Website Requirements for Online Stores

If you sell goods and services online, then you are in fact an eCommerce merchant! All good eCommerce stores need to start somewhere, which is typically with website design. Website design is a great way to capture your customer’s attention and to gain their trust as an overall business. However, there are some components that you should consider adding to your site to meet compliance requirements for your industry.

If you are looking for help with basic eCommerce website requirements, then this article was made specifically for you. Let’s dive deeper into what you should have on your website to adhere to compliance requirements!

MANDATORY WEBSITE REQUIREMENTS: To avoid penalties, you will want to make sure that your online store has the following items:

‍Terms and Conditions -

Providing your customers with transparent terms and conditions is not only important to them, but important to your business. If you don’t have terms, any user can report your website for its lack of terms and conditions.

Terms essentially help the customer understand your business rules and how you operate. Your terms should be clear to read and easy to understand. Within your terms and conditions you should also mention your customers' privacy. Some organizations create a separate privacy policy, but to keep it simple, you can add the appropriate clause within your terms. You should reassure your customers that their data will remain private and secure.  

Take the time to include your return and refund policy, depending on what you sell. This is for customers to know the appropriate way to contact you if an issue arises. You may want to add a section for other potential issues as well. It doesn’t need to be a long list, but helping customers through normal occurrences can save you time and ease their mind. ‍

Shipping and Delivery -

As an eCommerce store that delivers and ships products, this section should be a top priority. When describing your delivery and shipping details, you need to include approximate delivery times. Adding a section about what happens if a shipment is not received is especially important too. If a problem occurs during shipping and delivery, this can be very frustrating for the customer. Offer them a support email or telephone number that they can contact if they have any questions or experience any problems. Keep it friendly and add the following (if applicable).

“Email us anytime at info@reddepayments.com or call us at 1.800.783.0965!”‍

“HOW TO MAKE A PURCHASE” section -

An “how to make a purchase” section might seem a bit redundant, but it can help you convert the unsure customer. To add this section, you can follow the following steps:

1. Give a full detailed description of how to make an account or sign up with your website. (Explain the importance of creating an account.)
2. Explain how the customer can add their personal details like their name, number and email address. Make sure to let the customer know that their information will be securely stored!
3. Lastly, provide a guide of how your customer can make a payment. This can be through a credit card, debit card or mobile wallet. If you want to be even more transparent, you can even let them know what payment gateway that you are using. Or you can always ask your payment service provider what they do to keep your customer’s information secure, then list that information.  ‍

‍Customer Support Details -

Finally, the most important section of them all - customer support details. Offering your customers support is what keeps them coming back! If your customer faces problems, it’s best to resolve the issue on your own without involving the customer’s bank, where they can file a chargeback. Try to offer a way they can contact your team 24/7. Or, if you prefer, you can offer a chat or ticketing system where they will get a response in the next 24 hours.

For more tips and tricks, contact Redde Payments. We can even dive deeper and let you know what you should have listed on your website depending on your business type. For instance, did you know if you sell CBD you should have COAs listed?

Reach out to us at info@reddepayments.com for further details! Or if you’d like to start accepting payments today, visit reddepayments.com/contact to fill out an application and get approved.