Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Greetings everyone!

I`m new to SUN and have been reading through the forums related to
website development.

I thought I`d try and contribute a few tips for those of you thinking about
building an e-commerce site.

Having been through this process with several clients I hope this post
sheds some light on the subject of setting up your site and maximizing
your chances for success.

I apologize if this post is not as thorough as it could be. I`m happy to
answer any particular questions.

PLANNING
Before you even begin looking for a web designer (or building the site
yourself) you should really think through your entire sales cycle. Some
really good things to think about early on are:

• How many products do you plan to sell?


• How many new products will you add each month?


• Do you plan on tracking inventory through your site? If not, how will
  you account for inventory changes?


• Will your products have variations such as color or size?


• Do you have product photos that represent your product in a
  professional manner and build trust with your customers? If not, can you
  get them?


• Do you have product descriptions that accurately describe AND sell
  your product well?


• Do you have accurate weights for your products?


• What will your order fulfillment process look like? Don`t make the
  mistake of trying to deal with this "by the seat of your pants". Make sure
  you really think about the process of receiving, packaging and shipping
  the order. If your store gets busy it will make a world of difference.


• How will you keep the books for your online transactions? Does your
  shopping cart offer QuickBooks (or similar) accounting integration?


• If you have a brick and mortar store do you have a way to identify web
  revenue separately from in store revenue?

CHOOSING A SHOPPING CART
There are literally hundreds of shopping carts out there to choose from.
Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when you choose a cart.
Before committing to a solution be sure you evaluate a demo.

• Is the shopping cart a mature, well-supported product?


• Is there plenty of support (both from the developer and the user
  community)?


• Will the cart grow with your needs? Can you add options? Is the
  product catalog limited in anyway?


• Does the cart integrate with a good stats package such as Google
  Analytics? As your level of sophistication increases as an e-tailer you`ll
  want to be able to zero in on your revenue streams and figure out what`s
  working (or not)


• Is the checkout process smooth and hassle-free?


• Is the cart SEO friendly

CHOOSING A WEB DEVELOPER/DESIGNER
Shopping cart technology has greatly reduced the technical challenges of
e-commerce. However, there are plenty of subtleties of e-commerce that
only an experienced, professional web partner can help you through.

• Before hiring a developer or designer make sure that you`ve seen their
  work or can speak with references.


• Make sure that you have a good "vibe" with the company or individual
  as you`ll be spending lots of time communicating with them through the
  setup process.


• Make sure that both you and the designer know EXACTLY what`s
  expected from the cart on launch day and get it in writing.


• Establish a timeline to launch day


• If you`re responsible for product photos and descriptions make sure
  that you create a delivery schedule and stick to your end of the bargain.
  


• If at anytime you are unclear about something make SURE you ask
  questions. If you can`t get answers it might be time to look for another
  developer

Developing an e-commerce site can be a complex (and highly rewarding)
task. Good planning and asking lots of questions will help get you on the
right track toward success as an e-tailer!

Hi Nick :-) Welcome to the community. Excellent post, and that organization and planning thing definitely matters! We just reorganized the folder structure on our site, and dayum..! That`s an interesting proposition!

Consider that when you put up a picture on a Web site, then start referring to that picture in Web content. You can`t go back and easily change its location on the server later.

So if the folder and subfolder organization gets confusing a year later, it`s kind of too bad. You can`t just move files all around, as it`ll end up with broken links in anything that refers to the file.

hmm....Joel, I wonder if we might have a whole forum topic, something like "Tutorials" for posts like this, Vince`s and Cookiemonsters` "How to" articles? :-)

I think, to add, that there is a huge difference between a "web developer" and a "web designer".

Designer = artist.
Developer = programmer.

Ideally, you don`t hire one or the other ... you hire a team. I`ve seen single people that think they can do both, but when you try doing too much, you end up not doing either of them well.

And a good development/marketing company will go through this process with you ... so you don`t have to go it alone before you choose someone! Most small businesses don`t even know what kind of sales and marketing processes are available to connect to their website. It`s up to the development team to explore all possibilities to their fullest extent!

For the most part, I agree. I personally dislike the whole "designer/
developer" distinction because I don`t think it applies to 90% of the real
professionals out there. I have seen real web designers code "developers"
under the table and "designers" who didn`t have a creative bone in their
body.

A small business owner just getting their feet wet in e-commerce might
not even know how to begin the process or know what to look for in a
good firm.

There are plenty of "teams" out there who aren`t doing e-commerce that
well either.

In the end I think it comes down to choosing people you trust,
communicate well with and have the experience that will get you off and
running the right direction.