Well like most people here I have just opened my first store,and am looking to attract some traffic.I did list my site here for feedback yesterday but although people looked no one commented,I suspect because my store is very standard. It has only been live a week or so and I am getting looks,and a sale or two,but I am no where in the search engines and fear I could be lost in the big cyber hole if I am not careful. I did have the osC header Cont installed and I have listed myself in most free relevant directories.Should I be doing more,my budget is limited,and also I do not really want banners on my site.Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Regards,
Ian
Could someone take a look and say what they think
www.ise.eu.com
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12 replies to this topic
#2
Posted 29 September 2005, 21:22
Without paying for advertising, you are going to have to be (very) patient and wait until your site gets indexed, and then try to claw your way onto the first page of results for the key phrases you want.
At the moment, google and yahoo account for 90% of SE usage, so it's not worth bothering with anyone else.
This can take years, loads of effort and time and there's no guarantee you'll ever get there at the end of the day.
Submit your site to free directories, consider link exchanges with similar sites, local advertising, blog advertising etc
For targetted traffic, paid advertising is the only way to go, unfortunately, especially if you want to see results fairly quickly.
At the moment, google and yahoo account for 90% of SE usage, so it's not worth bothering with anyone else.
This can take years, loads of effort and time and there's no guarantee you'll ever get there at the end of the day.
Submit your site to free directories, consider link exchanges with similar sites, local advertising, blog advertising etc
For targetted traffic, paid advertising is the only way to go, unfortunately, especially if you want to see results fairly quickly.
#3
Posted 29 September 2005, 21:39
FalseDawn, on Sep 29 2005, 10:22 PM, said:
Without paying for advertising, you are going to have to be (very) patient and wait until your site gets indexed, and then try to claw your way onto the first page of results for the key phrases you want.
At the moment, google and yahoo account for 90% of SE usage, so it's not worth bothering with anyone else.
This can take years, loads of effort and time and there's no guarantee you'll ever get there at the end of the day.
Submit your site to free directories, consider link exchanges with similar sites, local advertising, blog advertising etc
For targetted traffic, paid advertising is the only way to go, unfortunately, especially if you want to see results fairly quickly.
At the moment, google and yahoo account for 90% of SE usage, so it's not worth bothering with anyone else.
This can take years, loads of effort and time and there's no guarantee you'll ever get there at the end of the day.
Submit your site to free directories, consider link exchanges with similar sites, local advertising, blog advertising etc
For targetted traffic, paid advertising is the only way to go, unfortunately, especially if you want to see results fairly quickly.
Thanks for that,it is what I thought.It is not that I don't want to spend on advertizing I know you have to spend money to make money,it is just where to spend a limited budget.You hear so many stories of people spending loads of money and still get no where.I have done the Free directories thing. As you say paid adverts are the only way to go,any ideas where money would be best spent?
Thanks,
Ian
#4
Posted 29 September 2005, 22:03
You are right, it is a very stock implementation. One note about that first - since your site is visually unchanged from the stock (images, infobox colors, etc.), I think you are required to keep the osCommerce copyright, not just the Powered By logo. If I am wrong on that, someone please correct me.
Please note that the following is constructive and meant to help you.
One thing you may want to consider - Your headline reads Welcome to is electronics .........
I realize that is referencing your store name but at first glance it appears to be poor grammar, a major turn off to customers. If you really want to use that phrase, consider making it read - Welcome to IS Electronics ......... Including the bold accent on it. This will help establish that it is intentional and not poor grammar.
I noticed that your account login and new account setup pages are not secured. Customers are leary of that. I see that you are using third party payment processors so you don't have to have SSL, but it would help to commuicate something about your payment methods before the customer gets that far. Most sites that use these payment methods include their logos on the site so that the customer knows what to expect. You could also add an information page similar to your shipping/returns page titled payment methods where you could point out your payment options. Clicking the credit card logos on your site opens a new window with the home page of your store, it would be better to have it open a window explaining your payment process.
