SA Online - Frequently asked questions

Starting an online Business

Question: Can I operate an online business from home?
Answer: You can operate an online business from just about anywhere as long as you have a computer, an Internet connection, an e-mail address, some products and a website (and a table and a chair will be nice).

Question: Must I have my own products?
Answer: You can sell your own products but you may also make a deal with any outside supplier to sell their products on their behalf at a profit. Affiliate programs are becoming extremely popular. Read more about affiliations

Question: I do not have a product but I have certain skills and knowledge that people may need from time to time can I sell this over the Internet?
Answer: Yes, a product does not always have to be tangible. If you can advise people on certain matters such a legal aid, Insurance, Financial, etc. and by offering this service save people money it will certainly sell and no better way than the Internet to communicate this. There is an endless list of information people will be willing to pay for.

Question: How will I start making this service available?
Answer: Sending out e-mail messsages making people/businesses aware of what you have to offer is a good way to start. Harvest as many e-mail addresses as you can find and start giving little snippets of information away, inviting people to join your newsletter which you sell for a price. When you send out e-mail be careful to personalise each one in case it may come across as spam. Read more about starting a business from home and using e-mail as a marketing tool

Question: If I have a website and I am making my products available can I sit back and wait for the orders to roll in?
Answer: Many people think that this is how it works. Operating an online store you need to work as hard as if you had a conventional store. You still need to search for clients and invite them to come to your store/website. If your ISP has done their work they will have registered your business with various search engines but at the end of the day you still need to send out e-mail messages telling people of your products and your website. Once your website and your products have proven to be popular you may find yourself in the position where people advertise by word of mouth and you may not have to work as hard at it as what you did when you started.

Domain Names

Question: Is it absolutely necessary to have my own domain name?
Answer: No, You can ride piggy back with an existing domain name i.e. www.<domainname>.co.za/<yourname> and the owner of the domain name will than act as the host to your name and redirect all visitors to your particular web pages.

Question: What is the cost of registering a domain name?
Answer: This differes from ISP to ISP and normally the cost of this is included in a package deal including the development of a website and e-mail addresses. It can vary but normally starts at about R300.00

Question: Is there an annual domain name renewal fee?
Answer: Yes, Uniforum charges R50 per annum for domain name renewals and your ISP will charge some admin fee to arrange the payment of this.

Question: Will the search engines pick up my website name?
Answer: In certain circumstances some search engines will pick up your website but your chances will improve quite dramatically when you have your own domain name.

Question: What are the advantages of having my own domain name?
Answer: Search engine operators send out search crawlers which will find you a lot easier if you have your own domain name. If your webmaster has placed the correct meta tags on your home page you will also receive a lot more traffic.

It is also a lot more professional to have your own domain name and if you are with an ISP that operates a mail server you will be able to have your own e-mail addresses with your own domain name extension.

e-Mail marketing

Question: Can I buy an e-mail listing and start sending out information about my products I have on my website?
Answer: Yes, there are many people and companies that will sell you listings of e-mail addresses but it is not recommended as many of these e-mail addresses have been obtained without the permission of the owners and you can land yourself in a lot of hot water before you even get your business of the ground.

The best way to start collecting e-mail addresses is when you speak to any one is to ask their address. On your website give something away for nothing but to receive what you offer people have to opt in with their e-mail address.

Once you get going you will soon start building a sizeable list.

Be very careful when sending e-mail messages as you can quickly be branded as a spammer and be blacklisted. I suggest that you ensure that each e-mail is personalised to the recipient. There are programs available that will do this automatically and you may want to click here to learn more about it - http://www.marketingtips.com/mailloop/t.x/791390

Websites

Question: Can I develop my own website and publish it with an ISP?
Answer: Yes it is possible if you have the software program to do it with i.e. Frontpage, ColdFusion, Dreamweaver, etc.

Question: Can I develop my own online ordering facility?
Answer: Yes, you can but you will need to get some knowledge in writing some code or buy a program that will do it for you. There is however more to it than meets the eye and it will be better to let pay someone to do it for you.

Question: Can I have a Credit Card purchase facility?
Answer: yes, there are a few businesses that concentrate on supplying this service and you may wish to visit www.worldpay.com. The South African banks all offer an online credit card payment service. They are however very strict and you will need to qualify.

Question: How secure is operating a Credit Card facility?
Answer: No less and no more than dealing with normal over the counter credit card transactions. The banks will supply you with a piece of code that you need to place on your online section of you website. The moment a client wishes to buy something and chooses the credit card option s/he will be transferred to the banks secure website where certain questions need to be answered. The payment is than approved or rejected and the buyer is than again transferred back to the original website indicating that the purchase has been approved or rejected. If approved you may now continue to affect the delivery. Proof of delivery within a set period will have to be sent to the accepting bank upon which payment is transferred.

Question: What are the cost of operating a Credit Card facility?
Answer: This differes from bank to bank and it is best to vsisit the different banks to ascertain the cost. It also depends on the volume of transactions that are done.

Question: Are there other possibilities of transferring money?
Answer: Yes, If it is an international purchase than Western Union and Moneygram (Thomas Cook owned) all have a service whereby the buyer can pay for a purchase and the money is than transferred to a branch nearest to you and you will physically have to go and fetch the money. You need your ID Document and you will have to make a declaration for the reserve bank why you are being paid the money. This service is not cheap for the buyer as well as the seller as these people charge a high fee for the service.

If money needs to be transferred within the borders of the RSA the best and least expensive is still direct transfer from bank to bank electronically. As most people are connected to Internet banking this is surely the best way to pay for something. Money is transferred within seconds and proof of payment can be e-mailed.

Internet connection

Question: How many different connections are there?
Answer: There are 4 ways in which you can be connected to the Internet.

1. via normal analogue dail up using a normal telephone line obtainable from Telkom. This is slow and not recommended for doing business over the Internet. It is more suitable for the occasional home user.

2. Via a ISDN digital line. This is about 10 times faster than analogue. In actual fact you receive 2 telephone lines - one to use for the Internet and the other to use for voice or fax and can be used simultaneously. This is also supplied by Telkom.

3. Installing an ADSL line is nearly a must for any online business operator. This supplies you with Internet access on a 24x7 basis at a flat rate per month at 512kpbs. The flat rate cost is ±R1000 per month. You are also supplied 2 lines - one for the Internet and the other to be used for normal calls. The flat rate only pertains to the Internet access. All calls made on the other line will be charged for extra. telkom does place a bandwidth cap of 3Gig on the useage after which the line slows down to normal analogue speed. 3Gig is however quite a lot if you do not necessarily download a lot of software from International sites.

4. Wireless Broadband satellite connection from Sentech. No cables are required. A special modem is connected to a computer and will pick up a signal from the nearest Point Of Presence (POP). Sentech is still in the process of installing the necessary infra structure and is presently only available in certain parts of Johannesburg and Durban. The cost to install a connection will be around R800 per month. It will have no bandwidth restriction.

Wi-fi technology

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