Locating The Right E-commerce Provider

by: Akhil Shahani


E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services on the internet. The term is interchangeably used with e-business and refers to all forms of business activities such as e-tailing, B2B commerce, intranets and extranets, online advertising or an online presence in any form that is used for some type of communication such as customer service.

As a business owner, you need an e-commerce provider to enable you to do business online. There are a zillion companies out there which provide e-commerce solutions such as web designing and hosting services. Quite likely, all of them will claim to be the best at their jobs!

This piece is intended to help entrepreneurs like you who have a problem choosing the right e-commerce provider. Using the following guidelines will help you make a better decision.

Seek professional services: Don’t depend on Do-IT-Yourself tools, as you risk wasting time and money, and the results are not guaranteed. At present, there are so many professional service providers that you are sure to find one to suit your needs and budget.

Choose a 2 in 1 provider: You might get stuck in a situation where your website requirements need hosting services support. Hence, the company you choose should be able to design your site and host it as well. Selecting such a firm will save you time and frustration and might possibly work out cheaper. You can even benefit from some design firms that offer discounts on hosting packages.

Look for models: Have a look at some of the previous sites designed and hosted by the company you are talking to. If the company has worked on websites for your type of business or industry, chances are that they will be able to work on your project with relative ease.

Assess capabilities: Sometimes your e-commerce provider may not be able to provide support for everything you want to accomplish through your website. For example, they may be unable to provide a payment gateway or a merchant account to your shopping cart. Or they may not have equipped your online store to accept credit cards. In such cases you might be forced to take help from another company, which is not an optimal situation.

Ask key questions: If you’re satisfied with the technical capabilities of several vendors, consider the following questions before deciding on the e-commerce provider:

 Is the company reliable?
 Do I get satisfactory answers to my business questions?
 Do they actually pay attention to what I’m trying to do online?
 Can they add real value by providing guidance and suggestions for improvement?
 Can we sustain a relationship over the long term?

If at least one of the vendors fares well on the above questions, then you’re on the right track; else step away and try other companies until you get what you need.

The internet is helping businesses with marketable products reach a much larger audience at lower cost, and you can’t afford to be left behind. Getting the required support from your e-commerce provider is therefore vital to your online strategy. Remember to choose yours wisely.


About The Author
Hi, I am Akhil Shahani, a serial entrepreneur who wants to help you succeed. Over the years I have run many successful businesses & made many mistakes on the way. I have created http://www.aykya.com to help you benefit from all I've learned on my journey. Please visit us & download our special 'Freebie of the Month' as a thank you for your visit.

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Benefits of Having a Web Site

by: Wan Assad Aziz

Many have heard countless news of the downfall of Internet era that caused millions of loss to big companies. However, there are lots of advantages when it comes of having own web site. Think of having a business. Having a website will give a business the ability to reach thousands of potential customers through out the world, with a fraction of cost. These are but a few key benefits of owning a website:

Improve business image with online presence.

Many people today believe that businesses with websites provide superior products or services to those that don't. Think of a website as an online brochure where person can show examples or products and services. Websites provide companies with large customer bases the ability to communicate more effectively. Properly planned, designed and implemented a website should pay for itself and providing a return on investment.

Cost-saving to your business expenditure.

Buying advertising space, whether it's a newspaper ad, billboard, or radio spot, can be very expensive. Adding to the burden are the hours spent trying to figure out the perfect set of words to say everything needed within the constraints of an ad. By advertising business through a website, potential customers have the opportunity to learn more about products and services. A person can instantly publish that same information: new product announcements, employment opportunities, contact information, job openings, surveys, coupons, and investor’s information, almost anything, without material or delivery costs. The customers are able to learn about it instantly just by visiting the related web site.

Unless a company has a very large advertising budget, there's a limit to how much a person can say in the print ads. By including a website address in these ads, potential customers can easily look into the business up on the net. Think of a business card as a print ad.

Unlimited geographic market.

With a web site, a person can easily attract new customers not only locally, but nationally and internationally. By implementing online presence, the person can reach to a market that may have been difficult or expensive to reach through traditional advertising. A website provides these opportunities by allowing him/her to publish who and what is the business all about in a powerful and attractive manner.

