Q:
What online payment processing service is best? How do they work? What do they cost?
A:
There are two types of services for accepting credit cards online. There are services like Stripe and Paypal, which we will call Online Payment Processing Services (OPP Services), and then there are Payment Gateway services that work in tandem with Merchant Account services, which we will call Payment Gateway to Merchant Account Services (PGMA Services).
OPP Services process client credit cards for you and then deposit the funds into your bank account at a later date. All you need to do to get started is to create an account and fill out your business information. Everything required to accept and charge credit cards online is completed by the single service.
PGMA Services require you to accept payment information through your website and pass the information to the Payment Gateway. The Payment Gateway then makes sure the credit card is valid and has the appropriate funds for the transaction. After verification the Payment Gateway forwards the credit card information to the Merchant account, which charges the card and collects the money from the credit card company. If the credit card transaction is successful money is deposited directly into your bank account.
How Mobile Devices Are Transforming Web Design
In 2012, Google conducted a survey that concluded that 38% of all online media was consumed by smartphones. By the end of 2014, only 3 years later, Smartphones will be used to access 60% of the media. Beyond that, technology trend-watchers suggest that it could go as high as 85% — or even higher.
So it should come as no surprise that the massive shift to the smaller screens common to mobile devices are having a direct effect on Web Design and the manner in which content is delivered on websites. We’ve recently witnessed the emergence of Responsive Web Design (RWD), which allows a website to adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes, resizing, rearranging and/or discarding graphic, textual and media content so that it can be navigated easily and be seen on some screens that aren’t much larger than a business card.
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