E-Commerce
(Shopping Cart) Website
ITchair.com provides solutions for every
aspect of e-commerce beginning with the
establishment of an Internet merchant
account, referrals of fulfillment
centers, and finally the development or
integration of business intelligence
tools. From the sale of an association's
publications to a retailer's product
line, we offer database-driven
e-commerce applications that allow
clients to add and edit items, offer
member discounts, and change shipping
rates, and more.
E-commerce Functionality
Adding e-commerce features to your
web site allows customers to complete a
purchase online without ever speaking to
your staff. E-commerce web sites are
more expensive to create and also
require more ongoing maintenance work,
but they can easily pay off by directly
increasing your sales. Here are some of
the things to keep in mind about
e-commerce.
Is e-commerce right for you?
For some businesses, e-commerce is a
natural fit. Retailers of small consumer
items – clothes, gifts, books,
electronics, packaged foods – are a
perfect Cart
example. The products are easy to
choose, commonly sold online, and
inexpensive to ship.
For other businesses, e-commerce
isn't necessarily a good fit – but that
doesn't mean you can improve sales
through your web site.
* For products where the purchasing
decision is more complex, consider an
'option picker' that helps walk
potential customers through their
choices and the associated prices. At
the end of the online process, provide a
prominent email link or telephone number
to contact you for assistance.
* Service-based business can conduct a
different type of e-commerce by allow
web site visitors to book appointments
online and hold them with a credit card.
Generally the actual payment for the
service occurs when they come in, but an
online reservation system can help
improve business.
* If an in-person demonstration is an
essential part of the buying decision,
consider having a feature on your site
that lets prospects schedule a demo at
their location or yours.
What e-commerce features do you need?
The shopping cart is the most
familiar symbol of e-commerce. You'll
want an e-commerce system that lets
customers browse through different areas
of your online store and collect all
their purchases into a single order.
Most professional e-commerce systems
will calculate appropriate taxes and
shipping costs, but you may have to do
some setup work: entering shipping costs
for each item in your store, for
example. One common complication is
items that have multiple options:
colors, sizes, and the like. The
simplest version has just one option per
item; slightly more complex systems can
handle items with two or three options;
much more robust systems can handle
pricing that changes based on the
options or certain combinations of
options that aren't available. Think
through the types of products and
options they have carefully before you
talk to an e-commerce provider. Any
worthwhile e-commerce system should
connect to your merchant account to
accept credit cards for payment. Make
sure the system uses SSL, the current
standard for online credit card
security. Other popular features include
automated emails to customers, coupons
or discount codes, and "related items"
links. Whatever features you think might
be useful to your customers, chances are
someone has already thought of them.
Comparing e-commerce systems
In most cases, developers will use an
existing e-commerce engine that can be
integrated into your site. They'll be
able to customize the front end to match
the look of the rest of your site, but
they won't have to start building the
system from scratch. Definitely take the
time to try out another site that uses
the same e-commerce system. See how easy
it is to use, and how well it's
integrated with the rest of that site.
Also make sure you take a look at the
back end of the e-commerce systems
you're evaluating. The back end is the
interface you'll use to manage your
store, including adding new products,
reviewing and tracking orders, and
making other changes. You want it to be
fast and easy to understand. It should
have flexible reporting options so you
can see how sales are doing, as well.
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