When it comes to offering a top-notch customer experience, one aspect of a retailer's website is often overlooked: the shopping cart. Once content has been optimized, merchandise is showcased and the overall look and feel is tailored, some companies might call it a day. However, the work isn't quite done yet, as the shopping cart can mean the difference between your customer enjoying their shopping experience, or abandoning it for a competitor.
Even if a retailer has a beautiful site and popular merchandise, a shopping cart that is confusing, difficult to use or doesn't appear secure could cause customers to jump ship. For this reason, it's important to ensure that the cart is a top priority.
But what features should a cart include, and how do these contribute to the overall customer experience? Let's take a look at five must-haves:
As a customer, there's nothing worse than seeing a multi-step, convoluted checkout process. Once a shopper picks out the items they'd like to buy, the retailer should make it easy for them to complete their purchase without unnecessary steps and collecting more information than necessary.
One way to avoid this is to offer express and/or guest checkout. Express checkout enables repeat customers to simply login and double-check the address, payment information and other data used on previous purchases instead of filling out all of these details with each transaction.
Guest checkout prevents a new customer from having to create an account if they aren't ready to. While helpful, this process can also add extra steps to checkout.
"The checkout process at many online stores can be as frustrating – if not more so – than standing in a long checkout line at a brick-and-mortar store," Network Solutions pointed out. "When visitors are ready to buy, your e-commerce shopping cart must make it as simple as possible."
Another shopping cart essential is support for a range of payment options. Credit and debit cards, PayPal accounts and digital wallets like Apple Pay have all shifted the way shoppers complete transactions. Providing support for all these options can also quell concerns about security.
Some consumers may still be wary about entering in their credit or debit card numbers, particularly as news of high-profile data breaches become more common. Accepting PayPal or Apple Pay payments can make hesitant customers more confident, and encourage them to complete their purchase.
A shopping cart should also feature obvious signs of security. Encrypting payment details isn't just a beneficial way to prevent unauthorized access to customer data, it's also part of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. As such, any organization that in any way deals with payment card information must have encryption in place.
An SSL certificate can provide this encryption, and display recognizable icons that signal protection is in place. In addition to a seal on the checkout page itself, many SSL certificates will also adjust the display of the address bar so that a small, green lock is visible. In this way, customers know that their sensitive information is adequately safeguarded.
Another helpful feature is the inclusion of large product images, not only on product pages, but during checkout as well. Practical Ecommerce noted that having the ability to see the items being purchased, and even zoom in to view finer details, is one of the best ways to communicate with customers.
In addition, featuring images is advantageous for customers who are purchasing multiple items. Instead of only including the name of the product, which could include numbers or other identifiers solely for the use of the brand, a photo makes it easier for customers to remember what they're buying and ensure that sizes, colors and other details are all correct before completing their purchase. This prevents confusion or errors that could lead to cart abandonment or subsequent product returns.
"Customers appreciate being kept in the know."
It's important that customers can glean as many details as possible both before and after their purchase. This extends to order tracking capabilities – shoppers want to know when their items are being shipped and when they can expect delivery. Consider sending notifications via email or mobile – customers appreciate being kept in the know, and the brand will be top of mind.
In addition to these features, a top-tier e-commerce solution provider can offer not only a top-notch shopping cart, but other platforms and technology as well. Hostway provides a full suite of e-commerce solutions. To find out more, contact us today.
If you've voted in a national American election since 2000, your name, street address, phone number, date of birth and more may be found in an unsecured, 300 GB database brought to public attention by Austin-based IT specialist Chris Vickery.
Vickery, who in September drew attention to a leak of 1.5 million medical records, reported the database to DataBreaches.net in mid-December. The database is now offline, but no one has taken responsibility for its existence and exposure. While it was online, anyone could obtain the database with no authentication.
In an interview with Reuters, Vickery emphasized that the "alarming part is that the information is so concentrated," removing the deterring expense and time consumption of the task of compiling such a database. A trove of all U.S. voter data could be valuable to criminals looking for lists of large numbers of targets for a variety of fraud schemes.
DataBreaches.net reports that the state of California may take on the investigation of the owner of the database. Laws about securing voter data differ from state to state; in California, voter data must be available only to persons within the United States, a regulation clearly broken in this case. In South Dakota, the access to such data must be restricted, which was not the case here.
We'll update this story in further blog posts as it develops.
UPDATE 1/4/16: Forbes reports that a second database has been discovered, holding as many as 54 million voters' records, and that the researcher who found both believes they are tied to United In Purpose, a pro-conservative group.
Best wishes to all of our customers for a prosperous 2016!
Social media and blogging have become staples of search engine optimization – but these efforts alone aren't necessarily enough to boost traffic to a company's website. To go above and beyond these baseline best practices, businesses need to get a little creative.
