As a business owner, you have an obligation to your customers to protect their information. This applies not only to in-person transactions, but also to your website.
The more secure they feel your website is, the more likely they will be to continue all the way through the ordering option, and complete the sale. After all, they will be inputting their confidential information, from their name and address, to their phone and account numbers. The following tips can help you make sure your website is secure for online ordering.
Make sure your website is encrypted and private. Information transmitted through your website should have a high-level of encryption. Transactions should take place on a private connection. Customers look for that little lock icon in their browsers to make sure the site is secure. You also have to ensure that your certificate is always valid – expired certificates make customers leery.
Provide contact information beyond an email address so customers have a way to get in touch. Phone numbers and addresses are important. If a customer feels unsure about the security of a website, he or she may want to speak to a representative to ask questions or complete the transaction over the phone. Having contact information also gives customers peace of mind because they know they are not just dealing with an “internet entity”, but with an actual place of business.
Ensure that the ordering process does not contain secure and non-secure information. Most browsers will pop-up a warning that a page contains unsecure information, such as ads and banners. Eliminate the unsecure information during the transaction process to avoid customers getting worried and canceling the transaction. All information on ordering and purchasing pages should be encrypted.
The easier you make the process, the better. Can you take all forms of credit cards? Can you take electronic checks? The more options you have, the more likely your visitors will turn into paying customers.