Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » AlertPay http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog Web Hosting Industry News, Latest Trends, and Analyses. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:48:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Ecommerce Site Building Checklisthttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/09/28/ecommerce-site-building-checklist/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/09/28/ecommerce-site-building-checklist/#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:10:24 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1131 Building an eCommerce web site involves many aspects, most of which are overlooked by the novice webmaster. Building a checklist before you build a web site can help you create a site that is enjoyable for your visitors, and profitable for your business. Gradually understanding the construction of a successful eCommerce site is the best way to educate yourself on the most important aspects of eCommerce and customer satisfaction. The following checklist can help you avoid some of the many trivial mistakes that novice webmasters often make when trying to build an eCommerce site. Simply ask yourself the following questions, and if the answer is no to any of them, then you still have some work to do.

Does My Site Look Professional?

Before you begin uploading item descriptions and pictures, or trying to source suppliers for your massive catalog of products, you’ll first need to make sure that your site looks professional. The two biggest factors that online shoppers consider are convenience and trustworthiness. If your site does not appear to be professional, most of your potential customers will leave before ever viewing your products or their prices.

Does My Site Have  a Good Shopping Cart?

The shopping cart is literally the focal point of the shopping experience, primarily because it is the main interface that customers will use to checkout. If the shopping cart has glitches or is outdated and inconvenient, most of your prospective customers will become frustrated and look for another site. Thus, before proceeding with the construction of your eCommerce site it is absolutely necessary to “test drive” your shopping cart to view your site form the perspective of a site visitor.

Is My Site Secure?

Security falls under the second aforementioned important aspect of eCommerce – trustworthiness. If your site is not secured you’ll have a hard time closing any sales online. Regular internet shoppers have been educated to look for sites that begin with HTTPS before providing any credit card details, so it will be fairly difficult to have a successful online business without an SSL certificate. Fortunately, most eCommerce hosting plans come with SSL certificates.

Does My Site Have Convenient Navigation?

If it is difficult to navigate your site and find a particular product then it will be nearly impossible to have a high sales volume. Most people shop online because they are looking for a good price on a particular item. If your site does not have a properly organized product catalog and a good on site search engine, then finding the right product will be inconvenient for your customers.

Can I Accept All Major Payments?

The concept is simple – the more payment methods you can accept, the more potential customers you have. Only accepting credit cards can greatly limit your sales volume, especially in modern times as online payment processors are becoming increasingly popular. It is important to ensure that your site can accept money orders, credit cards, debit cards, and payments through online payment processors like PayPal, MoneyBookers, and AlertPay.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/09/28/ecommerce-site-building-checklist/feed/ 0 Tips for Increasing Profits in E-commercehttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/01/22/tips-for-increasing-profits-in-e-commerce/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/01/22/tips-for-increasing-profits-in-e-commerce/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:29:40 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=719 Most customers will not even considering purchasing a product or service unless the shopping process is simple. You have to remember that you are trying to sell them something, not the other way around. Therefore the experience leading up to the sale has to be flawless, because customers will not hesitate to visit another website that is easier to use if they encounter any turbulence whatsoever.  Thus the enjoyment of their shopping experience will be directly decided by the design of your website. If your website is easy to navigate, then you will see success.

Make Shopping Simple

Asking too much of your customers can and will discourage them from shopping with you. Sometimes something as simple as asking for too much information at checkout can drive your customers right into the your competitor’s hands. This problem not only occurs at checkout, but also in the user registration process. In fact, it may be helpful to let shoppers buy products without registering at all! The problem is, most people don’t like providing the same information twice, and most of the time the information required at checkout is the same information required during registration. Obviously this kind of situation can become a nuisance to your customers rather quickly.

Make Your Products Visible

Making your products easy to browse through and find is a great way to increase your sales. One of the ways you can increase product visibility and site functionality is by adding a search function to your site.  If you do decide to add a search function, make sure it is a comprehensive one that gives the customer the ability to search based on several criteria such as price. The goal is to make any product in your online store accessible within a few short clicks.

Be Flexible

Make sure you are not limiting yourself to a few exclusive payment options. Offering payment platforms such as PayPal or AlertPay will noticeably increase your sales quickly. Another way to give your customers more options is to add a wish list option to the shopping cart. Providing a wish list function gives your customers the opportunity to return to your site at a later date and make the purchase then.

Describe Your Products Thoroughly

Many customers rightfully shy away from websites that do not do a thorough job of describing their products. An in-depth product description conveys an image of professionalism. Make sure your description of the product is very detailed and include at least one picture on the product page. You should also make sure you denote the quantity you have in stock on the product page, this way customers do not attempt to buy an out-of-stock product unknowingly.

Make the Experience Fast and Easy

Although you have an ever-expanding amount of fancy options that you can add to your website, sometimes it is best to keep the interface simple yet effective. Many times customers can become overwhelmed by flashy designs and unnecessary functions.  Remember that most of your customers are shopping online for convenience.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/01/22/tips-for-increasing-profits-in-e-commerce/feed/ 0 Cashing in on the E-commerce Phenomenonhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/10/29/cashing-in-on-the-e-commerce-phenomenon/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/10/29/cashing-in-on-the-e-commerce-phenomenon/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:51:23 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=595 A few years ago, credibility and fear were major roadblocks for companies and entrepreneurs looking to establish themselves online.  Times have changed for the best as more consumers feel comfortable conducting business over the internet and the e-commerce revolution is in full swing.  That does not give you any room to coast.  You must still take all the necessary steps to ensure that your website appeals to potential customers through professionalism and credibility.

The tips in this article will help you capitalize on this surging market and avoid the mistakes made by so may others.

Creating a Credible Presence

There are many ways to establish credibility and trust within your audience.  You can start by making your contact information easily accessible as this lets customers know they can get in touch with you if need be.  Testimonials can be effective, but you should be careful when using them.  A testimonial could end up working to your disadvantage by prompting skepticism in the visitor, especially if these references appear too obscure with no contact info or other form of validation.  The overall look of your site will determine its credibility so do not hesitate to check out some of the major e-commerce players and even the competition to find a good working model.

E-commerce Tools

Before starting your e-commerce venture, you should know that in order to accept credit cards, which is the preferred method of payment among consumers, your site will require a few specific elements.  This includes a shopping cart program, payment gateway, and possiby a merchant account.  All-in-one solutions do exist on the market, but these systems are often far too complex and geared more towards businesses that do not generate a lot of monthly sales.  While there is nothing wrong starting out with a popular service such as Payal or AlertPay, you should not view them as long-term options.  If your site becomes a success fast, you will definitely need to upgrade your e-commerce system in a jiffy.

Stay on the Grind

Even if you have never seen the movie, you are probably familiar with Kevin Costner’s famous quote from the motion picture Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.”  While very inspiring, this simply is not the case when it comes to obtaining success with an e-commerce site.  In fact, if you build it, your site will just sit there lonely unless you actively market it to the right audience.  Therefore, perhaps the correct saying for the online business world would be: “If you promote it, they will come.”  Evaluate all the available options to find out what methods are most effective for drawing potential customers to your site.

There is no guarantee that you will become a millionaire by selling items online.  You could actually end up losing money in the beginning and find yourself forced to ride a bumpy learning curve.  On the other hand, you will never know how much money you could make if you do not invest the effort in turning your e-commerce site into a success.

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