An ecommerce site is usually built around a shopping cart software program.
Obviously its primary purpose it to allow people to buy on line.
Behind the scenes the software required to run such a site is a lot more involved and complex than a straight information site. But the good news is it doesn’t have to be that much harder to build or maintain.
Here’s a short list that will help you get started with your eCommerce site
The Five Things Required Are
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 to run the site. If you google eCommerce software you will see there is no shortage of choices. Some software is better suited to certain types of sites than others. Some are free and some are very expensive. One thing you should always keep in mind is the level of technical support available.
I have built sites using 3 or 4 different shopping cart programs – and I have tested out many many more. The ones 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’ version of a website – you often see this on shopping carts and finance sites. This represents the fact the page is encrypted and more secure than a straight http page.
You don’t need to know how to install an SSL certificate though – let your web host or web designer do it
4. Merchant Account and Payment Gateway. Many online stores use an online credit card processing service like PayPal or Paymate to accept payments. These work well and are widely used.
If you prefer you can approach your bank to set up a merchant facility, Just be aware there is usually a monthly fee involved, however if you have a high volume of sales you can often you can negotiate a lower rate .
Otherwise stick with the online processors. They are almost always cheaper and every bit as secure.
5. Shipping Provider. Getting the shipping and delivery set up correctly is key to how competitive your prices will be perceived to be.
The easiest way is to have the shopping cart software link directly to your chosen shipping company. The software tells the shipping provider the details such the weight, size, origin and destination of the item being sent and the shipping provider calculates a shipping cost in return. This is then used in the checkout.
Alternatively if you can try setting a flat rate for all deliveries. Or even free delivery within a specified region.
Just be sure your shopping cart has enough flexibility to change between these options at will.
Putting it all together
If you are a DIY sort of person and have enough time then you can save some money by doing it all. ie you can set up a hosting account, map the domain name over, order the SSL certificate and have it installed and then finally installing 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 also input your products.
As you can see it’s not an overnight process and if you’re doing it for the first time it might take 60 – 80 or so hours. But it would only have cost you about $500
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?
Now you’re online with your shopping cart that just the beginning. You’re going to need some good traffic to make sales. But at least you have a solid foundation in place to start from.
Want some help building your eCommerce site? Get an Ecommerce Web Site Design quote from Richard Law, the Web Design Specialist
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