This is not good news for anyone involved in the e-commerce sector.  There is no set punishment established for non-compliance with the new PA-DSS.  If an online storeowner is found to be non-compliant then they will likely be charged increased merchant fees and penalties, face hefty fines and in some cases have their merchant account or even their entire website terminated.

Most of the confusion and controversy revolves around who exactly needs to comply with the new DSS.  The answer to this is somewhat complex but the primary rule of thumb is that if your store processes credit cards online then you need to use a shopping cart that is PA-DSS certified in order to be PCI Compliant.

As an e-commerce merchant, vendor or retailer (those operating a business online), it is your duty to ensure you are utilizing fully PCI Compliant Miva Web Hosting and that your shopping cart application is PA-DSS certified.  If either your host or cart is not compliant with the PCI than your site is in trouble.  Many carts and other merchant service providers are still shuffling to get scanned and added to the list of compliant applications before the July deadline.

With their new production release 7, aka “Wombat,” Miva Merchant is now a fully PA-DSS certified shopping cart application.  Premier Partner Miva Merchant Hosts, WebNet Hosting offers fully PCI Compliant Miva Hosting.  WebNet Hosting offers unrivaled e-commerce hosting, 100% guaranteed uptime and unrivaled technical and customer support.

If you are in the market for new shopping cart software than you do not want to use a program that is non-compliant with the PCI or PA-DSS.  It is not worth losing money or possibly your business over something so simple to remedy.  The responsibility falls on you – the storeowner – to find a host and cart that are compliant with the PCI and to fulfill the required network scans and questionnaires.

PCI Compliance vs PA-DSS – what’s the difference?
The PA-DSS (Payment Application – Data Security Standard) applies to products that are distributed as applications that people can purchase and then do whatever they wish.  For example, this applies to shopping cart programs and e-commerce solutions.  The DSS started as the PABP (Payment Application Best Practices) by Visa before becoming affiliated with the PCI Security Council, which represents all five major credit card companies.  In order to be PCI Compliant you must be on a DSS certified application.  In other words, your cart must be compliant.

PCI Compliance is a broader set of rules and guidelines.  The PCI Compliance rules are the standards for the way in which credit card transactions and other confidential information is processed online.

As of July 2010, both PCI and PA-DSS Compliance are necessary for a site that accepts credit card payments.  The PCI applies to all e-commerce businesses, web hosts, shopping carts, payment gateways and merchant account providers.  Miva Merchant shopping cart hosting is now fully DSS certified and has been added to Visa’s list of compliant companies.  The PCI Compliance rules are the standards for the way in which credit card transactions and other confidential information is processed online.

In order to be fully PCI compliant with the new PA-DSS, level 4 merchants must be running compliant applications on their site (such as their shopping cart).  Their web hosts must also be PCI compliant by using properly encrypted networks, regularly updating their anti-virus software and performing regular system scans.

There are a number of PCI scanning companies approved by Visa and MasterCard that will help small merchants pass PCI audits and complete the PCI questionnaire in order to show PCI compliance. Being fully PCI and DSS compliant is like having an insurance policy in the event of a security breech.

For the list of requirements that QSAs will be checking for in your scan check out:
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/pci_pa_dss.shtml

By utilizing Miva Hosting services, store-owners are able to accomplish previously difficult or impossible tasks with great ease. Miva Merchant 5.5 supplies store-owners with an array of completely modifiable design templates.  Miva users can also simply design and add any extra pages they desire for their stores such as Contact Information, About Us, Directions and Maps, Articles and News, Mission Statements, etc.

The more content offered about a business and the products or services being offered for sale, the better.  With this added information and the professional look and feel established by Miva Merchant’s SMT, customers will flock to the website and a sense of trust will also be developed.  Trust and security are probably the most important factors when it comes to people feeling comfortable with spending their money online.

