Get a pen and paper – there are way too many to remember! As easy as people may try to make it sound while trying to sell their eCommerce platforms, it is necessary for a user to be informed about the many things he/she may have to consider while building an eCommerce site. Which of these have you already thought of?
Build your idea – Know what you intend to sell. Research on how you would want to position your brand in the market amongst the gamut of other players and plan to build the user interface of the website to align to these initial ideas. You could also go reserve your domain name, well in advance, to match your company name and logo.
Choosing a Web Hosting Service – This choice decides your website performance i.e. its uptime, storage offered for data. If you intend to build an ecommerce site rich with content and videos, choosing the cheapest option is not a good idea. Look at their backend platforms, check their technical support options, backup plans, scalability features, control panel features, add-on features, hardware used and lastly, the customer reviews on their services.
Choosing an eCommerce package: We’ve already spoken on the most liked hosted eCommerce solutions in our last post. These provide an excellent user experience and are really very easy to use. Stress however, at this stage, on the security features that you would like to have for your website transactions and let this parameter help you choose.
Provision for Merchant Payments Online and other alternative payment methods – Since credit card continues to be immensely popular, it would be advisable to create an internet merchant account (for receipt of funds) as well as a payment gateway (links your store to your merchant account). There are alternative payment options available like PayPal, Amazon, eBay and Google Checkout.
Product Catalogs and Content – Familiarizing yourself with the content creation pages and reviewing content and image sizes is the first step. The initial feel that your website provides is crucial for understanding how customers feel about your site and its security. Focus and do loads of beta testing, before you actually go live!
Before you heave that sigh of relief, and expect us to pat your back for the vision of that awesome online store, we advise you think through your sales and marketing plans as well. Analytics and marketing content and emailers go a long way in communicating effectively with your prospects.
Source: Suyati
