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If you are a small business owner that does any of your business online, then it is very important that you learn about Payment Gateways. Payment gateways are essentially the bridge between you and your customer when it comes to making a sale. They allow for your customer to enter in their information to make […]
If you are a small business owner that does any of your business online, then it is very important that you learn about Payment Gateways. Payment gateways are essentially the bridge between you and your customer when it comes to making a sale. They allow for your customer to enter in their information to make the purchase, and they allow you to process that information and complete the sale. Without a solid payment gateway in place, not only can you miss out on sales, but it can even harm your search engine rankings, making it even harder for you to get new customers. To try and prevent this from happening, we have compiled a short guide that will hopefully introduce you to the basics of integrating with payment gateways.
First of all, what are the benefits for you in integrating with a POS? For starters, you allow your customers an easy way to make a secure purchase. If someone comes to your website, and there is no easy way to make a purchase right at the moment, chances are you are going to miss out on the sale. In addition, if they can make a purchase, but it doesn’t look like their credit card information will be secure, then they will again consider taking their business elsewhere.
Another benefit of integrating with a payment gateway is that it will improve your search rankings. Search engines like Google want to see that people are interacting with your site, and one way people interact is by making a purchase. More sales leads to more activity which leads to a higher ranking on search engines, which leads to more visitors, and then to more sales.
To get started, first you need to choose a payment gateway. There are several options out there, so you will have a selection to choose from. When browsing for a payment gateway, there are a few things that you want to keep in mind. First, there are two types of gateways to choose from – Direct or External. External takes the customer to an outside site to process the information, while Direct keeps them on your site. Direct looks more professional, so choose that option if you can. You will next want to check with your web host and see if there are any types of payment gateways that they do not support. If you went with one of the major web hosting sites, you should be fine, but it doesn’t hurt to check before making your decision.
Next, if you have a shopping cart feature on your website, you will want to see which payment gateways they are compatible with. This information is usually provided by the cart developer, so make sure you look into it. If you don’t have a cart feature set up yet, make a list of which ones you are considering, and which payment gateways they are compatible with so that you can decide on both at the same time. If you have a mobile application for your company, you will want a payment gateway that can integrate with this as well. Lastly, you will want to look at the fees and costs of each payment gateway. They are all different, so you will have to think about which one is best for you and your business.
Once you have your choice made, it is time to integrate it with your web system. If you are unsure how to do this, your web host or the creator of the payment gateway will most likely be able to assist you. This process is normally fairly straightforward, so it shouldn’t take you too long to get it up and running.