So how else can companies effectively drive traffic to their websites? Let's take a look at a few best-kept secrets for SEO and increasing visitors:
In the past, press releases were much more popular – any time a company released a new product, launched a new service or welcomed a new staff member, it would issue a press release to share the news. However, these pieces have taken a back seat to blogs and other content in recent years.
"Press releases can be great ways to capture the attention of a brand's audience."
While press releases may seem outdated to some, Egg Marketing and Communications President and Marketo blog contributor Susan Payton noted that they can be great ways to capture the attention of a brand's audience and drive website traffic.
"A press release isn't only a way to announce information – it's also a great little ball of SEO," Payton wrote.
In her post, Payton provides several best practices for creating effective press releases and support SEO. Click here to find out more.
Hubspot contributors Jessica Meher and Shannon Johnson underscored the importance of inbound links – links from other websites that lead to the company's site. Having a linking strategy that includes links to other pages on the company's site as well as other websites can do a lot for SEO and driving visitor traffic.
While inbound links are important, they can be somewhat difficult to cultivate. Meher and Johnson suggest including high-quality, educational content to encourage other organizations to link to the site. In addition, it can be helpful to submit the site to online directories and have the company's staff members write guest posts for external blogs.
As noted previously, blogging has become a mainstay for SEO and driving traffic. Even this tried-and-true strategy has room for improvement, however.
In the past, many companies observed a quantity-over-quality approach, where brief blogs and content pieces were published on a daily basis, if not more frequently. Now, however, search engines like Google appear to prefer quality.
According to statistics from Moz, 6 percent of Google search results are related to more in-depth articles – an impactful percentage when you consider the sheer number of Google queries taking place every day. In addition, Moz contributor Cyrus Shepard noted that websites featuring longer, more in-depth pieces see a considerable boost in visitors.
"While this doesn't seem like a huge number, the articles that qualify can see a significant increase in traffic," Shepard wrote. "Anecdotally, we've heard reports of traffic increasing up to 10 percent after inclusion."
Longer articles not only drive traffic, but can also help educate and inform readers, particularly those looking for more than brief blurbs on current news and industry trends.
Video content can also be helpful for capturing potential visitors' attention – Shepard pointed out that when a video clip appears in search results, "our eyes go straight to them."
Videos also present the opportunity to showcase products, offer visual tours of company facilities or educate customers on the business's processes or strategies.
Finally, it's critical to ensure that once visitors reach the site, they have the best user experience possible. While design and functionality elements are important here, one of the top ways to guarantee a beneficial UX is with proper website support.
An industry-leading hosting provider like Hostway can offer the computing resources your company needs to keep its website performing at its best. To find out more, contact Hostway today.
Hostway would like to wish all of our readers and customers a happy festive season.
Search Engine Optimization: Three words that scare the pants off many online marketers and business owners. Why is SEO such a scary concept? Search Engine Optimization is daunting for many reasons.
There is no step-by-step list provided by any of the leading search engines that tells you how to implement perfect SEO. No guide guarantees to increase your website traffic, get your webpage(s) to the top of search engine results pages, or increase your ROI. When dealing with SEO, the person responsible for implementing change understands Search Engines and their intent. This understanding requires your SEO professional to grasp not only how white-hat SEO works, but also black-hat tactics – so they can recognize those tactics and how to approach and correct them.
Good SEO takes time and is a paced process. It is not an overnight fireworks show that provides you with more leads, more visitors and more customers. If you are not willing to put in the time and effort to get a great and lasting benefit, then you will not see the success that you aim to achieve. Due to the delay in optimal results, you are forced to put a lot of trust in the person providing your SEO services.
The not-so-knowledgeable Search Engine Optimization so-called expert is to be feared. How do you spot a bad SEO person? There are a few consistent red flags – including the word “expert” itself. While an expert may know everything about something and have no more left to learn, both the web and Google's algorithm are constantly changing. Most reputable Search Engine Optimization professionals will use the title ”specialist” instead of expert. If you come across an SEO “expert,” turn and run –you don’t need that kind of expert.
If your Search Engine Optimization tactics are deemed shady or unethical, or your website is seen as attempting to manipulate the Search Engines – tricking them into giving a higher ranking without providing value and substance to viewers – you may find yourself here today, gone tomorrow. My advice for anyone who has dug themselves into a SEO grave with Google: STOP DIGGING! Reach out for help if you truly have no idea what happened. Make sure to provide as much information to your SEO professional as possible. The more they know about what led to your disappearance from search results, the better the chances that they can fix your ranking and make things good with Google.
When dealing with Search Engine Optimization, there is so much a person needs to know to utilize best practices properly to boost a company’s online presence. There is an overwhelming amount of information available to absorb. Unfortunately, a large amount of that information isn’t worth absorbing. Bad tactics and horrible advice are everywhere, ready to cause far more harm than benefit.
