How to create a secure online booking system is a vital question these days due to increasing cyberattacks against eCommerce stores and other services that deal with online payments.
Everyone wants to venture and innovate different e-booking systems such as appointment booking systems, boiler installation online booking systems, visitors, equipment consultation, and many online booking systems.
However, the internet provides all the steps of creating your system. This doesn’t require rocket science knowledge and skills to develop. The simplicity of creating an online booking system has brought about thousands on the non-quality e-booking systems. Some lack the features and facts clients need to have great experience in their internet search.
To stand out and create a lasting impression, you require quality, creativity, and a unique online booking system. The quality part is stirred by understanding what makes a unique e-booking system. There are several important things or factors to consider when venturing into the business. Here we focus on the five unique factors to consider.
Introduce a simple and secure payment system
Money matters are sensitive and require clear and secure platforms. The clients should feel safe while booking and making payments. Ensure to provide e-receipts or use online payment platforms such as PayPal.
The method requires an email address and password to transfer, and no credit card information is offered. It’s advisable to use simple, secure methods which don’t need customer’s personal information.
Why Secure Online Booking is Utterly Essential
The online booking system is home to a trove of sensitive information including credit and debit card information. This makes it not only vulnerable but also a lucrative target for malicious threat actors.
Last year, VISA warned of malware stealing payment data by evading detection while top online booking sites like Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, Amadeus, Hotels.com, Hotelbeds, Omnibees, Sabre, and several others were also caught leaking highly sensitive customer data.
It takes ages to build a reputation and one minor incident can ruin it all. However, if you apply proper security measures and your online booking system is secure, your business will automatically gain a positive reputation, trustworthiness, reliability, and credibility.
A speedy and userfriendly interface
Online applications and booking systems should present a nice user interface. The system should create a pleasant user experience. The interface needs to be easy to maneuver, making the exploration painless. Ensure your online booking system page loads quickly to kill the frustrations. The clients shouldn’t and also don’t like waiting for web pages to load the items.
Ensure you timeslot list, date selector function, and loads fast. It would be best if you had the booking system and website page operating system working smoothly. No buffering or glitches should hinder the customer’s experience. A good and smooth flow of content on the website will encourage users to visit and use your service often.
An exclusive and userfriendly date selection system
Simplicity and efficiency are the primary factors in creating and operating an online booking system. You should have a simple selection system to help users identify the date and time without any complications. The majority of the online platform has a month-by-month calendar. This a familiar feature for many people making it easy to maneuver. To make a good system, ensure your clients can specify:
- Their preferred date and time.
- The duration of the booking or appointment.
- They should know the type of appointment they are booking. This applies if you’re offering different services.
If the selection system isn’t clear many customers will tend to look for new websites. Ensure the page is simple and clear to use.
Have a clear breakdown of charges
Don’t make your clients overthink your charges. You need to provide clear details and offer a cost summary first. Have the website’s cost summary information spelled out in a good format, such as how much is owed and when they need to pay.
Many online booking system web pages require users to pay the full amount upfront to confirm the booking. Others request the deposit (booking fee) to reserve the timeslot while the other half is paid on the appointment date.
There are different services, such as collecting credit card details during reservations. Once the client check-in, they can make the payment. Whatever system you utilize first clarifies every detail to your clients since money is a sensitive issue.
A detailed confirmation email
After the customer books and completes the payment process. You need to send a confirmation email which contains all the details of the booking. The email should state the location, time, the cost paid and remaining balance, when it should be cleared, and more.
You can also offer a platform for any changes if the client wants to change the dates slightly. The email can also give some terms and conditions about your services.
Conclusion
Online booking systems are never hard to develop but require skill to maintain and provide services. In the current situation knowledge of cybersecurity is a bonus. Therefore, apply all your skills and security practices to make sure your clients have their data secure while your business gains a positive reputation.
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