As for marketing, since your budget is limited, focus on all of the free methods you can.
You mention on your site that you have been in business since 1988. I take that to mean that you have a well established real world store. Use that to your advantage. Put your web address prominently on the front window. That way if a customer comes by too late, or too early, they have way to shop anyway or if they are driving by and can't take time to stop, they might shop online later. Also include it on receipts of in-store purchases and on any flyers you distribute in your store. Include it on any advertising you do for the physical store. Include it in any telelphone book ads you have for the physical store.
Post ads on bulletin boards in your community, at local truck stops if permitted, etc.
Online, look for enthusiast sites that are applicable to your products. Find ways to get mentioned or linked to. Get involved in forums on those sites, find out if they will trade links, write relevent and helpful articles that will get published and include your site in the "by line".
Install the Froogle data feed contrib and get submitted there. Look for any free index sites for your market.
As your sales grow, establish an advertising budget and then use it to gain exposure. That is an important part of any business online or offline. A rule of thumb many larger companies use is 15%-25% of sales is budgeted for marketing. That can be a hard pill to swallow for many small businesses, but budget what you can. It is one of the most important expenses a business has.
Please note that the following is constructive and meant to help you.
One thing you may want to consider - Your headline reads Welcome to is electronics .........
I realize that is referencing your store name but at first glance it appears to be poor grammar, a major turn off to customers. If you really want to use that phrase, consider making it read - Welcome to IS Electronics ......... Including the bold accent on it. This will help establish that it is intentional and not poor grammar.
I noticed that your account login and new account setup pages are not secured. Customers are leary of that. I see that you are using third party payment processors so you don't have to have SSL, but it would help to commuicate something about your payment methods before the customer gets that far. Most sites that use these payment methods include their logos on the site so that the customer knows what to expect. You could also add an information page similar to your shipping/returns page titled payment methods where you could point out your payment options. Clicking the credit card logos on your site opens a new window with the home page of your store, it would be better to have it open a window explaining your payment process.
As for marketing, since your budget is limited, focus on all of the free methods you can.
You mention on your site that you have been in business since 1988. I take that to mean that you have a well established real world store. Use that to your advantage. Put your web address prominently on the front window. That way if a customer comes by too late, or too early, they have way to shop anyway or if they are driving by and can't take time to stop, they might shop online later. Also include it on receipts of in-store purchases and on any flyers you distribute in your store. Include it on any advertising you do for the physical store. Include it in any telelphone book ads you have for the physical store.
Post ads on bulletin boards in your community, at local truck stops if permitted, etc.
Online, look for enthusiast sites that are applicable to your products. Find ways to get mentioned or linked to. Get involved in forums on those sites, find out if they will trade links, write relevent and helpful articles that will get published and include your site in the "by line".
Install the Froogle data feed contrib and get submitted there. Look for any free index sites for your market.
As your sales grow, establish an advertising budget and then use it to gain exposure. That is an important part of any business online or offline. A rule of thumb many larger companies use is 15%-25% of sales is budgeted for marketing. That can be a hard pill to swallow for many small businesses, but budget what you can. It is one of the most important expenses a business has.
Rule #1: Without exception, backup your database and files before making any changes to your files or database.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
#5
Posted 29 September 2005, 23:17
GraphicsGuy, on Sep 29 2005, 11:03 PM, said:
You are right, it is a very stock implementation. One note about that first - since your site is visually unchanged from the stock (images, infobox colors, etc.), I think you are required to keep the osCommerce copyright, not just the Powered By logo. If I am wrong on that, someone please correct me.
Please note that the following is constructive and meant to help you.
One thing you may want to consider - Your headline reads Welcome to is electronics .........
I realize that is referencing your store name but at first glance it appears to be poor grammar, a major turn off to customers. If you really want to use that phrase, consider making it read - Welcome to IS Electronics ......... Including the bold accent on it. This will help establish that it is intentional and not poor grammar.
