1st National Processing Offers Below Average Poor Site

1st National Processing

Bentonville

www.1merchantaccount.net

We’ve seen worse Web sites, but not many.

For a unique enterprise like 1st National Processing of Bentonville, a worldwide seller of credit card swipe machines and accounts, it’s surprising to see it have such a lame Internet presence. To call www.1merchantaccount.net ugly would be generous.

We’re tempted to drone on about how its pages remind us of e-fomercials, the over-the-top sales gimmicks that clog e-mail inboxes with their bright lettering and dull credibility. We could say the site’s design is distractingly random, that its vague home page makes 1st National’s message confusing.

We could add that the site’s menu is misleading and that, at best, its suggested product applications make the business sound more like a clearing house for the Gambino crime family than a credible credit card processing firm. But we won’t.

What we will say is that among the high-risk application possibilities, which include “travel, adult, gambling, escort services and gamming possibilities,” that “gamming” is misspelled. “Gaming” is the act or practice of gambling. “Gamming,” we assume, is the act of having nice legs (gams). Spelling, however, is not an area where we can always throw stones.

It’s nice to see e-commerce capabilities allow client firms to buy 1st National’s Nurit, Hypercom and Verifone products online. The company also is doing an excellent job of accumulating client data through its various applications. Firms in need of swipe card machines for all kinds of transactions would probably be interested in paying the site a visit.

Stan Wehmeyer, the company’s CEO, designed www.1merchantaccount.net himself five years ago. It’s gone through a couple of major upgrades, but he did not remember when those occurred. Wehmeyer also said that he “had no idea” what kind of traffic his site generated, but said that he received three-to-four Internet orders per week.

“That’s plenty for me,” he said.

Maybe so, but paying stricter attention to site traffic can always yield new data that could help businesses sell more product. Ultimately, you get what you pay for, and Wehmeyer said he spent about $200 on software to create the site. That’s not a bad price to establish a worldwide store front.

One technician said the site is “Web design 101,” it’s outdated and some code is misplaced. Its best feature, he said, is the banner ad for “swinging couples” on the purchase application page for high-risk ventures that features “the naked chicks.”