E- Commerce

This week I will be addressing E-commerce.  You’ve probably heard of the term, unless you have been living under a rock for the past few years.  E-commerce is available on any website that sells goods or services.  Many people hesitate to use E-commerce because they wonder how safe it is to purchase something on a website without anybody stealing their credit card or personal information.  In this age of identity theft, that is a real concern.

There are a few ways that you can identify a website you can trust, meaning that they will keep your credit and personal information safe and secure.

Amazon and Ebay who depend on E-commerce have secure servers with encrypted data to keep credit and personal information secure from hackers. There are some indicators of trustworthy sources to put your mind at ease when using E- Commerce.

Let’s look a few..

Security Badges – Security badges are company logos posted on a website, usually on the checkout page.  These badges assure the customer that when purchasing an item that their information is safe.  Customers who recognize these badges feel more confident in the company when purchasing something on-line.

Some of these logos are listed below.

Contact Information – E-shoppers also feel more confident when they see a customer service phone number, email address, or physical address listed.  This gives the shopper peace of mind in knowing that they have some options to use if they have questions or concerns regarding their order.

SSL Certificate – A SSL or “Secure Socket Layer” encrypts customer data so it becomes difficult for web criminals to steal credit card information written in plain text on the Internet.  Savvy on-line shoppers know to look for a lock icon or colored tab to the left of the website URL and an “S” after the “HTTP”.  An example is shown below.

Lack of a SSL certificate can put the business owner at risk.  The payment card industry compliance guidelines state that all on-line credit card transactions must be encrypted.  If a company is caught sending credit card information without a SSL certificate, they are subject to hefty fines.

Maintaining Trust – Trust is essential part to maintain a customer base.  Having a professional looking website and an easy checkout process makes the customer feel they are not being scammed, when making a purchase.

I hope you found this information helpful.  Please feel free to forward to others.  If you would like to learn more on this topic or would like to request another topic for the future please contact me. If you missed any past newsletters or would like a printed copy, visit my website www.mdsystemsolutions.com.

Until next time…Happy Computing!!!