I noticed that your account login and new account setup pages are not secured. Customers are leary of that. I see that you are using third party payment processors so you don't have to have SSL, but it would help to commuicate something about your payment methods before the customer gets that far. Most sites that use these payment methods include their logos on the site so that the customer knows what to expect. You could also add an information page similar to your shipping/returns page titled payment methods where you could point out your payment options. Clicking the credit card logos on your site opens a new window with the home page of your store, it would be better to have it open a window explaining your payment process.
As for marketing, since your budget is limited, focus on all of the free methods you can.
You mention on your site that you have been in business since 1988. I take that to mean that you have a well established real world store. Use that to your advantage. Put your web address prominently on the front window. That way if a customer comes by too late, or too early, they have way to shop anyway or if they are driving by and can't take time to stop, they might shop online later. Also include it on receipts of in-store purchases and on any flyers you distribute in your store. Include it on any advertising you do for the physical store. Include it in any telelphone book ads you have for the physical store.
Post ads on bulletin boards in your community, at local truck stops if permitted, etc.
Online, look for enthusiast sites that are applicable to your products. Find ways to get mentioned or linked to. Get involved in forums on those sites, find out if they will trade links, write relevent and helpful articles that will get published and include your site in the "by line".
Install the Froogle data feed contrib and get submitted there. Look for any free index sites for your market.
As your sales grow, establish an advertising budget and then use it to gain exposure. That is an important part of any business online or offline. A rule of thumb many larger companies use is 15%-25% of sales is budgeted for marketing. That can be a hard pill to swallow for many small businesses, but budget what you can. It is one of the most important expenses a business has.
Please note that the following is constructive and meant to help you.
One thing you may want to consider - Your headline reads Welcome to is electronics .........
I realize that is referencing your store name but at first glance it appears to be poor grammar, a major turn off to customers. If you really want to use that phrase, consider making it read - Welcome to IS Electronics ......... Including the bold accent on it. This will help establish that it is intentional and not poor grammar.
I noticed that your account login and new account setup pages are not secured. Customers are leary of that. I see that you are using third party payment processors so you don't have to have SSL, but it would help to commuicate something about your payment methods before the customer gets that far. Most sites that use these payment methods include their logos on the site so that the customer knows what to expect. You could also add an information page similar to your shipping/returns page titled payment methods where you could point out your payment options. Clicking the credit card logos on your site opens a new window with the home page of your store, it would be better to have it open a window explaining your payment process.
As for marketing, since your budget is limited, focus on all of the free methods you can.
You mention on your site that you have been in business since 1988. I take that to mean that you have a well established real world store. Use that to your advantage. Put your web address prominently on the front window. That way if a customer comes by too late, or too early, they have way to shop anyway or if they are driving by and can't take time to stop, they might shop online later. Also include it on receipts of in-store purchases and on any flyers you distribute in your store. Include it on any advertising you do for the physical store. Include it in any telelphone book ads you have for the physical store.
Post ads on bulletin boards in your community, at local truck stops if permitted, etc.
Online, look for enthusiast sites that are applicable to your products. Find ways to get mentioned or linked to. Get involved in forums on those sites, find out if they will trade links, write relevent and helpful articles that will get published and include your site in the "by line".
Install the Froogle data feed contrib and get submitted there. Look for any free index sites for your market.
As your sales grow, establish an advertising budget and then use it to gain exposure. That is an important part of any business online or offline. A rule of thumb many larger companies use is 15%-25% of sales is budgeted for marketing. That can be a hard pill to swallow for many small businesses, but budget what you can. It is one of the most important expenses a business has.
