Why start thinking about e-commerce? Forecasts indicate a 300 % growth rate over the next few years. Most of us have envisioned selling out products on line or marketing our home based business. But, why sell on line? It is cheaper, faster and better. NO postage and no long distance fees. Business goes where the mail goes. Computers talk to each other in a common language. It is the information superhighway.
These are the playing fields. The Internet provides the smallest of companies, the same exposure and the same sophisticated tools that are available to the giants of industry at affordable costs. Notice how the majority of the business cards have an email address.
The benefits of doing business on the Internet are expand markets, improve customer satisfaction, increase productivity, trim costs, and generate profit growth. It just makes you look smart. You can have a five page website run 24 hours per day, 7 days a week for about as much as a one - time ad in the Sunday newspaper.
Start with a home page, be easy to find, and use electronic flypaper. Change your site to bring people back. Provide updates weekly. Use it to sell with online catalogs; it will certainly make ordering easier. And last but not least, there is a soaring demand for order processing and above all payment processing. It is difficult to imagine any business not benefiting from e-commerce these days.
Let's begin with the design of your site. Some challenges that most entrepreneurs face is cost, design maintenance as well as identifying a reputable design shop or independent contractor. The most logical move would be to take on an external contractor. Will that person be around tomorrow when you decide to upgrade your site or in the worst-case scenario to fix the glitches?
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"The Internet provides the smallest of companies, the same exposure and the same sophisticated tools that are available to the giants of the industry at affordable costs." |
Well here is the answer. Do-it-yourself! In this society we have learnt to be both resourceful, creative and cost efficient. This option requires minimal down payments and minimal to moderate technical skills. You will need some knowledge of HTML, graphic design and of course computer skills. There are many options that exist using today's technology and you can build and maintain your site yourself. Slowly but surely you will eventually obtain a superior e-commerce site.
If you are a small to medium sized company you almost certainly won't want to spend thousands of dollars on software, design or outsourcing. There are ample options to introduce your products or services on line. Of course time is of essence so you want a solution that is fast to apply and painless to maintain.
Let's look at purchasing software off the storefront shelf or online catalog. Take a look at the least favorable type but can offer a wide range of solutions. This alternative requires spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on the installation of software on the server and finding hosting for this server. You probably still have to buy software licenses and pay support costs. If this description has given you nausea and heartburn, don't give up. Oh by the way, you will need some time to play around and get familiar with the software; given that it can be all-inclusive, it will tend to be somewhat complicated. The better you know how to use the program, the more effective you will be. Don't you agree?!
Ok don't despair. Are you still with us, because there are definitely easier ways to get your e-commerce site started, predominantly on the onset of the business For very small businesses, one option is to sign up with a Web-based storefront, without sinking large sums of money into servers. This is an excellent option if you aren't quite sure if there is a market for your product online or which way you want to go. You can wet your feet and test the waters without loosing on any opportunity costs. If this is not your market, all you have lost is a few monthly payments and your time.
This Web- based solution offered on various Web sites allows you to build your e-commerce site making use of only your Web browser. The whole approach of building your site in this way can usually be done with minimal knowledge of HTML or database programming. And get this, there isn't any software necessary to buy or install.
Web hosting is a most reasonable alternative especially when the online marketplace hosting your service is directly related to your business. There are hosting providers all along the scale; those providing just space to those providing everything. For just an added cost you can get a hold of consulting and design services. The level of help you need is your call; the rest is up to your technology provider. All you need to concern yourself with is your monthly charge.
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For an e-commerce site, design is a balancing act. The fundamental pursuit is the commercial transaction -- the buying, selling, or trading. The user needs to feel comfortable, having all their questions answered rapidly and easily. The payment process should be quick and in the shortest amount of time before they change their minds.
Keep in mined these basic ingredients before you set out to design your site.
THE LOOK
Give prospective customers the feeling they are doing business with a well thought-of company and a solid one, not a fly by night business. so let's give it a look. Give it uniformity. Incorporate existing elements, such as logos or store designs, into the Web site. Don't overload it with graphics, which can really slow it down.
ACTION
The performance of the web site needs to be immediate, without delay, giving the user a sense of ease. Performance and efficiency is synonymous of no hassles, quick solutions and buy, buy, buy.
PRACTICAL AND SERVICEABLE
Test it out on friends and on a targeted sample of customers. Measure the feedback. When you launch begin to track your sales performance. Analyze if customers are getting stuck during an order or payment process. Make sure your links are complete.
Remember the primary goals in designing any e-commerce site should be professionalism, performance and service. Sometimes they can conflict, but shouldn't. So get on the ball. Go thru the process of designing your website. The rewards are many and forthcoming.