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An ecommerce site is different from an information site - it has a different function or purpose altogether The main function of an eCommerce site is to allow people to buy on line. As a result the software required to run such an eCommerce site is a lot more sophisticated. Fortunately though it doesn’t have to be all that much harder to build or maintain. Here’s a short list that will help you get started with your eCommerce site There are Five Things You Will Need: 1. Products : you need something to sell! It can be a physical product like a CD or book or machinery. Or it can be a virtual product like an eBook, pictures or software. Sometime you don’t even need to stock these items - you can use drop shipped products. This is where people buy from you but the order is fulfilled by a wholesaler who then delivers the product directly the customer without any further involvement from you. 2. Shopping Cart Software. There are many of these. Possibly even thousands. Some are better than others for certain purposes, some have annual license fees and some are completely free. More important though than the license fee 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’ secure version of your website. This represents the fact the web page is encrypted and is thus more secure than an http page. With SSL , sensitive financial data like credit card details are protected. So sensitive financial data like credit card details are protected. Thankfully you don’t need to know too much about how to install an SSL certificate just be aware that you need one. Let your web host or web designer do the rest! 4. Merchant Account and Payment Gateway. Typically new online stores use an online credit card processing company such as PayPal or Paymate to accept credit card payments. These work well and are widely used and inexpensive. Most shopping carts integrate with them easily too. You may prefer to set up a merchant facility through your bank. If you do be aware there is usually a monthly fee involved but often you can negotiate a lower if you have a high volume of sales. Otherwise stick with the online processors. 5. Shipping Provider. This can be harder than you might think. Getting the shipping right is a key part in how competitive your site will be. The easiest way is to do it is to have the shopping cart software link directly to your chosen shipping company - in Australia this would most likely be Australia Post. 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 in the checkout process. Alternatively if you can try setting a flat rate for all deliveries. Or even free delivery within a specified region. Be sure your shopping cart allows these options.. 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. You will then need to input of your privacy statement, trading terms and so on. Finally you’ll need to set up your categories and 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 Or you can outsource it. Get a web designer like myself to do it. Just supply them with the required data and it will all ready for you, typically within 3 - 4 weeks. It will cost more than the DIY option but its probably worth it … considering it will free up 80 hours of your valuable time! Now you have a shopping cart: what next? Getting online with your shopping cart is just the beginning. You’re going to need to generate some good traffic to start to make sales. But that’s another story!. Looking for a web designer to help you one your eCommerce project? Get an Ecommerce Web Site Design quote from Richard Law, the Web Design Specialist |