E-Commerce Merchant Server Software Functionality

E-commerce merchant server software provides basic feature required for selling product online, which includes online catalog, online shopping cart to take order and online credit card transaction processing

Online Catalog :

    A company who are willing to sell products online should have online catalog or list of products, available on their site. For permitting creation of custom made online catalog merchant server software includes database capability. 

    The complexity and sophistication of the catalog will differ based on the size of firm and its product lines. Simple list along with text description and possible color photos of product will be posted by companies having smaller product lines or small companies. A larger company may choose to add different types of detailing like sound, animation or videos to the catalog. Nowadays larger companies uses streaming video for catalog. 

Shopping Cart :

    Online shopping cart is similar to real-world shopping cart, both of these permits to reserve required products in preparation for checkout. The major distinction is that the online type of shopping cart is part of merchant server software situated on the web server, and permits users to select product, review product they have chosen, modify their selection as required, and making purchase by clicking a button. The merchant server software automatically stores shopping cart data. 

Credit Card Processing :

A website’s shopping cart works in coexistence with credit card processing software, which verifies user’s credit card details and after that credit the amount to company’s account and debit to the card at checkout. Integrated e-commerce application suites typically provide the software for this feature. Otherwise, you will need to arrange different credit card processing mediators and banks

Choosing an E-Commerce Software Platform

 

In the process of building an e-commerce website, selection of proper tool after proper evaluation is important. 

Following are few key factors to consider : 

• Features, which includes availability on an SaaS basis 

• Support for different models of business 

• Business process modeling tools 

• Visual site management tools and reporting 

• Scalability and performance 

• Connectivity to existing business systems 

• Compliance with standards

• Global and multicultural capability 

• Shipping rules and local sales tax. 

For example, even if e-commerce platform provides all the required features, your company may need some specific features like streaming video and audio. 

 

You will require to have complete list of required business features. There might be possibility that you will have different models of business like B2B, retail and you may opt for running auction or do fixed price selling. 

Make sure the package selected supports different business models of your business. You may want to change your business processes, like order completion and taking order. A poorly designed e-commerce software will fall in terms of performance as visitors and transactions increasing into thousand per hour or minute. 

 

You will need e-commerce site version in foreign language also which is supporting foreign currency, as your e-commerce website might work globally. Your e-commerce website should support higher level of localization and globalization.