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Tips to Get Ready for WebCom's Ecommerce Solution

Here are our suggestions for getting ready to set up shop on the Web. Some steps take longer than others. On this page we start with the things that take longest to complete, proceed to steps with shorter completion times.



Other information:

Decide how you will take payments.

With WebCommerce you have several options for receiving payment from your WebCommerce store. You can receive payment from your shoppers in the form of cash, check, and money order. Your shoppers can also use credit cards to makes purchases at your store. If you are going to accept credit card, you have two options: You can receive CC numbers with your orders and fill them manually, or you can use CyberCash with WebCommerce to automatically process credit cards online. The advantage of using CyberCash, is that you store can automatically validate authorize the credit card when the shopper checks out, and capturing credit card transactions can be done easily online through CyberCash's online merchant administration area.

If you want to use CyberCash for real-time credit card processing, you will need to get a CyberCash ID from CyberCash, and a merchant ID from a bank. Even if you already have a merchant ID, you will still need to acquire a new, separate terminal ID to use with CyberCash and online credit card processing. Click here to get your CyberCash ID. This can sometimes be a lengthy process, so do it as soon as possible! (More on this below.)

Decide if you want to use your bank to obtain a merchant ID. If you do, click here for tips on working with your bank. Generally speaking, if your bank is not very Internet-savvy, it can take as long as 4 - 6 weeks to obtain the appropriate merchant ID for CyberCash transactions.

Cardservice International (CSI), a firm that we recommends for getting your merchant account, specializes in quickly enabling new and small businesses to take credit card payments over the Web! CSI guarantees that they will process WebCom's customers' applications within 2 - 10 business days for a merchant ID for CyberCash transactions. In addition, CSI is providing the most competitive rates on the Web. CSI handles over 40% of all CyberCash transactions today. Click here for more information on getting your merchant ID through CSI.

Prepare the information you'll need for your web store.

Now you can begin to gather your product information to get your store up and running as quickly as possible:

If you don't already have a web site, decide if you're going to have a Web site in addition to a web store.

A web store will provide the ability for you to showcase your products with some basic information such as a description, pricing and product options (such as size or color). If you sell products that are fairly complex and for which your customers may need more in-depth information on them before purchasing, or you would like to have a "corporate web site" in addition to your online retail store, you might want to consider creating a web site to augment your web store.

You will need a web hosting service plan with WebCom for your store. You can either design your store and web site yourself or hire a web designer. Click here for more information on hosting a web site with WebCom.

Get an up-to-date browser.

You can set up your store using an old browser, but our system works best with the newest browsers (in the private store admin area; your public storefront on the web is fully compatible with all browsers, old and new). We recommend Netscape Navigator 3.X at a minimum, (4.x preferred), or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.X and above.

          

Make sure you know how to use your email account.

It will be essential if you want us to send you purchase confirmations as they occur. With your WebCom hosting plan, you can have between 10 - 30 email accounts depending upon the plan you choose. These email addresses can be set up in the form of yourname@yourcompany.com. Click here for more information on our email services and how to manage your email account.

Promote your web store.

Make sure your customers can get to your store quickly and easily, and that it is publicized throughout the Internet as widely as possible. Click here to get more information about publicizing your web site and store.

Make sure your contact information is easily accessible on your site.

You might think you've covered everything a customer needs to know on your site, but, there will always be more questions. Store pages created through WebCommerce automatically contain contact information on each page, but we also recommend that you make your phone numbers and other information easily available from the rest of your website.

Get online if you aren't already (choose an Internet Service Provider)

Do you have access to the Internet already? Then you can skip this step.

If you don't have an ISP (Internet Service Provider), now is the time to get one. If you have access to the Internet through friends or other sources, you'll still need to have a separate ISP address for your store. WebCom does not provide dial-up access, so you need an ISP. We would like to recommend looking at the services provided by our parent company, Verio for your Internet Access needs. You can go to http://www.thelist.com for a list of U.S.-based ISPs. Most newspapers have a technology section with advertising from local ISPs.


Getting a merchant ID through your bank

To take credit card payments over the web using your browser and secure server technology (SSL) you will need a merchant credit card account ("Merchant Account") with your bank that's specifically meant for Internet-based transactions with CyberCash. You may already have a merchant ID for handling your phone/fax and email orders. If this is so, and if your bank supports Internet transactions through CyberCash, you can use the same merchant account, but you will still need an additional "terminal ID" specifically for Internet transactions.

Your bank will forward your Merchant ID and Terminal ID to CyberCash. CyberCash will link those to your CyberCash ID, and you'll be in business!

Depending on your bank and your credit report, it can take as long as a month to get a merchant account. There are a few things you can do now to make this process run faster and a little more smoothly.

  1. Bank Account Setup. Notify your bank that you are interested in accepting credit cards via CyberCash.
  2. The bank may work with one of the following processors: Cardservice International (CSI), Checkfree, FDC (formerly Envoy), FUSAP (Paymentech), MAPP, NDC, NOVA, VISA, WELLS. Collectively, these processors cover over 90% of the banks in the U.S., so your bank is almost sure to work with one of them. As long as your bank uses one of these processors, they can work with CyberCash. However the bank also must be set up to enable their merchants to setup their account with CyberCash. Just because a bank uses one of these processors doesn't mean they support CyberCash; it just means they can if they wish to.
  3. If your bank does not set up merchant credit card accounts for CyberCash, we recommend going to our partner, Cardservice International (CSI). CSI specializes in quickly enabling new and small businesses to take credit card payments over the Web. CSI guarantees that they will process WebCom's customers' applications within 2-10 business days for a merchant ID for CyberCash transactions. Click here for more information on getting your merchant ID through CSI.
  4. Credit Report. Merchant bank accounts are dependent on your credit rating, so take steps now to evaluate and clean up your credit report.
  5. For a basic explanation of Internet Credit Card Processing please read the following: http://www.cybercash.com/cybercash/services/credit_101.html
  6. You must obtain a merchant account that allows separate authorization and capture. Authorization ("auth") means ensuring the card is valid and has enough credit to cover the charge, and the amount of the charge is "reserved" on the card for future billing. The card is not actually billed until later (when you ship). "Capture" means that you've shipped the order, and want to bill the customer. The amount you previously auth'd on the customer's card is now actually charged to the card, and deposited into your bank account.
  7. After you set up a merchant account at your bank, it will contact CyberCash and provide them with the necessary information. Namely, they will provide CyberCash the name of the (credit card) processor* your bank will use and with your Merchant ID (MID) and something called a Terminal ID (TID) (the TID this is a carryover from actual credit card billing terminals you seen in stores). In the event you already have a MID, you will receive an additional TID. This is like opening a store in a second location (i.e., down the street in the physical world) or a second transaction location). You can't use an existing Terminal ID that has been assigned to a traditional credit card billing terminal.
* Security and CyberCash: Both WebCom's and CyberCash's encryption technology offer the highest level of security available on the Internet today. Online payment information is automatically encrypted to ensure maximum protection. Communication between the merchant browser to the CyberCash registration and to their order administration areas, and from the consumer browser to the merchant storefront is secured by the SSL security method. Communication between your store and CyberCash for order is secured by the Triple DES security method.
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