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| Planning an E-commerce Website |
In the past, storefronts were composed of brick and mortar. Now they are made of digital
pages connected via the Internet; websites. Today, companies are moving part, and sometimes
all, of their business transactions to the Internet. Electronic commerce (E-commerce) is
the culmination of websites and business transactions into one new age storefront.
So, you may have decided to jump on the E-commerce bandwagon but you do not know where to begin.
The following article will detail the seven steps your company should take to help start your
website on the right foot:
- Research your target audience/customer base
- Plan the web pages
- Research service providers
- Determine how to process online transactions
- Create the website
- Test the website
- Go live
1. Research your Target Audience
Consider demographics and characteristics of your audience when making a website. Research your
potential customer base by performing formal or informal surveys. Your audience can be a diverse
group; various interests, web browsing abilities, and intentions. Some customers have their own
resale business, while others are end consumers. Try to understand what your customers consider
when choosing among products and what they intend to do with your product after they buy it.
Knowing the characteristics of your customers allows you to mold you site to their specific needs
and wants.
2. Plan the web pages
Now that you have researched your target audience, you may begin planning the website. Do not be
lax on this step. A properly designed website will help ensure that the customer needs are being
met, the website is easy to use, and the website is consistent throughout all its pages. A good
design can also help you decide what specific content you want on the pages (product information,
privacy statement, etc). A good first step is mapping your site on paper. Start with your main
page and branch out with your menu options. The more detail you can put into your hard copy plan,
the better prepared you will be for later steps.
3. Research service providers
Now that you have a site plan, you can start shopping for service providers. Since a hosting
company can make or break your design, you can start researching potential hosting services.
You will find hundreds of hosting companies with hundreds of plans. There will also be a lot of
technical talk like Bandwidth, POP3 Accounts, and Domains. To get around the "geek speak" you
can provide your design or your intentions to these hosting companies, so they can determine what
plan is right for you.
It is not recommended for someone just starting out in the E-commerce world to host their own
website. There is a lot of maintenance responsibility and liability. Let some other company
take on the 24/7 support and monitoring.
Also, start researching a potential Domain Name provider. According to
Network Solutions,
a prominent domain name provider, "…your domain name is the core of your Internet
identity, your online brand. Your customers will remember this name and use it to find out about
your products and services. And since no two parties can ever hold the same domain name
simultaneously, your Internet identity is totally unique." In other words, it is your online
address (www.yourcompany.com). The longer you can keep a domain name, the better.
Remember, the research step is for planning only, so do not sign any contracts yet.
4. Determine how to process online transactions
At this point, you have your design plans and a list of potential service providers. Now you can
determine how to take customer information including addresses and payment method. Let us assume
you want customers to pay with credit cards, and you want to process the cards online. There are
a number of ways to do that; however, the safest way for a beginner is to hire a secure,
professional processing company that provides Internet or Online Merchant Accounts. A merchant
account is a middle-man between you and the customer’s credit card company. It authenticates
the card, charges the card, and transfers the money to your bank account; much like a Point of
Sale machine. An Online Merchant Account specializes in Internet credit card processing. Make
sure your chosen merchant account provider is compatible with a least one of your hosting
company candidates.
5. Create the website
Your plan is ready, but you may not know how to create professional web pages. For beginners, it
is best to let professional web developers create the website. You can either hire an in-house
web developer (webmaster), or contract out to a web consultant.
If your budget allows, you should hire an in-house web developer. Communicating your wants and
needs is easier when the developer is on location all the time. Moreover, it is frequently more
economical than hiring a consultant. Websites require a great deal of time to maintain properly,
and billing hours add up!
Allow the new hire or consultant to modify your web plans if needed. Also, get their input on
your list of service providers.
Once you have a new hire or consultant, then you can contract with your chosen hosting company,
domain name provider, and merchant account provider.
6. Test the website
Before allowing the public to view and use your website, test it. It is better for you to
find the errors before customers see the website. When testing, try every link, buy every
item (within reason), and attempt to outsmart the website. Take note of missing images,
misspelled words, and other errors you may find. After all, your website is your new first
impression to your target audience.
7. Go live
When your website has been designed, created, tested and corrected, it is time to go live.
Contact your domain name provider and have them turn it on or "flip the switch." Within a few
days, the whole world will be able to access your website.
Sources
"Creating a Successful Ecommerce Site" 24 February 2004
http://www.sg21.com/articles/create.html.
"Ecommerce made easy" 24 February 2004
http://webtownusa.com/ecommerce/.
NEXT EDITION’S FEATURE: Competing with Overseas Designers & Brands
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