We've all heard the children's song, 'Dem Bones'.

The foot bone's connected to the leg bone,
The leg bone's connected to the knee bone,
The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone,
The thigh bone's connected to the back bone,
The back bone's connected to the neck bone,
The neck bone's connected to the head bone,
Etc.

This same concept can be applied to ecommerce. For those who may not fully understand how ecommerce works let's try this:

The Consumer's connected to the Internet
The Internet's connected to the Transaction Server
The Transaction Server's connected to the Processing Network
The Processing Network's connected to the Customer's Bank

Now, let's look the other side of the equation.

The Merchant's Website's connected to the Internet
The Internet's connected to the Transaction Server
The Transaction Server's connected to the Processing Network
The Processing Network's connected to the Merchant's Bank

Both the consumer and the merchant are connected to the ecommerce shopping cart through similar channels, but like blood pumping through a body the consumer follows the links from checkout to confirmation and the information flows through the Transaction Server, Processing Network and customer bank before it flows back through to the seller through the Transaction Server, Processing Network where the money is deposited in the merchant's bank. This entire process only takes a few seconds.

The good news is all reputable shopping cart systems rely on encrypted technology to preserve the integrity of the online purchase. This means that a customer's credit card information is not in danger of being confiscated and used by a third party.

This is important because the success of ecommerce relies heavily on privacy and security. A reputable shopping cart system is a must for any serious web store.

The truth is, all your client really wants to be sure of is the safety of their information, the reputation of your business and if the transaction was complete. They may never know or even care how exactly it is accomplished, but the use of a secure shopping cart, the attention to the reputation of your firm and the use of autoresponders to alert the customer to the completion of the sale will be necessary for positive ongoing client relations.

You've worked hard to provide a quality product at a competitive price. You've worked to optimize your site for search engine success and you've added knowledge-based articles to your site so to use a football clich, it would be a shame to drop the ball so close to the end zone. Make sure you have a secure shopping cart for present and future customers. They may just thank you by coming back.