Finding a quality florist online is not at all difficult as long as you follow a few guidelines that can assure you of a safe and satisfying experience.

With busy schedules more and more people are shopping online. Of course, anyone can set up a website and portray themselves as a “reputable” business, so taking a few steps to assure you’re dealing with a genuine florist is just smart shopping.  The good news is that once you’ve found the right one you can continue to deal with them anytime the need to send flowers arises.

Here’s a few tips to help you locate the right local florist online.

A good place to start is with Google ( or your preferrred search engine ). You can simply type in the word “florist”, followed by the name of the city where you are located, or where you wish to send your flower arrangement.  Another way is to type in “find a florist online” and you’ll find several websites that allow you to search for florists by zip code and/or city and state.  This will bring up a list of florist shops with links to their websites which you can visit and compare.

Here’s a few items to check when evaluating them:

How many years experience do they have? Is their address and phone number clearly displayed? Do they have any service awards, BBB or other industry credentials, customer testimonials and a satisfaction guarantee.  And … most important, do they have secure online ordering.  Look for a safe shopping link and also check their privacy statement.

A common industry standard is to use a software program such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) which is one of the best programs available for secure online transactions. SSL encrypts all of your personal information, including credit card number, name, and address, so that it cannot be read over the internet. All reputable online businesses will offer secure ordering and it’s important that you verify this before giving out any of your personal information.

Once you’ve checked out the websites that you find, the rest is just a matter of choosing the one that seems to best fit your own criteria.  You may want to call their number and actually talk to them.  If the shop is nearby, you may even want to visit them and meet the people you’ll be dealing with online.  You can compare prices, check out the options they offer for delivery, see images of their floral arrangements and also learn about any specialities they may offer, such as wedding arrangements, funerals and holiday specials.

Hopefully you’ve given yourself at least a little time to find a florist that meets your requirements before you actually need to place an order.  Remember, once you’ve found the right florist for yourself, you can then order quickly online anytime the need arises and be confident that you will get the service and quality you can trust.