There are lots of e-commerce websites that make common mistakes that could lead to trouble. Here is a list of some pitfalls you will want to avoid
1. Don’t build a purely passive site. Users who find you on the web are looking for more than a phone book full-page ad. Let them interact with you (and, perhaps, each other).
2. Don’t build a site that is hard to navigate.Can you get to a site index from every page on your site? Is it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for?
3. Don’t provide stale content. Keep your site up to date.
4. Don’t require the unnecessary provision of private information. Users become nervous if a site requires registration for access, especially if the registration form requires extensive personal information.
5. Don’t collect personal information from children without their parents’ permission. 6. Don’t hide your privacy promises. Make your privacy policy clear and display it prominently at appropriate junctures on your site.
7. Don’t ignore your privacy promises. Make sure you train your employees to follow the dictates of your privacy policy.
8. Don’t provide a system that can’t handle demands. Make sure that your system can handle a large volume of visitors and orders at the same time.
9. Don’t ignore the intellectual property rights of others. Don’t copy graphics and content from other sites. Don’t forget to register an agent under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act who can receive notices of infringements occurring on your site.
10. Don’t hide (I). Consider providing an e-mail address for customer questions, comments, and complaints.
11. Don’t hide (II). Consider providing a street address and/or phone number.
12. Don’t hide (III). Don’t forget to insert appropriate meta tags to provide information about your web page to search engines (such as keywords that represent the page’s content).
13. Don’t ignore your customers. Respond to their questions, comments and criticisms in a timely fashion.
14. Don’t ignore your delivery obligations. Delivery of products should be timely and accurate.
15. Don’t be a stranger. Consider building a sense of online community with visitors through chat rooms, mailing lists, and personalized services. There are lots of e-commerce web sites that make common mistakes that could lead to trouble. Here is a list of some pitfalls you will want to avoid.
16. Don’t hide the terms of the deal. Make clear what terms and conditions govern access to and use of your site.
17. Don’t require a translator. Don’t require users to know a second "techie" language before using your site.
18. Don’t refer to information the user might not have seen. Make sure you provide links and/or descriptions of all items to which you refer on a given page.
19. Don’t be afraid of external links. Users will visit sites that provide interesting links. Don’t make them prisoners of your site.
20. Don’t leave out limits for your offers. To the extent any of your offers are limited, the site should make these limits clear (whether they are temporal, geographical, or otherwise).
21. Don’t allow inaccurate links. Make sure your links aren’t broken.
22. Don’t count on patience. Make sure your site doesn’t take forever to load.
23. Don’t miss a chance to inspire confidence. Consider providing links to third-party consumer education sites. Consider obtaining a BBBOnline, TRUSTe, or WebTrust seal.
24. Don’t avoid providing a search engine. Consider having an internal search engine, not just for products but also for information.
25. Don’t assume familiarity with your search engine. If you have an internal search engine, make sure that you tell the user the rules for searching.
26. Provide security (I). Make sure you set up a firewall to prevent unauthorized alterations or access to ID, password, or credit card information.
27. Provide security (II). If you’re collecting confidential user information (like credit card numbers), use the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol to encrypt the data.
28. Provide guarantees. Consider providing your users with "satisfaction guaranteed" warranties.
29. Don’t lose contact with users once the order is placed (I). Provide online confirmation of orders so the user isn’t left wondering whether or not the order went through.
30. Don’t lose contact with users once the order is placed (II). Allow the customer to have access to order and shipping status information.
31. Don’t forget that your site is global. If you want to limit physical deliveries to certain territories, make this clear. You may want to set up separate sites that are aimed at foreign users. In any event, make any choice of law or forum clauses clear.
32. Don’t ignore new business models. Consider holding online events. Consider cross-supplying features to other sites. Consider allowing your users to create value (as in the EBay model). Consider hosting live chat sessions between and among users and customer service representatives.
33. Find out what others think of your site. Rating services, like bizrate.com, can help you see your site through the eyes of your users. Summer associate Rebecca Ewing assisted in the preparation of this newsletter. Winning e-commerce companies will be those that provide services that take advantage of novel Internet characteristics (like personalization, tracking, and asynchronous interaction) while responding to their customers’ needs for privacy and security.
Winning e-commerce will be those that provide services that take advantage of novel Internet characteristics (like personalization, tracking, and asynchronous interaction) while responding to their customers’ needs for privacy and security.
This memorandum is for general purposes only and does not represent our legal advice as to any particular set of facts, nor does this memorandum represent any undertaking to keep recipients advised as to all relevant legal developments.