24/7/365 Business Hours.

There is no other medium for being available 24/7/365 that even compares to a website. With the modest cost of developing a website and making it available on the Internet, there is nothing even close to being as cost effective. In addition, printed materials are easily misplaced. Television and radio commercials air at preset times. A website can be visited at a time that is convenient for the visitor, and they will have more interest because they want to be there on that particular website.

About The Author
Wan Assad Aziz - Administrator and editor for online presence. More articles related web site creation can be found at http://www.directpins.com

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5 Easy Ways To Turn Visitors on Your Site Into Customers

by: Caren Jacob
Turn visitors into customers

The sole purpose of a website is to sell. Thus no matter how much traffic your website gets and how impressive its rankings are, it all comes to a naught if your sales numbers are not as positive. In fact, this is the most serious ailment that most e-commerce sites suffer from ¨C the matter of conversions.

Conversions are about turning visitors into buyers. The process is not simple and there are numerous factors affecting the outcome.

In fact, the e-commerce scenario is fast changing and you need to be in tune with the latest developments to remain competitive.

An e-commerce website is not just an online catalog. There is more to it than efficient shopping carts and secure payment gateways.

Buying decisions, whether online or offline, are regulated by extra- rational factors. So the important question to ask is whether you¡¯re set up evokes the desire and the trust in visitors required to complete an online transaction.

If you wish to improve your site's conversion rate, here are a few tips -

1. Distinguish your offerings
If you are the only one selling what you are, you have it easy. But if you are not, then you have to create a distinct identity for your business. Give the visitors a convincing reason to choose you over your competitors. Your marketing campaigns have to emphasis this aspect too.

2. Target your traffic
When it comes to traffic, huger numbers might be impressive but not necessarily effective. While most of the sites hover around a conversion rate of 3 ¨C 4%, a conversion rate of around 8% is not very unusual. In fact, the best of e-commerce websites have a figure as high as 18%. It's up to you to decide which figures are for you.

But if you are looking for high conversion rates, then advertise accordingly. Your advertisement should be very specific to your offering. Broad keywords get you bigger traffic but result in lower conversion rates too.

3. Get the content that converts
The copy on your website has to speak business, it has to tell the visitor clearly and categorically what you are selling and how it's different from other similar products in the market. Emphasis the benefits of buying from you. The visitor is in a hurry and has numerous other options. Show the carrots to him blatantly; let it not be a puzzle for him.

If you are using landing pages, then make sure that they have attractive product descriptions, pictures and very prominent 'call to action' buttons. Compare your product with those of others; there is nothing more convincing than fair comparisons.

4. Gain the prospect's faith
When you walk into a superstore, you already have a fair idea about the store's reputation, customer service and availability of goods. Successful e-commerce websites function on the same principles. You read about them in forums, shopping comparison websites; get impressed with their website's design and content, hassle free navigation, easy loading etc. They will have a toll free number to call on, probably live support, customer testimonials, and real address on the Contact Us page. If you have any news items or press releases have a separate section for them too.

5. Assure & Secure
Online business is not new for many. But most of your visitors might have compunctions about online transaction. These are the fears that your privacy policy should allay. Assure your visitors that the personal information that they share is totally secure, tell them emphatically that the privacy policy statement is important to you.

Another major concern in online transactions is security of payments. Therefore, use a payment gateway that is widely trusted and evokes faith. This is reason why Verisign is one of the most well known signs in the online world.

E-commerce is an elaborate subject and this article does not cover all aspects of it. However, these are the bedrocks without which an e-business can't prosper.

About The Author

Caren Jacob makes it easy to provide ways which would gradually increase your site conversion rate.To recieve your free part-mini course visit the http://www.firedandinspired.com

This article is written by the E-commerce specialist at Fired and Inspired UK. Fired&Inspired is renowned London web design company also offering graphic design and SEO services in UK. Reproductions of this article are encouraged, but must include a link pointing to http://www.firedandinspired.com/ 

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