web hosting

How Complete is Your E-commerce Solution?

Once upon a time, the budding entrepreneur was often stopped in their tracks due to the lack of financial resources needed to invest in the traditional brick and mortar store.  This no longer has to be the case as both the internet and e-commerce are in full swing, providing companies of all sizes with an opportunity to move up several notches on the competitive ladder.  However, finding the right e-commerce solution is never as easy as it sounds.  A countless number of companies claim to have exactly what you need, but the harsh truth is that you can never be certain until giving it a try for yourself.  Unfortunately, the trial and error approach can turn out to be very risky, especially if you are trying to establish a business online.  To help in your search efforts, we have a compiled a list of some features that must be present in order to make up a complete e-commerce solution.

Compatibility with Existing Systems - Launching an e-commerce site is a tremendous process.  Therefore, you should not make it even more complex by setting yourself up to encounter technical problems.  Whether it is a shopping cart or payment gateway, make sure any e-commerce component you plan to integrate is compatible with your existing hardware, operating system and applications.

Ability to Support Existing Data – An ideal e-commerce solution is one that allows you to easily import data from one location to another.  This becomes a must for large stores that maintain databases in environments where it could be complex and costly to manually transfer large amounts of data into a new system.  Keep in mind that this feature is usually included in high-end enterprise solutions but may not be included in cheaper, entry-level systems.

APIs with Linking Support – Integrating inventory management and finance systems is one of the most challenging aspects of e-commerce.  If this is something you wish to do, you may want to look for a solution that offers flexible APIs.  Short for application programming interfaces, these APIs enable developers to write code that will connect your legacy system to your e-commerce server.

Functional Shopping Cart - The shopping cart is the most obvious and important feature of any e-commerce solution.  You need to put special emphasis on this application as it will allow visitors to browse your store and purchase the items they want to purchase.

Diverse Payment Systems – Most consumers prefer to shop online with credit cards or third-party services such as PayPal.  On the other hand, a complete e-commerce solution goes that extra mile and supports additional payment options.  This will give you the opportunity to maximize your profits by catering to a broader range of customers.

The features listed in this article are just a few that must be obtained to form a complete e-commerce solution.  This means you need to keep your eyes peeled for several more qualities.  Despite how insignificant some of these features may seem, each is equally critical as they will determine the failure or success of your venture with e-commerce.

Obtaining a Reliable and Secure E-commerce Solution

The initial reaction to your e-commerce solution may be a positive one, but that could all change depending on the perception of your customers.  Believe it or not, the company you sign up with and the service they provide can either make or break your business.  If your solution does not possess the following qualities, achieving success online will be very difficult and maybe even impossible.

Critical Security Features

There are a number of components associated with your hosting platform that can affect how customers perceive your business.  One of the important of all is security.  This is one aspect that cannot be overlooked because it will help you establish trusting relationships and the confidence customers need to feel safe when sharing their sensitive information with you.  Proven and visible security mechanisms such as SSL certificates will help to create the trust and confidence you need to be successful with an online business.  By neglecting to use them, you stand the risk of losing many customers because the consumer is growing increasingly aware of the potential dangers that come along with shopping online.

Speed and High Availability

The performance of your e-commerce site is critical, especially in today’s fast paced on-demand world.  If your hosting provider is utilizing slow servers, potential customers will more than likely click their way to the competition.  A degraded performance will undoubtedly impact your bottom line and possibly cause your company to go out of business.  This can all be avoided by choosing a host that uses the best server hardware and redundant connections to the internet.  It is the overall reliability of their infrastructure that will determine the success of your business.

Adequate Server and Network Capacity

Selecting an e-commerce hosting package with limited storage and bandwidth capacity is like intentionally placing restrictions on the potential of your business.  It is highly recommended to choose a plan that provides enough of both resources to compensate for expansion.  Although many hosts offer solutions with unlimited resources, this marketing ploy can actually work to your disadvantage once your files and traffic start bursting through the seams of the server.  When you are no longer able to update your site due to the lack of disk space and visitors cannot access your site because the bandwidth has been exceeded, your audience will view you in a negative light and this will definitely serve as a crucial blow to your credibility.

Having a secure and reliable hosting solution is critical to any online business.  While some of your more loyal customers may give you a second shot in the midst of slow loading pages and unavailability, most new prospects will never return and seek out someone who is more capable of meeting their needs.  When starting your journey with an online business, always remember that excessive downtime results in lost customers and lost sales.  It is simple as that.  A host that can assure you a reliable and secure environment gives you the best opportunity to keep your customers happy and your bottom line on the profitable side of the spectrum.

How to Avoid an E-commerce Disaster

Numerous elements go into achieving success with an e-commerce site.  This is one area in which all your vital components need to be working in harmony to create consumer interest, trust and happy customers.  Succeeding with e-commerce calls for all your business processes to be optimized and streamlined, ensuring that everything flows smoothly when consumers visit, navigate and make purchases from your site.  In order to make this happen, many hazards must be avoided to keep you from succumbing to an e-commerce disaster.  ‘

What Leads to a Disaster?

There are a number of instances and obstacles that can lead you straight into a disaster.  For example, you could sign up with an unreliable web hosting provider, select the wrong e-commerce solution, or choose a payment processing method that hinders or completely derails your online transactions.  This is the type of website that runs slow or offers horrible navigation, making its usability inconvenient and very undesirable.  It is an environment where consumers are not sure about making purchases or feel as if their most essential needs are not being satisfied.  While abandoned order pages and shopping carts are tell-tale signs of a disaster, turbulence may commence from the very moment a potential customer lands on your website.

If you want to avoid a disastrous situation with your e-commerce site, you need to make yourself aware of the following inadequacies:

Bad Web Hosting

It is important to know that an e-commerce site is only as efficient as the underlying platform.  When choosing a bad or inadequate hosting solution, you stand the chance of suffering from limited bandwidth, slow loading pages and worst of all, excessive downtime.

All of these instances can result in a loss of customers and ultimately, loss of sales.  An ideal e-commerce platform is one that leverages reliable, high-performance server hardware, redundant high-speed internet connections and the best security practices.

Ineffective Content

Having a website that clearly communicates to your audience is one of the essential keys to succeeding with an e-commerce venture.  You must be able to relay the unique value of your offerings beyond price in a manner that makes visitors want to stick around and make a purchase.  While you don’t want to come on too strong, using cleverly aggressive, action-orientated content can serve as the powerful persuasion you need to convert your visitors into long-term customers.  Play around with a few approaches to find out which processes work best for your business.

Poor Navigation and Usability

Almost every website owner is under the assumption that their sales flow and navigation is intuitive, transparent and user-friendly.  We are here to tell that this is not always the case.  In fact, even the most well designed websites need a little fine-tuning every now and then.  Does your site provide too much information or is it lacking in the content department?  Are there any elements that will distract your visitors from what they need to be focused on?  The answers to these questions and several more can tell you a lot about the navigation and usability aspects of your website.  If outstanding flaws are identified, diagnosis these issues and then optimize your site accordingly.