When setting up an e-commerce web page design you need to decide exactly what methods of payment you are going to provide your customers with. The most common form of payment on a web site is a credit card, but there are a number of other options. A summary of these options follows:

• Direct Credit
  
  The customer places their order through the web page design, then transfers the money directly into your bank account. You ship the goods once the payment has been received and verified.

• Cheque
  
  The customer places their order through the web page design, then sends you a cheque. You ship the goods once the cheque has been received and processed.

• Purchase Orders
  
  Purchase orders are useful for web sites that specialise in business-to-business transactions or transactions with account customers. The customer enters a purchase order number and the goods are shipped to the customer. The customer is billed at the end of the month for their purchases.

• Cash on Delivery
  
  The customer places their order through the web page design. Goods are shipped to the customer and the customer pays via cheque or cash on delivery.

Remember – always make it as easy as possible for your customers to purchase from you. Credit cards are the best and most common form of payment – but always look to provide alternative methods of payment. Many people are wary when first purchasing from a web site, especially if it is unknown. They may feel more comfortable with a more traditional method of payment. Allow people to fax or phone-in their payment details with a 0800 number.

The enquiry page allows your user to lodge an enquiry with your company. The purpose of this web page is to collect all the necessary information from the user in order to successfully respond to their enquiry.

It is important that you consider very carefully what information needs to be collected from the customer in order to successfully process their enquiry, as this will make the process as quick and easy as possible. One of the most important pieces of information you can collect is the customer's email address. This gives you a cost-efficient way of communicating with them as well as an opportunity to send further promotions to them in the future via your customer database.

In order to collect this valuable information automatically, it is a good idea to incorporate a standard form into your web page design.

The checkout page allows your users to complete their order on your web site. The purpose of the page is to collect all the necessary information from the user, to allow their order to be processed.

It is important that you consider very carefully what information needs to be collected from your customers in order to successfully process an order, as you need to make this process as efficient as possible. One of the most important pieces of information you can collect is the email address of the customer. This gives you a way of communicating very easily with them as well as an opportunity to send further promotions to them in the future.

Some of the most common information you will collect on the checkout page is:

• Delivery details

• Billing details

• Any special instructions

• Payment details

Pricing your products for the Internet is extremely important. Any introductory marketing course will teach you the four P’s of marketing - Product, Price, Placement and Promotion. Price is one of the keys to successful marketing. The first step to establishing pricing for the Internet is setting your pricing objectives. What are you trying to achieve through your pricing?

• Maximum Profits

  Are you trying to generate the maximum amount of profit possible? This will often mean setting prices a bit higher than your initial ‘gut feeling’. So are you willing to lose some potential customers by pricing your products/services a little higher to generate more profit overall?

• Market Dominance

  Is market dominance your key objective? Do you want to become one of the major players in the market? This will generally mean pricing at the lower end of the spectrum.

• Accessibility

  Is there a charity element to your vision? Is the main objective of your pricing to make your product accessible to the average customer?

You need to take into consideration many other elements when setting your price, such as:

• Strength of your brand

• Competition

• Target market

• Unique Selling Proposition

• Customer demand.

Remember – many people have the expectation that they should be able to get the product cheaper on the web, so the prices displayed on your web page design should reflect this.

Pricing techniques

• Skimming pricing – price high with new products to target ‘early adopters’ that are not price-sensitive. Skim the price repeatedly as the product gains market acceptance

• Penetration pricing – set your price as low as possible to maximise market penetration

• Prestige pricing – price to give the product the appearance of high quality

• 99.95 pricing – price at either $99.95, $97 or $95 rather than $100

• Demand-based pricing – price is based on what the market is willing to pay

• Mark-up pricing – price at the cost price of the items plus a markup

• Traditional pricing – product has always sold for a certain price so price remains the same today also

• Loss-leader pricing – take a loss on the first sale in order to establish a relationship with the customer – make profits on subsequent purchases

• Negotiated pricing – price based on negotiation. This is typically used with account customers (business to business relationships)

• Merchandising pricing
  - Quantity discounts
  - Seasonal discounts
  - Rebates
  - Trade discounts
  - Cash discounts