|
|
 |
Essential Considerations of an Ecommerce Web Site Design
 You have best, the cheapest, the most unique, the one and only item that everyone needs and wants. Now you want create a web site and you want to market the item on the internet.
Besides finding a company to give you a professional web site design, the first step in sales is belief in your product and the desire to sell it. You know that you can have the utmost belief in your product and biggest desire in your heart to sell it, but the tools must there to help you. With sales estimates coming out of the Purdue Retail Institute estimating, those ecommerce web site design sales will contribute to the Internet sales climb to $26 billion, up from $21 billion last year (a 22 percent increase). While a 22 percent increase is notable, Internet sales still account for only 10 percent of holiday sales." To give you an idea of how large these numbers are, this figure of $26 billion, that amount is close to the state of Indiana’s budget for the last two years. You know from these estimates, you GOT to get your product and ecommerce web site design on the internet.
As a business owner, you will learn quickly the workings of Internet ecommerce and how important a good ecommerce web site design can be to your online sales success. The land of Internet ecommerce is jammed with substantial barriers. The real trick — getting your customers to breeze through your small business web site design by removing as many obstacles as possible along the way, before they get frustrated and search for their needs with one of your competitors. Web site owners must get a clearer picture of the inside track to online retail success and have a better chance to secure those often elusive ecommerce riches.
Though we can’t talk about all the pieces of a good ecommerce web site design or all aspects of a good affordable web design, we can touch on the major issues that all business owners must have some simple knowledge. A small business web design is more than having your logo and phone number on pretty web pages. There are essential components that must be understood and planned for.
Finding a Good Custom Web Site Design Company Offering An Affordable Web Design
Not every company is suited for internet design, much less designing a professional web site design that can incorporate all the ecommerce components accurately. Look at their web design portfolio! Just don’t listen to a lot of hot air. You have got see what they can do. Is the design company offering you affordable web design options or does it sound like they are offering a shopping list of expensive features that you really don’t need to get started? Can the offered small business web design be enhanced at a later time as you grow? Does the company have experience in ecommerce programming or are they offering to plug-in third party pieces?
When a company offers to plug-in most third-party components, it usually means your customer is taken off your website to the third-party web site and your customer won’t be able to get back to your website. The other pitfall is the third-party component looks different than your custom web site design which degrades the professionalism of your web design.
If your product pages are all hard coded with descriptions, prices, photos, etc., what happens when you need to make adjustments? You PAY THE FEES again to the web site design company to update your website. You become an open pocket book to the design company every time changes are required. Having your product details stored in a database and accompanying that with an administration control panel, you must be able to make these simple updates yourself.
 Incorporate K-I-S-S Shopping Carts Within Your Web Design
The customer clicks on an item, it goes into the shopping cart, the customer can view the items within the cart, they can change quantities, they can remove items, they can continue shopping, they can check out. Anything more when the customer is presented the shopping will be too confusing and will offer only frustrations and the customer will move on to another website.
The most important thing, the customer MUST REMAIN within your custom web site design and not taken off to another third-party web site. Your customer will get lost and absolutely end up at your competitions web site to buy what they need.
Payment Processing is Essential to an Ecommerce Web Site Design
Get a merchant account, an account that allows you to take credit card orders, and be a professional. If you are going to use a PayPal system, it only reeks Amateur Businessman who is a “wanna be" and is probably operating out of their garage. What does that say about your products and services? You made an investment in your small business web site design and is professional, now let’s keep that professionalism. Now days most merchant accounts have low startup fees and low per transaction fees. Shop around for the best deals.
Payment Gateways
Integration of the payment gateway to your small business web design must be seamless. All transaction responses from the gateway must be handled correctly by your web design. If they are not, your customer will be double charged, stuck at the gateway website with processing errors, and these will result in nothing but customer service headaches rather than smooth sales. The web site design company that you hired must be knowledgeable in Internet programming and transaction processing.
An Ecommerce Web Site Design and Fraud Protection
Even though you can’t catch all fraud possibilities, internet thieves and hackers are much smarter than we are, you need to prepare for the possibilities. Your web site design company must be aware and able to prevent as much fraud as possible. Phishing for credit card numbers, intercepting transactions, manipulating your email server, and Credit Card Company mandates for credit card number protection are just a few to mention. Now you can see why a web design is more than just pretty pictures on the internet.
We hope that this brief article in ecommerce web site design essentials will be of some help to you when choosing the right company to create your small business web site design and ecommerce modules. If you would like to talk more in depth with our ecommerce experts, give us a call and we will be more than happy to assist you.
|
| | | | | |
|
|
