What is Involved in Creating an E-Commerce Web site
If you are like many people, figuring out what you need in order to put together
an e-commerce web site is often confusing. In this section, we will try to dispel
the confusion by clearly identifying what you will need to get started in e-commerce.
Make a Plan
The road map to any successful business venture is a good plan. A web site
is no different. Do your homework, know what you want, know your competition and
understand your customer. Here is a basic list of things you should consider doing
before actually doing your web site:
- Identify the Goals and Focus of Your Web site (click here to read our section
on this).
- Identify the Needs of Your Customer (read our article on Customer Oriented Web sites)
- Look at What Your Competition is Doing and Identify Your Own Competitive Edge
- Read Case Studies on What Works and Doesn't Work on the Web for Your Type
of Business or Organization
- Develop a Realistic Marketing Strategy
Doing your homework will help you to develop a sound business strategy. You
may find that your idea is terrific or you may find that it is unrealistic. Even
if you find that your original idea is not going to work, you haven't necessarily
wasted your time. The information you gathered from your research may steer you
into a successful direction that you might otherwise never considered.
- Choose an Internet Service Provider
- Register a Domain Name
- Choose a Web site Design Firm.
- If You Want to Sell Goods Over the Internet, You will need a Merchant Account.
- Implement a Fulfillment Strategy
Choosing an Internet Service Provider:
There are several factors you should consider when choosing Internet Service Provider
to Host your Web site:
- Do They Provide a Complete Service?
- How Long Have They Been In Business?
- Are There Prices Reasonable (i.e. do they offer Value)?
- Do They Offer the Services You Need?
Celestial Graphics works closely we Acquired Knowledge Systems. By choosing
Acquired Knowledge Systems as your web host and Celestial Graphics as your web
site design firm, you will have a complete web site design and hosting solution
custom tailored to the needs of your organization.
Registering a Domain Name:
You will first need to find out whether or not the name you wish to register is
already taken. There are many sites where you can search for you domain name
and register it at a reasonable price. Until recently Network Solutions (now owned
by Verisign) was the exclusive domain name registrar. Now there are many official
domain name registrars to choose from with prices varying from $9 per year to
$30 per year.
Choose a Web Site Design Firm:
There are many good web site design agencies out there. Choose a quality,
professional web site design firm that will work with you to develop content,
a marketing strategy and do much of the strategic planning for you. A good web
site design firm will be able to not just create a web site, but to also create
a web site application framework and web business model that will help to use
the web to streamline your business practices. Of course, we hope that you will
consider Celestial Graphics as your web site development company.
A Merchant Account:
If you want to successfully sell goods on the Internet, then you need to take
credit cards. Almost all Internet Commerce is done by credit card. Credit Cards
transactions are handled by Credit Card Processors that act as a bridge between
you and your bank. These card processors issue merchant accounts through financial
institutions to you. Generally they charge some minimum monthly fee plus a percentage
of each transaction (typically 2 to 3%). You bank may be the best source for issuing
your merchant account. Note that your bank may use card processors to actually
administer the account for them.
So How Do You Choose a Merchant Account? We recommend you choose your bank as
your merchant provider if they offer this service. Make sure that their internet
gateway is easy for your web site design firm to set up and administer because
setting up a Merchant Account can be tricky. Some Internet Service Providers have
Card Processors they already work with so setup time and costs are minimized,
however the terms may not be as favorable as working with you financial institution.
Implementing a Fulfillment Strategy
So you’re about to launch your web site, so what do you do with the customer
orders, customer feedback and inquiries? Developing a sound fulfillment strategy
is just as important as developing a good web site.
If you already have an established business or institution, then you may need
to integrate the web site orders into your current order entry system. In addition,
you should plan on sending out auto-reply e-mail's acknowledging the customer's
order or request as well as auto-reply e-mail's acknowledging that the order or
request has been filled.
If you have a new business, then you will either need to plan and budget this
infrastructure or hire a fulfillment service. A fulfillment service will process
orders, and answer phones for either a fixed fee or percentage of sales.
The most important thing for either a new or established business to develop a
fulfillment work flow. You can develop a simple work flow with pencil and paper
by charting out all of the possible types of requests a customer can make and
how you would respond.
Putting it All Together
Of Course, we hope you will consider Celestial Graphics to fill all of your
internet needs. We will help you develop an e-business strategy that makes sense
for your organization and for your budget.
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