Thank you for taking a look for me. I will be making a few changes,so far I have changed the headline.I already have the URL on the B&M shop.We hand out 20-30 business cards a day with our new on line store URL on,and have a few other ideas in the pipe line.I shall also be looking at the link ideas you mention. Is it worth paying to get up in the search engine ratings? And yes the Froogle feed is worth a go. Could you tell me where the file is I need to change the copyright at the bottom of the page,I can not for the life of me remember.Thanks again for your constructive comments,
Regards,
Ian
#6
Posted 29 September 2005, 23:34
I'm posting this article because I think it will help you... too many people place too much emphasis on paid search advertising....
from http://www.webpronews.com
While there are advantages and disadvantages to both models, one clearly stands out as a better advertising option than the other. Why is it then that advertisers from small business to mega-corporation tend to show higher interest in the more expensive and least effective of the two?
Most SEOs speculate that advertisers understand paid-advertising better than organic placement. As much of search marketing is conducted in-house and optimization is a learned-skill, corporate marketing departments lean towards the very simple model of paid-search. Organic search engine placement continues to be perceived as a nebulous service that can take time to show results. On the other hand, paid-ad placements tend to show up minutes after they are established and bidding one's way to top spot is relatively easy.
With search ad-spends sometimes topping five or six figures per month, many SEOs shake their heads at businesses that refuse to invest a much smaller (generally low to mid four figure) sum on organic optimization. Ranging from small to mega sized operations, the number of paid-ad advertisers that ignore organic optimization seems to be growing.
Over the past three years, independent research has consistently confirmed that search engine users tend to click on the center column organic (free) ads far more often than on paid ads. Earlier this year, search marketers benefited from a number of published studies that clearly demonstrate the higher value of organic placements. While the results of this research is easily available to all, traditional and tech media stories tend to focus on paid-search advertising.
Two studies that made an enormous impact on the search marketing field this year are the Eye Tracking research conducted by Enquiro CEO Gord Hotchkiss and a whitepaper published by Lisa Wehr, CEO of OneUpWeb titled, " Target Google's Top Ten to Sell Online." Gord's study shows the basic F (or triangular) shape search user's eyes tend to follow when examining search results. Lisa's study found that search users are up to 6X more likely to click on the first few organic results as they are to choose any of the paid results.
A third study, " Accurately Interpreting Clickthrough Data as Implicit Feedback " , released earlier this week by Cornell professor Thorsten Joachims looked at the links users found on search engine results pages and questioned why they choose which link. The results show again the importance of high organic search engine rankings. The researchers asked subjects to perform searches and looked at which results they viewed, which they clicked on, and what happens if those links are mixed up.
The Cornell study found that search users tended to view (look at) the first five organic results with a high percentage of them (approx. 2/3) viewing the top two listings with 42% of them selecting or clicking on that link. The number of search-viewers halves to approximately 1/3 of users viewing sites appearing in positions 3, 4 and 5. The numbers drop to about 1 in 10 users tending to view the 9 th and 10 th placed sites.
When a search user views search listings, it doesn't necessarily mean they click on those listings. In this context, to view means to examine. Users tend to examine the text used to phrase the reference link as well as the descriptive paragraph appearing beneath the link before deciding to click on it. This is especially true for the smaller number of searchers who view listings found in the 3 rd to 10 th positions as users who examined those listings tended to spend more time on the results page before choosing the link to click first. In other words, 1/3 to 1/10 of users are conducting preliminary research by seriously reading the text used to phrase the results before clicking.
This finding was backed up in another part of the Cornell study that showed when the same Top2 results were reversed, the text used in the link and description had a notable influence on which link the user clicks. The research found that when results were switched around, 34% of the users would still click on the site ranked in first place, even when they had seen the now #2 site there earlier.
In his Alertbox review of the Cornell study, Jakob Nielsen succinctly notes, " If users always clicked the best link, then swapping the order of the two links should also swap the percentages, and this didn't happen. The top hit still got the most clicks."
These findings led the research team to suggest there are two biases playing out in the minds of search engine users. The first is the Trust Bias, which leads the searcher to believe that a site ranked in the number 1 position is there because it must be the best reference for that keyword. The second is the Quality Bias, which considers the text used in the results to determine which is the best site to choose from.
