Basic store colours, fonts and button styles can all be specified and category pages can have their overall layout defined, for example the number of columns. FreeMerchant pages are search engine friendly. Meta titles and keywords can be specified and FreeMerchant automatically submits each new store to the major search engines. This information is then displayed within the store and helps to build credibility with potential customers. Each store also comes complete with unlimited e-mail addresses.
Online support is limited.
The help function is fairly rudimentary and is not context sensitive. And there is no demonstration or tutorial available. The pre-sign up pages promise that a PDF user manual is available for download, but this does not appear to exist. At least I couldn't find it and a request to FreeMerchant to clarify this went unanswered. Cost is, of course, where FreeMerchant scores highly, because the service is completely free - there are no set up costs and no ongoing costs.