These days webmasters set up eCommerce sites in connection with dozens of different vendors, drop-shippers and suppliers. Unlike Amazon and eBay, some of those other vendors require you to handle your own payment processing, order tracking and customer service. And if you're going to be handling that type of confidential information, then you need a secure site, not just a jumble of code you scratched together.

Professionally designed websites include eCommerce software which offers secure payment options. And that goes a long way toward improving your conversion rates. If a buyer's afraid to hand over his credit card information he's going to leave your site, no matter how nice it looks.

You also need a site with a robust shopping cart system in place, a system that tracks purchases, generates invoice, calculates shipping and handling fees and taxes where applicable. Again, this has to be a secure system, a complete software package, and it is not something you can just whip up with a bit of HTML.

And you're probably already aware that the appearance of your site also influences your conversion rate. Just take a spin around some of the eBay shops and you'll see everything from the standard eBay item description page to pages that look like they were coded back in the '90s. But it's the professional looking eBay sites that get the most business.

Online shoppers today are well past the stage where they're dazzled by the Internet. In fact, they've done a complete turn-around. Now, if you want to attract buyers to your site, and keep them there until they buy something, you need a professional presentation. Your site needs to look like it's being run by one of the big online companies, not some work-from-home Joe.

Your site also needs to be easy to navigate and provide resources so customers can find what they're looking for. It also needs to be fully integrated with your supplier's site so you never miss a sale. And on top of everything else you need to have landing pages and squeeze pages set up so you can capture new leads.

And let's not forget about Social Media Marketing. Will your site integrate with Facebook? Will your visitors be able to share your links with the followers?

There's so much to consider when your setting up an eCommerce website. Do not take chances and try to pass off a second-rate HTML site with no security or eye-appeal. Invest in a professional site and watch your conversions soar.

Source by Daniel Ozi