For search engine marketers and more importantly, search engine advertisers, there are two glaringly obvious implications.
First of all, it is extremely important to be found at the Top of the search engine results. Being in the Top10 is likely sufficient for many businesses but the sites getting the most business are found at the top. To further these findings, Gord and Lisa's research clearly shows that searchers are choosing organic placements over paid-ads.
Secondly, the copy used in your Title tag and site content has to be more compelling than that of your competitors. Search users are reading before clicking. If they have to make a choice between three sites that are all perceived to be equal (those in the 3 rd to 5 th positions), they will almost always choose the one with the most topically relevant descriptive text and link-copy.
Put together, the results of the three studies show that search engine users are able to tell the difference between paid and free listings and tend to trust the free organic listings more than they do the paid ones. The studies also show that search users, while still tending to put a higher bias on the Top5 results are becoming sophisticated enough to seriously consider descriptive copy before choosing to select a link. In other words, the search users are starting to make what appears to them to be the wisest choices when selecting search advertising. The advertisers are advised to do the same.
from http://www.webpronews.com
While there are advantages and disadvantages to both models, one clearly stands out as a better advertising option than the other. Why is it then that advertisers from small business to mega-corporation tend to show higher interest in the more expensive and least effective of the two?
Most SEOs speculate that advertisers understand paid-advertising better than organic placement. As much of search marketing is conducted in-house and optimization is a learned-skill, corporate marketing departments lean towards the very simple model of paid-search. Organic search engine placement continues to be perceived as a nebulous service that can take time to show results. On the other hand, paid-ad placements tend to show up minutes after they are established and bidding one's way to top spot is relatively easy.
With search ad-spends sometimes topping five or six figures per month, many SEOs shake their heads at businesses that refuse to invest a much smaller (generally low to mid four figure) sum on organic optimization. Ranging from small to mega sized operations, the number of paid-ad advertisers that ignore organic optimization seems to be growing.
Over the past three years, independent research has consistently confirmed that search engine users tend to click on the center column organic (free) ads far more often than on paid ads. Earlier this year, search marketers benefited from a number of published studies that clearly demonstrate the higher value of organic placements. While the results of this research is easily available to all, traditional and tech media stories tend to focus on paid-search advertising.
Two studies that made an enormous impact on the search marketing field this year are the Eye Tracking research conducted by Enquiro CEO Gord Hotchkiss and a whitepaper published by Lisa Wehr, CEO of OneUpWeb titled, " Target Google's Top Ten to Sell Online." Gord's study shows the basic F (or triangular) shape search user's eyes tend to follow when examining search results. Lisa's study found that search users are up to 6X more likely to click on the first few organic results as they are to choose any of the paid results.
A third study, " Accurately Interpreting Clickthrough Data as Implicit Feedback " , released earlier this week by Cornell professor Thorsten Joachims looked at the links users found on search engine results pages and questioned why they choose which link. The results show again the importance of high organic search engine rankings. The researchers asked subjects to perform searches and looked at which results they viewed, which they clicked on, and what happens if those links are mixed up.
The Cornell study found that search users tended to view (look at) the first five organic results with a high percentage of them (approx. 2/3) viewing the top two listings with 42% of them selecting or clicking on that link. The number of search-viewers halves to approximately 1/3 of users viewing sites appearing in positions 3, 4 and 5. The numbers drop to about 1 in 10 users tending to view the 9 th and 10 th placed sites.
When a search user views search listings, it doesn't necessarily mean they click on those listings. In this context, to view means to examine. Users tend to examine the text used to phrase the reference link as well as the descriptive paragraph appearing beneath the link before deciding to click on it. This is especially true for the smaller number of searchers who view listings found in the 3 rd to 10 th positions as users who examined those listings tended to spend more time on the results page before choosing the link to click first. In other words, 1/3 to 1/10 of users are conducting preliminary research by seriously reading the text used to phrase the results before clicking.
