merchant, creating a pathway for transactions to be completed securely and quickly.
If you run an eCommerce site, then you’re going to need a payment gateway, there’s no way around it. If you’re a newbie to the world of payments, this may seem extremely complicated and out of your league. The truth is, payment gateways aren’t as nearly complex as you may have initially believed.
3 Types of Payment Gateways
Redirects
When the gateway takes a customer to a PayPal payment page to handle the complete transaction (i.e. processing and paying) it becomes a “Redirect.”
This has the advantage of simplicity for the retailer. A small business can use a Redirect gateway to incorporate the convenience and security of a major platform like PayPal, but the process also means less control for the merchant — and a second step for customers.
Checkout on site, payment off-site.
Like redirected payment gateways, there are some advantages to handling your payments this way, including simplicity.
But as is the case above, you won’t be able to control the user’s entire experience through the payment gateway.
You’ll be at the mercy of the quality of the offsite gateway and its quirks.
On-site payments.
Large-scale businesses tend to use on-site payments completely handled on their own servers. The checkout and payment processing on behalf of the customer all work through your system.
Now the advantages are flipped: you’ll have more control, but also more responsibility.
Because retail has a cart abandonment rate of about 75%, any improvement you can make to the shopping experience can create dramatic changes in your bottom line.
PayFast
PayFast offers merchants full integration flexibility alongside a host of payment features. Whether you use an existing shopping cart system or have a custom built website, PayFast is the go-to payment facilitator for all businesses.
Getting started with PayFast is easy. All you need is a verified PayFast account and integrate it with your website. We take care of everything else.
PayFast is partnered with some of the leading ecommerce platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, WHMCS and Magento so that you can easily integrate our secure payment gateway into your online store’s checkout process.
PayGate
With PayGate you can accept payments worldwide from all Credit, Debit, Cheque & Hybrid cards issued by Visa™ | MasterCard® | American Express™ | Diners™
PayGate has links to all major acquiring banks throughout Africa and worldwide.
You can accept Card payments using PayGate’s secure payment page or you can make use of PayGate’s Host to Host functionality.
All online card payments processed in South Africa are passed for 3D Secure authentication.
Checkout Process
One of the biggest challenges for an ecommerce store is converting visitors into actual buyers. Your checkout page is a major deciding factor in making that happen on your ecommerce site. The checkout experience is also impacting customer satisfaction and, thus, how likely they are to return.
Major Steps In An eCommerce Checkout Flow
Checkout flow begins with an “Add to Cart” click and ends after payment (or Thank You page). Each of these steps must be designed for a seamless journey of the buyers, keeping the buyers motivated for purchase.
A seller targets two things in the checkout flow process
As much as the checkout process is important, so is the pre-checkout stage. You should always begin with encouraging decision-making on the product page itself.
Providing all the crucial information a buyer would dig for on the product page plays an important role to help your customers arrive at the decision sooner.
Pre-checkout Process
As much as the checkout process is important, so is the pre-checkout stage. You should always begin with encouraging decision-making on the product page itself.
Providing all the crucial information a buyer would dig for on the product page plays an important role to help your customers arrive at the decision sooner.
Add to Cart
Adding products to cart — a clear sign of potential buyers, the first step in the checkout process.
Visitors with buying intentions add their chosen products in the cart. They are serious about the purchase, unlike other browsing users.
As a store owner, affix your eyes upon them. They are the ones who will hand over their money to you.
Shipping Info
In this step, information such as shipping address, category of shipping (timing package), etc. are entered by the buyer.
This information is used for delivery purposes.
Secure Payment
Buyers who don’t opt for COD (cash on delivery) undergo this stage.
This is the most critical stage of the checkout flow. Here, the prospect pays to transfer the total cost value of the product to the seller using the payment gateways.
Visitors add their card details, verify the purchase through OTP(One-Time Password), and then click for payment.
Confirmation
This step takes the final consent of your buyers for the payment.
This confirmation is very necessary as it avoids jerks in the buyer’s mindset.
Even if the customers are ready to pay, that doesn’t give you the right to pull out money from their wallets.
Let them do it for you with no compulsion.
Thank You Page
Checkout flow without a “Thank you page” is shutting the door on the buyer’s nose.
Technically, buying/selling products can be accomplished without this, hence few refer to it as optional. But for me (and for an effective checkout flow), a “Thank you page” is mandatory and must not be ignored.
It’s a good practice to include the “Thank you page” in the checkout flow. It gives a firm confirmation of the completion of the purchase to the buyers.
This page reflects your gratitude to the customers for buying your product from your eStore which is crucial for personal bonding in the mid-professional expedition.