It can feel impossible to differentiate legitimate advice from garbage when it comes to SEO, so here’s one last set of tips:
These very basic techniques will get you going and keep you in Google’s good graces.
Many industries have compliance standards in place that mandate protection of sensitive data and the privacy of those to whom it pertains. These requirements ensure that businesses across an industry utilize the same processes and practices.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, for example, impacts organizations in and out of the commerce and retail markets, extending to any company that stores, processes or transmits cardholder information. Another common compliance standard is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and its Privacy and Security Rules. These are applicable to covered entities, business associates and any organization that provides healthcare treatment or payment processing services.
When it comes to compliance, there are a few best practices to observe. It's also imperative that organizations within these and other industries with similar compliance standards understand the potential consequences – to their companies and their clients – if they do not comply. Industry requirements like these should also be factored in when selecting a technology service provider.
According to the PCI Security Standards Council, PCI DSS compliance includes three best practices:
Adhering to PCI DSS can be an individualized process, and businesses should be sure they contact their payment brand or acquirer to find out the exact requirements they need to align with.
The PCI Security Standards Council does not check for compliance, nor does it impose sanctions for those that are not compliant. However, this does not mean there aren't consequences. The Council pointed out that the payment brands companies work with may have their own initiatives through which they are empowered to manage compliance and set forth punishments when necessary. In addition, if a breach occurs because of noncompliance, the retailer's customer base and brand image could suffer severely.
According to Online Tech, HIPAA compliance involves the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which outlines the requirements for storing, accessing and transmitting patients' health data to outside organizations. In addition, the Security Rule lays down the national security standards necessary to safeguard electronic protected health information, or ePHI, when maintaining, transmitting or receiving it.
The American Medical Association noted that there is a wide range of consequences for organizations that don't comply with the rules of HIPAA, including civil or criminal penalties that range in severity according to the offense. For instance, a HIPAA violation that comes in connection with willful neglect carries a penalty of $10,000 to $50,000 per violation – where "per violation" can mean per record exposed. This can pile up quickly, and seven-figure penalties are not unheard of.
"Industry requirements like these should also be factored in when selecting a technology service provider."
Compliance is essential throughout an organization, and even extends to its technology services. Organizations that are governed by industry standards must ensure that the vendors they utilize – particularly for hosting and other services – are compliant as well. However, when selecting a compliant hosting provider, it's imperative to understand that compliance doesn't mean the same thing to every type of data or every industry.
"When thinking about compliance, many companies assume PCI DSS is interchangeable with HIPAA. Otherwise it is assumed that the gap between the two is small," noted Mike Klein, Online Tech president and COO and Data Center Knowledge contributor. "This ignores that HIPAA and PCI DSS compliance protect different types of information, with different audit guidelines, safeguard requirements and consequences for non-compliance or breaches."
Therefore, it's critical that organizations understand their requirements when it comes to industry compliance, and find a hosting provider that offers compliant-specific services.
Hostway offers security solutions specially crafted to comply with the regulations of a number of industry standards, including PCI DSS and HIPAA. Contact Hostway today to find out more about how we can help your company achieve compliance.
Between current movies and television programs, zombies are everywhere. AMC's "The Walking Dead" drew an astounding 15.8 million viewers for its Season 5 finale last March. The show has even spawned its own spinoff, "Fear the Walking Dead."
The entertainment market isn't the only industry seeing more zombies. IT teams are increasingly discovering these fearsome creatures within their own network infrastructures. These aren't drooling, undead ghouls; these are underutilized servers siphoning off essential resources, taking a toll on the company's computing power.
"If 10 percent of the servers within a 1000-server infrastructure are zombies, roughly $23,000 is spent a year keeping these ghost machines up and running."
Zombie servers have become an increasingly prevalent issue, not only in enterprise infrastructures but also within some data centers as well. An estimate presented by The Wall Street Journal's Robert McMillan pegged the number of zombie servers in the U.S. at more than 3 million. Together, these use more than 1 gigawatt of power, or roughly the same amount of power consumed by all the households in the city of Chicago.
"They're servers … sucking up lots of power while doing nothing," McMillan explained. "Most companies are far better at getting servers up and running than they are at figuring out when to pull the plug."
This is more common than ever today. When enterprises deploy an application or integrate a new solution, they typically set up a server (be it physical or virtual) for the necessary support. However, when this system is migrated to the cloud, replaced or otherwise upgraded, some IT teams may overlook the original server. With the application the server was supporting now gone, these machines are needlessly consuming power.
Costs add up paying for that wasted power. Raritan pointed out that if 10 percent of the servers within a 1,000-server infrastructure are zombies, this means the organization supporting the network spends roughly $23,000 a year keeping these ghost machines up and running.