This finding was backed up in another part of the Cornell study that showed when the same Top2 results were reversed, the text used in the link and description had a notable influence on which link the user clicks. The research found that when results were switched around, 34% of the users would still click on the site ranked in first place, even when they had seen the now #2 site there earlier.
In his Alertbox review of the Cornell study, Jakob Nielsen succinctly notes, " If users always clicked the best link, then swapping the order of the two links should also swap the percentages, and this didn't happen. The top hit still got the most clicks."
These findings led the research team to suggest there are two biases playing out in the minds of search engine users. The first is the Trust Bias, which leads the searcher to believe that a site ranked in the number 1 position is there because it must be the best reference for that keyword. The second is the Quality Bias, which considers the text used in the results to determine which is the best site to choose from.
For search engine marketers and more importantly, search engine advertisers, there are two glaringly obvious implications.
First of all, it is extremely important to be found at the Top of the search engine results. Being in the Top10 is likely sufficient for many businesses but the sites getting the most business are found at the top. To further these findings, Gord and Lisa's research clearly shows that searchers are choosing organic placements over paid-ads.
Secondly, the copy used in your Title tag and site content has to be more compelling than that of your competitors. Search users are reading before clicking. If they have to make a choice between three sites that are all perceived to be equal (those in the 3 rd to 5 th positions), they will almost always choose the one with the most topically relevant descriptive text and link-copy.
Put together, the results of the three studies show that search engine users are able to tell the difference between paid and free listings and tend to trust the free organic listings more than they do the paid ones. The studies also show that search users, while still tending to put a higher bias on the Top5 results are becoming sophisticated enough to seriously consider descriptive copy before choosing to select a link. In other words, the search users are starting to make what appears to them to be the wisest choices when selecting search advertising. The advertisers are advised to do the same.
My Contribution
Music Download Store Template
http://www.oscommerce.com/community/contributions,4275
Music Download Store Template
http://www.oscommerce.com/community/contributions,4275
#7
Posted 30 September 2005, 01:42
That's all well and good, but the fact is there are just too many sites trying to get to the top spot. I can fairly confidently predict that most new sites opened today (especially those on a shoestring marketing budget) will never get to the top of organic search listings for any search terms that are even moderately lucrative.
This leaves them to fight over the less-popular "scraps".
I'm not saying ignore SEO altogether, just realise that it is a long and arduous road.
Paid advertising offers immediate, guaranteed results.
At the end of the day it is up to the marketer to determine their needs and goals.
This leaves them to fight over the less-popular "scraps".
I'm not saying ignore SEO altogether, just realise that it is a long and arduous road.
Paid advertising offers immediate, guaranteed results.
At the end of the day it is up to the marketer to determine their needs and goals.
#8
Posted 30 September 2005, 01:49
I agree with the conclusions of the studies. It is how I use the search engines.
But on the other hand, unless your niche is very small, the chances of getting in the top 5 or even 10 of high probablilty keywords is a long shot and can take a long time to achieve. And as noted by many in these forums, staying there is even less likely. It almost seems like the reknowned 15 minutes of fame. At least with paid advertising you are in control of your exposure..
But on the other hand, unless your niche is very small, the chances of getting in the top 5 or even 10 of high probablilty keywords is a long shot and can take a long time to achieve. And as noted by many in these forums, staying there is even less likely. It almost seems like the reknowned 15 minutes of fame. At least with paid advertising you are in control of your exposure..
Rule #1: Without exception, backup your database and files before making any changes to your files or database.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
#9
Posted 30 September 2005, 12:59
GraphicsGuy, on Sep 29 2005, 09:49 PM, said:
I agree with the conclusions of the studies. It is how I use the search engines.
Reviewing my statement, I feel I should clarify. I agree that is how search engine users view the results and that is how I use search engines to find things. I am not saying that I put all my focus into getting into the top of the organic listings. For one thing, with the keywords that actually get searched in my niche, I wouldn't have a snowball's chance in .... and trying to stay there would be even worse.
