1. I don’t want to mess with complex software; I just need a way to add a couple of product pics, nothing more.
As you become successful, you will need more features: quantity discounts, coupons, gift certificates, live shipping quotes, etc. Because your customers will want them and ask for them.
If you haven’t planned ahead, this will ultimately mean changing your online store software(E-Commerce). And that is a big pain: downtime, lost data (every software uses its own format and they are rarely, if ever, compatible), and stress.
Choose the software that has everything you will need in 5 years.
2. I have PayPal, so I’m all set! Everyone has PayPal, right?
PayPal is certainly very popular, but it is absolutely not the only payment method, especially outside the US. If you want to reach the maximum number of customers, in addition to PayPal you should at least give people the option of paying with just a credit card, by entering their card number. You should also be able to accept wire transfers and checks. So you should choose a merchant account provider that offers all of this.
3. Once a customer pays for her order, it’s done and I can relax – maybe even put off shipping it for a couple of days.
PayPal lets purchasers cancel any transaction within 45 days, right from their account. Credit card transactions can also be canceled by the cardholder’s bank – all it takes is a phone call.
Not only do you not get the money, but you also gain a bad reputation with your merchant account provider. If you end up with too many chargebacks, you’ll find your account disabled and yourself blacklisted.
A payment is a signal for you to spring into action, not relax.
4. I totally trust my web host! If something ever happens to my store they’ll have it back up and running in no time.
If you want to guarantee your online business’s stability, you should trust nobody, and take backup into your own hands.
Website backup is a huge topic and there are various approaches to it. You can choose what’s best for you, but here are two things you should always observe:
- Backup files should reside as far from the original files as possible. If your website is in a Dallas datacenter, back it up to a datacenter in Washington. Or in Australia.
- Back it up often. Think of it this way: how many recent orders can you lose? Then schedule backups at appropriate intervals.
5. My customers are smart – they’ll figure out everything for themselves, and contact me if they’re stuck.
If you don’t provide a clear return policy, and one of your competitors does, switching to them takes just seconds of your customer’s time.
Time is the most important factor in e-commerce. If you don’t save your customers’ time with a fast website, real-time shipping quotes, an AJAX shopping cart, a guest checkout, and an overall clean and informative site layout, you’ve lost her