SMT allows store-owners to make their business function and look the way they want it to.  SMT gives store-owners total control over the layout and design of every single page of their site and allows them the opportunity to move things around however they see fit.  SMT also gives e-commerce operators the ability to have different layouts from one page to another and supplies them with the power to place buttons, graphics, products and category lists wherever they would like.

SMT is  renowned for its simplicity and easy use of basic HTML commands.  With just a basic understanding of HTML, store-owners will have no trouble utilizing the SMT feature of Miva Merchant 5.5. SMT also gives a sense of individualism and style to Miva sites.  Not only does SMT make stores stand out amongst other e-commerce and Miva sites, it allows stores to be more functional to their target audience since store-owners can tailor all of the tiny yet important details of their site.

SMT has two variables. One is page specific and the other is a global site wide variable.  With these variables store-owners are able to change either an individual page or all the pages of their site.  Miva leaves it completely in the hands of the store-owner as to how their finished storefront, product pages and any other pages appear to viewers.  For example, one can easily add a search box to any page and even customize how search results are displayed.

If there is any confusion encountered regarding SMT and its many options, an extremely helpful instructions guide is merely a click away.  There is no additional cost for these features.  Store Morph Technology and support are integrated into the Miva interface and the design controls are very easily accessible.

Store-owners can feel safe to freely make changes to their site without worrying that they will cause any errors by utilizing the simple tracking system, which allows them to revert back to previous versions and even make notes on what works and doesn’t.  This makes sites essentially damage proof and creatively open for the owners to decide what suits their site.

Miva Merchant 5.5 puts the power of store design in the hands of the e-commerce store-owner by providing them with a unique and ground-breaking store design system.  Most importantly, SMT saves store-owners money because they will not need to purchase modules or hire third-party developers in order to obtain the desired look and functionality of their website.

For more detailed information about Store Morph Technology and how to utilize this feature, check out Miva Merchant’s SMT Mini-Primer.

Featured WebNet Hosting Site for February 2010

AwesomeAlmonds.com

Each month we profile a client that is operating a successful Miva Merchant site in our newsletter and blog.  This month’s company is Dr. Lankin’s Specialty Foods, LLC, located online at AwesomeAlmonds.com.  This site specializes in selling all natural flavored roasted almonds containing no cholesterol, artificial preservatives, added cooking oils or the guilt that goes along with most snack foods. Here is an interview with Dr. Kenneth Lankin, MD, owner and operator of AwesomeAlmonds.com.

What is the name and URL of your business?
Dr. Lankin’s Specialty Foods, LLC
http://www.AwesomeAlmonds.com

When did your site launch?
2002

Can you provide us with a brief history of your business?
As a physician, I founded the company because I was inspired by the research demonstrating the many potential health benefits of almonds including lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of colon cancer.   In 2002, none of the large food companies were selling almonds based on their nutritional value.  So along with my business school classmates at the University of New Haven, I created Awesome Almonds® — a line of flavored, roasted almonds made with no added cooking oils.  Since I was in full-time practice, family members and other partners formed a team to run the company.  Going “online” with a website and online store was critical because maintaining a brick and mortar facility wasn’t feasible.

How long have you been using Miva Merchant?  WebNet Hosting?
We’ve been using Miva Merchant since 2002 and WebNet Hosting since 2007.

So you were you using Miva before you switched to WebNet Hosting.  What made you decide to sign-up with WebNet Hosting?
Yes, we used Miva as we started the business.  We switched to WebNet because we were having problems with frequent glitches with our previous hosting service, resulting in lost orders, missing payments and countless hours spent trying to rectify all these computer generated mistakes.  For our Miva makeover, WebNet was one of two companies suggested by Chuck Lasker.  I contacted both and decided on WebNet Hosting because of their superior customer service.  No regrets.

What do you like most about Miva Merchant?
The many available modules and the flexibility to grow proportionally to the needs of your business.

What do you like most about WebNet Hosting?
Customer service is #1.  I enjoy talking to real people who speak clearly and take a genuine interest in resolving issues.  The expertise level is high hence problems are solved quickly compared to talking to a call center halfway around the world where the rep has to put you on hold for 10 minutes while “checking something” (probably finding a supervisor who actually knows something or doing a Google search on your time).  Having said that, the inherent quality of the service is so good; we don’t need to call that often.

