| Running an online shop |
| Written by John McPherson |
| Thursday, 07 January 2010 09:14 |
|
An ecommerce site is usually built around a shopping cart software program.
An ecommerce site is usually built around a shopping cart software program. The main function of an eCommerce site is to allow people to buy on line. Behind the scenes this software required to run such a site is a lot more involved and complex than would be required for a straight information site. But this doesn't mean it has to be much harder to build or maintain. So if you are looking to start selling on line, here's a short list of what you will need to get you get started The Five Things Required Are 1. Products. Do you have to have something to sell? It can be a physical product like a CD or clothing or a downloadable product like MP3 files or software. One other option if you don't want to manage any inventory is to try drop shipping. This is where people buy from you but the actual order is fulfilled by your wholesaler who delivers the product the customer without any further involvement from you. 2. Shopping Cart Software to run the site. If you google eCommerce software you will see there is no shortage of choices. Some software is better suited to certain types of sites than others. Some are free and some are very expensive. One thing you should always keep in mind is the level of technical support available. The shopping carts I recommend for 99% of all eCommerce sites are zencart and CS-cart. They are both easy to install, modify and have good technical support. Plus they are fairly easy to use! 3. SSL and Dedicated IP. An SSL certificate creates the 'https' version of a website - you often see this on shopping carts and finance sites. This represents the fact the page is encrypted and more secure than a straight http page. You probably don't need to know how to install an SSL certificate. Just order it and let your web host or web designer do the rest! 4. Merchant Account and Payment Gateway. Many online stores use an online credit card processing service like PayPal or Paymate to accept payments. These work well and are widely used. If you prefer you can approach your bank to set up a merchant facility, Just be aware there is usually a monthly fee involved, however if you have a high volume of sales you can often you can negotiate a lower rate . Otherwise stick with the online processors. 5. Shipping Provider. Getting the shipping and delivery set up correctly is key to how competitive your prices will be perceived to be. The simplest way is to have the shopping cart link directly to your chosen shipping provider. The software tells the shipping company the weight, size, origin and destination of the item being sent and gets a shipping cost in return. This is then used by the software in the checkout process Alternatively if you can try setting a flat rate for all deliveries. Or even free delivery within a specified region. Just be sure your shopping cart lets you change between these options at will. Putting it all together Now you can do all of this yourself. ie set up a hosting account, order and map the domain name to it, have the SSL certificate installed and then upload and install the chosen shopping cart software. This eCommerce site will also need configuring for your desired payment gateway and shipping providers and probably need some code modifications and template modifications. Then you will need to input of your terms and conditions, privacy statement and so on. Finally you'll need to set up your categories. And also input your products. It's not an overnight process!! If you're doing it for the first time it might take you 80 or so hours. But cost will be low - possibly only a few hundred dollars Alternatively you can outsource it to an eCommerce web designer ( like myself ). It will cost you more than a few hundred dollars but it will also free up 80 hours of your time! You have a shopping cart: what now? Once you're online with your eCommerce site you are ready to start driving some good traffic to it, to make some sales. About the Author: Want some help building your eCommerce site? Get an Ecommerce Web Site Design quote from Richard Law, the Web Design Specialist |