Because the site plays a major role in the success of your business, we offer you some instructions : Choosing Your Web Design Tools After you have your business plan in place and are ready to focus on your new online venture, it’s time to start creating your e-commerce web site. The first step is selecting the tools you want to use to design and code your site. You can start from scratch and code everything by hand, but this requires solid knowledge of HTML, PHP, MySQL, and other programming languages. However, there are some key elements you should look for in any software. An easy-to-use interface is important . WYSIWYG HTML editors allow you to design your site by clicking and dragging elements and inserting text and links like you would in a word processing program . you should make sure that the applications you choose support all of the functionalities that you want in your web site.
Selecting Your Web Host for E-commerce Even though it may seem like a daunting choice, picking the provider that’s right for you can be an easy decision if you pay attention to a few key issues. The first is price, and while it’s easy to do a quick price comparison on the web, the cheapest host you can find may not always be the best. Providers that have lower prices sometimes skimp in other areas, like customer service or technical support. In addition to price, you should also consider the type of features offered by a hosting provider. Since PHP and MySQL currently play an integral role in creating dynamic, interactive e-commerce web sites, picking a host that offers compatibility with these languages should be at the top of your list.
Picking a Payment Solution After deciding where you’ll set up shop on the web, the next step is choosing a method to accept payments on your site. The payment process is what puts the “commerce” in “e-commerce.” There are two kinds of payment systems that you should consider for your site: a payment processor and a payment gateway.
Choosing a Shopping Cart—or Creating Your Own At brick-and-mortar stores, shoppers pick items from shelves, put them in a cart or basket, and usually bring them to a cashier when they’re finished shopping. You’ll need to set up a similar system—commonly called a shopping cart solution—for your online store. Typically, shopping cart software allows people to select items from web pages, add them to their “cart,” and walk them through the purchase process when they are ready to check out. Most shopping carts will also include taxes and shipping charges to give customers a total for their order.
SSL Security: An Absolute Must-Have for Your Site A nice site design and seamless integration with a payment system are great, but they won’t mean a thing if you and your customers aren’t protected from fraud and theft. Security is one of the biggest concerns that shoppers have when it comes to buying online.
The "6 Common Mistakes ECommerce Sites Make" 1. Poor design 2. Poor site structure 3. Little or no sales copy 4. Hiding address and telephone info 5. Not stating benefits 6. Ignoring SEO These mistakes are all things that can be avoided or addressed so don't despair! |
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