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10 things your e-commerce website must have

Johannesburg - More e-commerce businesses are set to come online in South Africa in the coming years and these websites will need to have certain features to operate effectively.

The South African e-commerce scene is expanding as it is expected to reach 1% of total local retail sales in 2016, according to the managing director of research company World Wide Worx, Arthur Goldstuck.

Other data released by Goldstuck earlier this year indicated that local e-commerce sales are set to top R9bn in 2016 while online retail is expected to grow 26% year-on-year in 2015 to reach a market size of R7.5bn.

However, before a new e-commerce website can even get off the ground, it is key to implement the following legal measures before accepting that first sale, says Wilmari Strachan, director and IT specialist at Werksmans Attorneys.

Here are Strachan’s 10 tips for what e-commerce websites should have:

1. Company information and contact details

In terms of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act you need to have certain information about your company on your website.

2. Website terms

You are also required to provide consumers with the terms and conditions that govern the transaction. Including your return, exchange and refund policy, how to complain or resolve disputes and cooling off rights.

3. Privacy Policy

Explain how you deal with consumers' personal information. It is also nice to inform consumers that you use “cookies” and how it works.

4. PAIA manual

Section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act requires that you publish your company’s “PAIA manual” on your website.

5. Up to date copyright notice

Make sure people know who owns the copyright to your website and the content thereon.

6. Secure payment platform

Your payment system must be secure and at least comply with the Payment Card Industry Security Standards (“PCI compliant”) – because you will be liable if your website does not use a secure payment platform.

7. Sitemap

So that search engines can crawl your website more intelligently.

8. Valid code

To ensure that you have valid code, run your code through a code validator (there are many available on the Internet).

9. Cross browser/device compatibility

Make sure your website can function well on most, if not all, well-known browsers (such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari) and on all devices (such as computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets).

10. Web analytic tools for tracking your visitors

This is a very valuable marketing tool to assist you to understand how your website is being used, which allows you to increase the effectiveness of your website and marketing.

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