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5 Quick Steps to Ecommerce
by Eric Lester
Start selling on the web in 5 easy steps. Covering design, shopping carts, merchant accounts, SSL, and promotion- everything a budding online merchant needs to know.
Selling on the web is just a few steps away. Though setting up an online storefront may seem like a monumental undertaking, having a game plan can make it far easier. This article will briefly touch on 5 steps, from building your site, setting up your storefront, getting a merchant account and SSL, to promoting it.
Step 1: Website Creation
Having an online store means having a website. Finding the right host for
the new venture can be one of the most daunting tasks in the entire process.
There's no substitute for a little research and planning. Think about how
many pages and products the site will sell. Try to come up with a best estimate
of the kind of resources your site will need, then shop for a host accordingly.
Always choose a host with 24/7 support, since this isn't just a small hobby
site, it generates revenue and needs to have near perfect uptime. Choose
tools to build your site that are familiar and comfortable. It is important
to build a compelling site, otherwise patrons may never make it to the store.
Step 2: Setup Your Storefront
Picking a storefront software is not hard, but the decision is one of the
most important. Storefront software comes in all shapes and sizes, and each
program has benefits and drawbacks that will change depending on the needs
of the potential client. For instance, some carts are better suited to fewer
products, some are able to handle very large amounts. Hosts may offer a
variety of carts, and not just one. Since the shopping cart will be the
method through which the products are managed, it's of utmost importance
the cart and the user "get along." Once the choice is made, it's
very difficult to change shopping carts without downtime.
Step 3: Merchant Account
Having a store stocked with products means little if customer's cannot pay
for them. The most trusted way to accept payment on the web is with a merchant
account and payment gateway. Merchant accounts allow customers to enter
their credit card numbers into the shopping cart and have the merchant charge
their cards directly, without the aide of a third party processor like PayPal.
A payment gateway is the software used to facilitate and manage these transactions.
Merchant accounts, like hosting packages and shopping carts, come in myriad
forms, each suited to different needs. Always be sure the merchant account,
payment gateway and shopping cart are compatible. If there's any doubt,
the best place to inquire is with the merchant account provider.
Step 4: SSL
The store's potential customers have products to buy and a way to buy them,
but they will be hesitant to do so if their personal and credit card information
isn't secure. This is where SSL certificates enter the picture. Through
an SSL certificate a customer's personal information and credit card number
are encrypted when sent from their home browser, through the shopping cart,
to the merchant account. This security gives customers peace-of-mind when
doing business with the shop. With reports of identify theft and credit
card fraud on the rise, there is simply no way an online store will be successful
without a security certificate. There is little shopping to do here, as
most security certificates provide an equal level of protection.
Step 5: Promote the Store
With all the elements in place, the final part of the plan is making sure
all those potential customers show up. Site promotion isn't so much a last
step as it is an ongoing process to keep the vital flow of unique customers
coming to the store. Your website host should provide some tools to help
the promotional process. There are two basic strategies that can be tried
separately or in conjunction with one another- search engine marketing,
and advertising. Search engine marketing concentrates on making the store
visible to people using the "big three" search engines, Google,
Yahoo, and MSN. Advertising is a more direct approach of buying banners
and ad space on websites whose customers would likely be interested in buying
your products. Success in search engine marketing could be as costly as
direct advertising, depending on what kind of products the store sells.
A combination of both strategies is generally best.
About The Author
Mr. Lester has served for 4 years as the webmaster for ApolloHosting.com
and previously worked in the IT industry an additional 5 years, acquiring
knowledge of hosting, design, and search engine optimization. Apollo Hosting
provides website hosting, ecommerce
hosting, vps
hosting, and web design
services to a wide range of customers. Established in 1999, Apollo prides
itself on the highest levels of customer support. Click for more hosting
articles.
Note: These articles are provided for general interest and content purposes only, and should not be construed as "support" materials. Apollo Hosting does not guarantee the information contained within. All articles are free to reprint so long as they remain unchanged, the "About the Author" section remains, all hyperlinks are preserved, and the rel="nofollow" tag is not added to the hyperlinks.
