Investing in an online shopping business is something that requires time and research. This article looks at some very basic but fundamental questions to consider when reviewing your online shopping software.
As consumers we've become very savvy in price comparison and with ability of searching at the touch of a button to learning more about the products we purchase and view other buyers' product reviews before we even think about entering a payment transaction. But what if it is you or your company that wants to sell your products online? Where do you start and what do you need? Having a website online is just the tip of what is required. It is not uncommon to hear the amount of small retailers or home based operators that say that they have their products online, but no-one is buying?
Consider that last statement just for a moment; this would be a true business disaster having spent money on getting your domain, a basic website up and running and paying monthly fees to have no return on your investment? What type of Shopping Cart facility should you think about and where should you start? Firstly, give some thought to your requirements and build a check list - for example do you require inventory stock control? Or are you a home based business and can easily sell your information such as e-books, in which case a simple plugin on your website would suffice. If you are a small retailer or home based business and have limited resources and funds then consider using a professional shopping cart software product that does not require too much effort to maintain yourself with minimal setup and ongoing costs. There are plenty of exceptional products out there however some key things to consider are:
Does the software provide easy to use and maintainable templates? Is the Shopping Cart software that you choose hosted on their site or is it downloaded to your site? This can make a huge difference with security and you should never use shopping cart software that is not hosted on servers managed by a professional web hosting company. Can your products be added with minimum ease and do you have the ability to integrate with your online store with other online stores such as E-Bay. Does your shopping cart software provide search engine optimisation? This is often not considered as important, however this is one of the critical requirements - marketing your site so it can be found is key to your business profit. Most importantly, does the shopping cart software have the most trusted and secure payment options available? Stock Control and variable settings available? Can you adequately track and monitor sales? Customer emails and invoice templates available? When a customer purchases from your site, can they receive emails and invoices? Social and internet marketing ability - Does the shopping cart product provide all the relevant icons and easy integration ability to ensure that you can market your online store effectively through Twitter, Facebook, Mobile smart phones and popular search engines So to quickly recap:
As an online business retailer you need to ensure the ease of use for both management of the shopping cart software and also more importantly how your customers can easily find your products and purchase goods with ease and security - if your site looks unusable, then chances are it will not be used. Your shopping cart software should:
At the very minimum include tools that help you improve the search engine optimization of your store Should make it easy to generate Google Ad words for your products Ease of use to list your products and accept orders from - eBay, as well as listing on Facebook Ability to include email marketing capabilities so you can create send email newsletters and promotions
As consumers we've become very savvy in price comparison and with ability of searching at the touch of a button to learning more about the products we purchase and view other buyers' product reviews before we even think about entering a payment transaction. But what if it is you or your company that wants to sell your products online? Where do you start and what do you need? Having a website online is just the tip of what is required. It is not uncommon to hear the amount of small retailers or home based operators that say that they have their products online, but no-one is buying?
Consider that last statement just for a moment; this would be a true business disaster having spent money on getting your domain, a basic website up and running and paying monthly fees to have no return on your investment? What type of Shopping Cart facility should you think about and where should you start? Firstly, give some thought to your requirements and build a check list - for example do you require inventory stock control? Or are you a home based business and can easily sell your information such as e-books, in which case a simple plugin on your website would suffice. If you are a small retailer or home based business and have limited resources and funds then consider using a professional shopping cart software product that does not require too much effort to maintain yourself with minimal setup and ongoing costs. There are plenty of exceptional products out there however some key things to consider are:
Does the software provide easy to use and maintainable templates? Is the Shopping Cart software that you choose hosted on their site or is it downloaded to your site? This can make a huge difference with security and you should never use shopping cart software that is not hosted on servers managed by a professional web hosting company. Can your products be added with minimum ease and do you have the ability to integrate with your online store with other online stores such as E-Bay. Does your shopping cart software provide search engine optimisation? This is often not considered as important, however this is one of the critical requirements - marketing your site so it can be found is key to your business profit. Most importantly, does the shopping cart software have the most trusted and secure payment options available? Stock Control and variable settings available? Can you adequately track and monitor sales? Customer emails and invoice templates available? When a customer purchases from your site, can they receive emails and invoices? Social and internet marketing ability - Does the shopping cart product provide all the relevant icons and easy integration ability to ensure that you can market your online store effectively through Twitter, Facebook, Mobile smart phones and popular search engines So to quickly recap:
As an online business retailer you need to ensure the ease of use for both management of the shopping cart software and also more importantly how your customers can easily find your products and purchase goods with ease and security - if your site looks unusable, then chances are it will not be used. Your shopping cart software should:
At the very minimum include tools that help you improve the search engine optimization of your store Should make it easy to generate Google Ad words for your products Ease of use to list your products and accept orders from - eBay, as well as listing on Facebook Ability to include email marketing capabilities so you can create send email newsletters and promotions