So what can an enterprise do to solve its zombie server problems? The first step is identifying the servers that are underutilized. This can be a laborious process, as it could mean tracing files and application activities back to specific database locations to ascertain which servers are functioning and which are simply sucking up resources.
"Things that should be turned off over time are not and unfortunately the longer they linger, the worse the problem becomes," noted Paul Nally, Bruscar Technologies LLC principal. "They would have never been found by any other methodology other than walking around with a clipboard."
Nally told McMillan that he once audited a data center with more than 1,000 servers, none of which had the necessary domain-name-system software configuration necessary to identify them. As a result, he and his team had to physically go to each server to determine which were zombies – a nightmarish task.
Once zombie servers are identified, the team can work to migrate what few application processes or activities these machines might still support. One of the most beneficial ways to address zombie servers is to leverage managed hosting services to ensure that available power and other resources are not wasted.
Within a managed hosting environment, the vendor's on-site team maintains the company's off-premises machines, taking responsibility for tasks including patching, monitoring and backups. In this way, the company can be sure that its critical applications and online activities are supported by an expertly maintained server environment. The service provider's team ensures that all available computing resources are used appropriately, eliminating the chances of any zombie servers within the managed infrastructure.
To find out more about the benefits of managed hosting and how this strategy can help address the issue of underutilized servers, contact Hostway today.
Happy Thanksgiving! After the holiday, look out for our webinar, “Maximizing Availability of Mission Critical Apps in the Cloud.”
Join Hostway VP Tony Savoy and Veeam’s Tim Krause on December 2 at 1 p.m. CT to learn about the importance of maintaining high availability of mission-critical applications, and how to keep their availability optimal.
Cloud technology has opened up a variety of opportunities for your business to improve operational efficiency. No matter the size of your company, there’s a role that cloud computing can play in ensuring your employees can do their jobs as well as possible. Of utmost importance are the platform and services supporting the mission-critical applications a business moves into the cloud – the flexibility, resiliency and stability required can be difficult to secure.
We’ll discuss using Microsoft Azure-based Private Cloud solutions with Managed Backup to eliminate downtime, secure data integrity and keep your business running.
Online shopping is more popular than ever. The first quarter of 2014 saw a staggering 198 million Americans – 78 percent of the adult U.S. population – use online platforms to make purchases, according to a comScore study.
Experts agree that it is best to target a specific subset of this vast group of shoppers and appeal to their interests and needs. This increases the chances that these users will visit the site, complete a purchase and become a loyal customer.
But what are the best ways to go about targeting certain e-commerce customers? Let's take a look at a few top strategies:
"The first quarter of 2014 saw a staggering 198 million Americans use online platforms to make purchases."
Identifying your target audience: Research is key
First and foremost, retailers must determine who, exactly, is their target audience. Who are the users visiting the site, and which of these individuals are making purchases?
Practical Ecommerce contributor Erica Tevis noted that research is critical in order to identify a company's potential target audience. Tevis recommended looking into the local area to gauge who might be interested in the products or services being offered. This will help the retailer establish a consumer persona for use in marketing and promotional efforts.
"Identify their presumed age, gender, income, household size, where they shop. what they read, what they browse online," Tevis wrote. "Narrow your audience as closely as possible and focus on one segment at a time. You can always diversify, expand and add customers segments after you become established."
Tevis also suggested asking a few basic questions to help better identify the target audience:
Establish customer segments
Once a large group of consumers has been identified as the target audience, it's time to narrow the focus further with customer segments. These are specific categories in which different types of customers can be organized. While disparate types of shoppers are included in the target audience, they will be organized into separate customer segments.
Besides breaking customers down into segments according to their gender, income level or age, there are several other customer segments to consider, according to Optimizely contributor Junan Pang:
Pang pointed out that these segments are not only valuable for target marketing, but also for data analysis and trials.
"When practicing website optimization, leveraging segmentation provides a framework for running intentional, well-hypothesized experiments on your website that drive value," Pang wrote. "Experiment data you gather from specific visitor segments interacting with your site will help you provide a more personalized, engaging experience."
Targeting mobile shoppers
A rising number of consumers are leveraging their smartphones, tablets and laptops every day for online shopping, making this an essential – and growing – piece of the target audience puzzle.
However, retailers shouldn't jump straight to mobile. Econsultancy contributor Arie Shpanya suggested building trust by offering a top-tier desktop experience first, and following up on this with a winning mobile experience. For instance, one vendor found mobile success after encouraging desktop shoppers to utilize its mobile app through a targeted email campaign.
While there are millions of online shoppers, it's in a company's best interest to target those who have a need for its products or services and will be the most likely to make a purchase and become loyal customers.