There are many advantages to a well-implemented shopping cart. Adding a tool with sufficient flexibility will give customers a better experience, make it much easier to make complex purchases, and can make a website’s layout appear more professional. However, the actual process of implementing a cart for website shopping into a page can be difficult, particularly for businesses that are just getting into online sales. Shopping carts need to be full-featured and properly configured in order to work and, fortunately, there are many resources available for merchants who want to set up a website shopping option.
The first thing that a business will need is a merchant account with a credit card processing company, as shopping cart applications work best when they’re able to take bankcard information directly from customers through a web portal. This is in contrast to services offered by websites like PayPal, which can seem unprofessional to some users. As merchant accounts from credit card processing companies generally carry lower rates than Internet-only options like PayPal, most businesses will want to view a few credit card processing companies’ offers to find an appropriate shopping cart application. A shopping cart needs to be able to allow customer purchases to be “saved” and should make the purchasing process easier with an easy-to-understand user interface. The simpler the shopping cart, the greater the effect that it will have in improving sales and customer service, so businesses should evaluate a few different options before making a selection.
After a proper shopping cart option has been found, it can be implemented on a website’s layout without requiring major changes. Most credit card processing companies offer technical assistance for introducing a new shopping cart option and, while the installation process varies, a website’s shopping feature can normally be implemented within a day or two. The shopping cart feature should be checked for security and functionality before it’s actually used by customers. In particular, it’s important to check that credit card numbers and other vital customer information is being properly encrypted and that security certificates are up to date (especially SSL certification, which many customers use to evaluate whether website shopping carts are trustworthy or not).
A shopping cart makes website shopping easier for customers, who can more easily track their purchases and buy multiple items securely. Integrating a shopping cart might seem like an overwhelming process but, with the right cart and support from a credit card processing company, it can be fast, simple and secure. Businesses should be sure to pick an appropriate cart that meets customers’ needs for security and ease-of-use features, as this makes integration much easier and more effective.