I am also not saying that SEO should be ignored. It is one of many marketing tools that should be used. But relying on it as a primary sales driver is a dangerous strategy, especially for a new online business that doesn't have an established customer base.
Rule #1: Without exception, backup your database and files before making any changes to your files or database.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
#10
Posted 30 September 2005, 19:54
GraphicsGuy, on Sep 30 2005, 01:59 PM, said:
Reviewing my statement, I feel I should clarify. I agree that is how search engine users view the results and that is how I use search engines to find things. I am not saying that I put all my focus into getting into the top of the organic listings. For one thing, with the keywords that actually get searched in my niche, I wouldn't have a snowball's chance in .... and trying to stay there would be even worse.
I am also not saying that SEO should be ignored. It is one of many marketing tools that should be used. But relying on it as a primary sales driver is a dangerous strategy, especially for a new online business that doesn't have an established customer base.
I am also not saying that SEO should be ignored. It is one of many marketing tools that should be used. But relying on it as a primary sales driver is a dangerous strategy, especially for a new online business that doesn't have an established customer base.
You say 'I noticed that your account login and new account setup pages are not secured. Customers are leary of that.' can anyone say how I change this,is it a setting or code that needs changing?
I have added my site to all the free directories I can think of,today was the first day I was indexed,it was 650 but it is a start.
I am going to have the Froogle cont installed,not doing it myself as not something I could do! I have confirmed my host has 'curl' installed.Do others use the Froogle feed,and once installed and set up is the whole thing automatic?
Thanks again,
Ian
#11
Posted 30 September 2005, 20:14
ise, on Sep 30 2005, 03:54 PM, said:
You say 'I noticed that your account login and new account setup pages are not secured. Customers are leary of that.' can anyone say how I change this,is it a setting or code that needs changing?
This requires that your site has a security certificate This thread is an excellent resource on that topic.
Rule #1: Without exception, backup your database and files before making any changes to your files or database.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
#12
Posted 30 September 2005, 23:40
GraphicsGuy, on Sep 30 2005, 09:14 PM, said:
This requires that your site has a security certificate This thread is an excellent resource on that topic.
Many thanks for the useful thread.Just a thought if I installed a cont ' Purchase Without Account' would I need to add a certificate,as am I not right in thinking the customer only adds there shipping details once they pay?
Thanks,
Ian
#13
Posted 01 October 2005, 00:13
The PWA contrib is a little misleading, but I do use it and do recommend it for everyone. It is designed to give the customer an option that doesn't make them feel like they are permanently depositing their information. In operation though, they still enter the same information at the same point in the process (and it actually still gets recorded in the database). However it doesn't set them up with a login account or require/accept a password. Consequently they can't check on the order status or save their cart for later completion.
So, to make a long answer short, it wouldn't really change the situation, but I do encourage you to install the PWA contribution.
But, since you only use third party payment processing, you might be ok without the SSL as long as you make it clear on the create account/login that payment information will be entered on a secure page (as long as that is the case for both Paypal and NOCHEX).
I still tend to think you will instill more trust from your potential customers if you invest in an economy SSL certificate. I just went out an checked a few sources and that appears to be about a $30 expense. It will enhance the trust and proffesionalism perception, and that is always beneficial to sales.
So, to make a long answer short, it wouldn't really change the situation, but I do encourage you to install the PWA contribution.
But, since you only use third party payment processing, you might be ok without the SSL as long as you make it clear on the create account/login that payment information will be entered on a secure page (as long as that is the case for both Paypal and NOCHEX).
I still tend to think you will instill more trust from your potential customers if you invest in an economy SSL certificate. I just went out an checked a few sources and that appears to be about a $30 expense. It will enhance the trust and proffesionalism perception, and that is always beneficial to sales.
Rule #1: Without exception, backup your database and files before making any changes to your files or database.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
Rule #2: Make sure there are no exceptions to Rule #1.
