E-commerce solutions allow businesses to showcase, market and sell their products and services on line, and to process payments securely.

A basic e-commerce solution comprises:

  1. shop front – an online catalogue of web pages displaying products descriptions, images, and price, organised in a clear hierarchy, for easy navigation and searchability. The 8 second guideline is often cited here as the point at which potential customers give up on your site, and go to a competitor.
  2. checkout processing – includes a shopping cart to allow easy product selection, cart updates, and clearly convey where the customer is in the buying process, encouraging them to complete their transaction.
  3. secure payment processing – on-line customers expect to be able to pay by credit or debit card, and these transactions must be encrypted for secure transmission.