What do you like least about Miva?  What are some common problems?
Miva is not intuitive in many ways.  For example, to make adjustments to coupons, one must enter under the hyperlink about “order fulfillment.”  OK … I get it now but that’s not where I’d think to look.  To see the 2^nd page of the list of coupons one needs to hit a button called “update” (rather than “next page”).  Also the maintenance requirements seem complex.

What do you like least about WebNet?  What would you change?  What features would you add?
I can’t think of anything I don’t like about WebNet.  The online features are very useful, for both account and website management.

How many items do you offer for sale on your site?
We offer our three almond products: Cinnamon-Vanilla, Orange-Vanilla & Cocoa-Java — roasted, flavored almonds in various combinations.  We also have Awesome Almonds® mugs for sale.

What Miva feature(s) do you use most?
UPS pricing.

Do you use any modules?  Which ones?  Which are your favorite and why?
Yes.  Basket Tracker.  Buy X Get X Free.  Payment via PayPal.  Checkout button label.  Bread crumbs.  Basket tracker and bread crumbs are among my favorites because they help our customers navigate and track their pending purchase.

Have you had any third-party development done on your site?
Yes.

What do you use for credit card payments and what have your experiences been?
We use First Data Services and Authorize.net.  Authorize.net is awesome.  We have only been with First Data a short while.

How many employees do you have?
None.  We are all very part-time and virtual.  But put together the team makes things happen.

What are your strategies for SEO?
We are consistently on the first page of Google for the search term “almonds.”  The main ingredient, I believe, is our original and relevant content.  Ninety percent of our site is dedicated to providing information rather than selling.  Secondly, we’ve been at this for over 8 years, long before other companies became aware of the health benefits of almonds.   I have to believe the search engines give us some “credit” for our longevity on the topic. We also liberally provide samples of our products to bloggers specializing in the review of quality foods.

What were some of your biggest mistakes? (so that others can possibly learn from them)
Not realizing the differences among hosting options.  We started out with a good but very generic company.  It worked fine as long as we weren’t busy.  Being with a smaller but more specialized hosting company that understands the technical requirements of Miva has resulted in much improved uptime, faster page load times of our site, faster online processing for our customers and less time spent correcting errors.

What have been your biggest successes?
Top 3 Accomplishments:

1)Awesome Almonds® won first prize for two consecutive years for “Outstanding Snack Award” as voted by the Connecticut Specialty Food Association.  The Cinnamon-Vanilla flavor won the 2008 award and the Orange-Vanilla flavor won the award for 2009.

2) Awesome Almonds® was chosen as a supplier to Well Baskets, an enterprise that creates healthy baskets centered on health and wellness.  Like us, they are a family-oriented company who believes in the power of healthy food to help prevent disease and maintain good health.  Well Baskets, LLC is clearly among the premier companies in the healthy gift basket segment.  Their customers are precisely the people who would appreciate and enjoy our products: a physician-created snack.  We are not trying to be all things to all people.  We have a special product.  We really don’t want to be in Wal-Mart or other mass “big box” stores. Well Baskets is exactly the kind of specialized retailer we enjoy working with:  great people, great products, and a harmonious business model.  As we both have substantial presence online, it re-emphasizes the power of the Internet.  Our website is not only for the retail consumer, but also a way of forging new and creative business relationships.

3) We have a customer in England who has been ordering from us online during the holidays for over five years straight.  At times the cost of shipping has exceeded the cost of the product.  I’m sure there are plenty of excellent snack foods available in England but despite shipping costs, Awesome Almonds® has become a holiday tradition for that family.  That’s success!  It wouldn’t have happened were it not for the Internet, continuous improvements, and the excellent service we receive from WebNet Hosting.

Thanks to Dr. Lankin for participating in our interview!