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Affordable ecommerce solution
Stop! Don't read any further if you are not seriously looking
for a really good, effective but affordable e-commerce solution,
a package that will let you relax while your sales are being
taken care of by your Ecommerce website. This article will
provide you an insight into the do's and don'ts of selecting an
ecommerce package suitable for you.
1) What not to look out for?
Most people who search for "affordable ecommerce solutions" will
input "cheap ecommerce solutions" as their search phrase on
yahoo/msn/google or any other search engine and end up with a
lot of websites providing cheap e-commerce packages. But one
should keep in mind that everything good comes at a price. Cheap
website hosting providers will advertise their website as "cheap
& easy", but beyond the advertising lies the 99% failure rate of
old-fashioned Web hosting. If you still want to trust a cheap
e-commerce service provider please check their track record
before you sign-up.
2) What to look out for?
It has been rightly said, "If we fail to plan we plan to fail".
This holds true with every project small or big. So lets chalk
out what we will to decide which is the best e-commerce solution
for your website. Take a pencil and paper and list these points:
1) Product and Customer: Keeping your product/products in mind
think of what your customer will be looking for. Not and
highlight the points that come to your mind. Do you have an
international market for your product?
2) Payment Options: What payment options you will be required to
provide the customer. There are many available like paypal,
firepay, xoom etc
3) Shopping cart: Do you need one? It's a necessity if you have
more than one product if you have a single product then you
might opt out of this feature.
4) Advertising & Promotion: How you are going to advertise and
promote your website for attracting customers and increasing
sales. There are a number of ways of doing this like banners,
advertisements etc you will need to hole in on a few.
5) Your Budget: There are a lot of ecommerce solution providers
available on the Internet but you should be having an idea of
the $$ that you are ready to spend on them before you take the
big leap as some of them have hidden costs. You may choose a
package and then know that a few features that were not included
cost you a lot when you buy them.
Depending on these points we can shortlist some basic features
to look out for in our ecommerce solution service provider
1) Payment Options: What are the payment options available with
the ecommerce service provider (ESP)?
2) Shipping: For international trade this is a necessity. Is
your ESP providing it to you?
3) Web design/Hosting: How would you like the over all design of
your store? Is the layout provided by the ecommerce service
provider easy to use and understand for the customer?
4) Features: What extra features will you be looking for in your
ecommerce package? Will you be content with payment, security,
tax and shipping solution only or do you require more? This will
require a thorough review of at least a few ecommerce solution
providers and what you really need.
If you are a corporate body you will need to bring all your
departments together to get their ideas on
sales/promotion/advertising etc. It will be a day's hard work
but the rewards will be substantial if proper planning is met
with efficient execution.
These are a few different scenarios that you will find yourself
in after you have listed all the points. Should you opt for: 1)
A ready to use ecommerce package. 2) Rent a space/store in a
network-based e-commerce solution. 3) Ask a web designing
company to build you a website from scratch
Most of the e-commerce solution providers will have a basic
scheme where you can add a product/category, delete a
product/category, check the order status, calculate shipping
cost deducting taxes if any, owner can see all the list of
purchases, he can make the item shipped, out of stock, credit
card denied, etc. For more info on this please check affordable ecommerce solutions
Ready-to-use Ecommerce Package A ready-made package of ecommerce
solution software like InterShop that will help you display your
products and meet most of your needs. These ready-to-use
packages have a lot of features available. But if you need
something customized it will come at a price. Automated features
for payment, shipping etc will cost you a few more dollars. This
might look as the most affordable ecommerce solution available
but the main problem with this kind of ecommerce packages is
when your online business expands and you desire more
customization. But if your requirements are met with the package
features go ahead and buy it. This package is recommended as affordable ecommerce solution for
companies that fall in mid-sized business category.
Rent a space/store in a network-based e-commerce solution These
web based-solutions are quite inexpensive and provide a lot of
features. You have to just customize your store by picking a
theme (looks and settings). Being web based they are very fast.
You don't need to install any software, customize it and put in
your product information. And you are ready to go e-shopping on
your own store. If you think that this kind of ecommerce
solution provider provides what you are looking for then go
ahead and sign-up for it. The good part is that there is no
installation involved so no complications. If you feel that this
package meets all your requirements then you should settle for
this option. But you'll surely want more in days to come. And
will feel something is missing once a few months pass by. A
store is recommended as affordable
ecommerce solution for small or mid-sized business Ask a web
designing company to build you a website from scratch If you run
a large Enterprise and feel that it has outgrown the
Ready-to-use ecommerce software package or smaller storefront
services, you can get a unique customized website made from
scratch according to your specifications. It always good to
develop once own ecommerce website as it the developers are
always available for any updating or changes that you might
decide to have later on. This scenario also leads us to two
choices: 1) Hiring the same company to design and host your
site. 2) Hosting with one and letting another company design
your site. Hiring the same ecommerce solution provider company
to design and host your site This option wont let you be more
flexible with the hosting platform and you might end up with a
platform that the designing company finds the best. Do not
forget to read user's reviews about the hosting and the support
provided before you sign-up with any design + hosting company.
Some reviews may be fake so you should try and contact the
customers personally if possible to know the company's ecommerce
hosting capacity and efficiency. If you find that they have had
previous issues related to hosting or updating with any
customers get it clarified from a support personnel. Do study if
they allow easy updating. Also find if it can be done on your
own or you have to upload it through some respective personnel
of hosting company. Hosting with one and letting another company
design your site. Expect for a few ecommerce solution providers
that provide both hosting and design most of them are found
lacking in one of the skills or both. But if you are thinking of
separate hosting and design then you will have to make sure that
the designer should be aware of the hosting services which will
be utilized and services rendered by them. When making a choice
between designers take a look at the ecommerce websites they
have made in the past and ask for references. Call the
references or mail them and ask them their experience with the
designer. While choosing a host be sure not to commit mistakes
that you will repent later take the designer into consultation
if you have already chosen one. These two options are
recommended for big corporate companies.
How to decide which option is the right one for you? Companies
are generally categorized into three 1) Small Business 2)
Mid-Sized Business 3) Corporate Business If you can enlist your
company in one of these categories then you have already found a
solution in the recommendation provided at the bottom of each
option. If you think that you are going to make it big on the
Internet then you should opt for the third option. Though I
would recommend getting a feel of the online business before you
go for the bigger package. Coming to an end of the article. The
topic of ecommerce solution has such a wide scope that it is not
possible for any article to cover it. Having read through this
article you might have got a brief idea of how to choose a
perfect ecommerce service provider (hosting and design) who
fulfils all your requirements. If you need more information on
affordable ecommerce solution providers please click here. Best of luck.
About the author:
Manuel is the leading ecommerce programmer for MDZ IT Solutions,
he has worked for companies such as IBM, HBC, and Celestica.
Manuel has writen many articles about ecommerce, webdesign and
SEO, you can find his website at affordable ecommerce