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First of all, you need to know what an ecommerce solution is. An e-commerce solution can be defined in different ways. An e-commerce solution is a way to define electronic shopping carts/ online shopping carts. There are many other positions and definitions of this subject. An e-commerce solution can also be defined as software that allows you to do business on the web. It is also the software that designs websites that are used just for selling products or services on the web. An ecommerce solution can also be defined as a company that hosts websites. Either way you look at it, an ecommerce solution is for anyone doing business online. An e-commerce solution is used for businesses that sell things online. It makes it possible for any sale or transaction to be made on the Internet. It enable the use of credit cards and other forms of payments to be used right on your website. It was considered that only large companies like eBay or Amazon could afford an e-commerce solution. But now an e-commerce solution is for small & medium merchants and businesses as well.

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Your website does not stand much chance of selling anything if it pays scant regard to the user.

In other words your Site Visitor’s experience, in terms of the following, is what will make your site sell or smell!

The following 7 guidelines are all equally important and will determine the success of your website.

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Can you really get a website even without knowing anything about code, and without paying a fortune? Find out.

The days when websites were primarily distinguished by their code are long gone. Nowadays, the web is a true publishing medium that favors well thought-out ideas. You can get a professional-looking website online in minutes with many website building services and software. But what should you look for? What are the features you really need and which are just clutter?

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How much holiday shopping did you do on-line this year? If you are reading this, then chances are good that you made at least one purchase on-line. Over 54% of all Americans did it [1]. A much higher percentage (>80%) of Internet users did it.

Not only did you do it, you liked it! Less than 7% of on-line shoppers reported a bad experience with 88% reporting they were satisfied or very satisfied [2]. It is clear that on-line shopping has come of age with such a high level of participation and satisfaction. It appears that past issues of trust, security, and bad ecommerce websites are replaced with good ecommerce sites, higher trust, better security, and just plain better execution and service by on-line retailers. Quick, easy, and convenient shopping overcomes the concerns people have had in the past.

With a whopping 35% increase in on-line holiday sales this year, up to $18 billion [3], one analyst calls it “a fantastic season for on-line retailers.” [4] This is the third straight season of record growth for on-line shopping. This year, 2004, is expected to follow the trend. US on-line sales are expected to grow from $55 billion in 2003 to $73 billion in 2004 [5].

In searching for some bad news, it was hard to find. The worst news was that 3.6% of on-line shoppers had a very bad experience where either the merchandise was not delivered on time or was delivered in poor condition. This is a small fraction even compared to traditional retail sales.

Can the news and trends about ecommerce retailing really be that good? The answer seems to be a resounding YES! Some of the more popular on-line markets have double digit penetration now. That means some on-line retailers are reaping over 10% of total market share in their industries with a rising trend. In addition, more on-line retailers are showing profits. In 2002, about 50% of on-line retailers showed a profit from their on-line operations while 70% did in 2003 [5].

So, if you are one of those 70% of on-line retailers making profits in 2003, sit back, breathe a big sigh of relief, and relish the moment. There won’t be much time to relax and enjoy your successes. New business is right around the corner.

If you are a business and don’t yet have an on-line sales presense, then it’s never too early to get started. To get ready for the 2004 holiday season, it’s best to start now.

• Create ecommerce plan – 4/15/04
• Select ecommerce software & consultant (NetSource can help) – 5/15/04
• Build the website – 7/15/04
• Put the website into operation, start selling- 8/15/04
• Create on-line marketing plan – 8/15/04
• Execute the marketing plan – 9/15/04
• Ready for holiday sales – 11/15/04

It can be done quicker than the schedule suggested above, but, to do it right requires thought, planning, and time.

References:

[1] Nashville Business Journal, 12/4/03

[2] ASD/AMD Marketwatch E-Newsletter, 12/24/03

[3] eSpending Report, Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive, Nielsen/Netratings, 1/5/04

[4] Abha Bhagat, Nielsen/NetRating, COMPUTERWORLD, 1/6/04

[5] ASD/AMD MarketWatch E-Newsletter, 10/16/03

Everyday thousands of people are purchasing products on-line from the comfort of their homes. This “arm chair” shopping has become the most popular way for thousands and thousands of consumers to purchase everything from vitamins to luxury automobiles.

The Internet is the greatest marketing opportunity ever. If you do not have your business on-line, you are missing a golden opportunity to reach millions of potential customers everyday.

Every major business has an e-commerce storefront on-line. This new business opportunity gives everyone the chance to make money on the Internet, and has created a growing opportunity for e-commerce website designers.

A company that specializes in e-commerce website design can also be your source for e-commerce hosting, e-commerce website development, e-commerce solutions, and business-to-business e-commerce.

A website that offers products for sale is not just a simple electronic version of a catalog. These interactive “storefronts” give you a visual impression of the products that they sell. They also provide the customer with a shopping cart to purchase multiple products. Besides selling your products on-line, a well designed e-commerce site will help promote these products through advertisements, track order status, ship goods and manage inventories.

Making an online store a success is an ongoing process, recruiting a professional e-commerce website designer can almost guarantee success.

Here are a few simple rules to follow when building your e-commerce website.

1. Keep the shopping process simple and limit the number of steps involved in the checkout process. It’s very important for your customers to find it easy to locate what they want and easy to buy those products on-line. A good example of this is Amazon.com. They make it easy for customers to locate, select, and checkout.

2. Include tax and shipping costs in your customers shopping cart: Make certain the customer is aware of all the costs included in the purchase.

3. Add gift ideas like cards, gift certificates, and wrapping paper options before your customer checks out. The is the kind of personalized service that will turn visitors into returning customers. You can ask them what color wrapping paper they prefer, they can key in their gift card message, click the submit button and checkout.

4. Clearly displayed privacy policy information and other rules and guidelines in pop-ups.

5. Don’t force registration. Allow customers a chance to fill in their shopping cart with your products first, and then ask them to register.

6. Offer your customers on-line order tracking features, online customer help and multiple shipping options.

E-commerce has created new and exciting opportunities for everyone to have his or her own on-line business. Thousands of people every day are finding new ways to make money on-line. But the simple secret for business success has never changed. Treat your customers with respect. Provide them with a quality product at a fair price and you’re likely to build a successful business.

Do you make your website just to entertain yourself or do you want it to be a great web store? The fact is more than 80% of websites are trying to sell you something. There is nothing wrong if you want to get some money from the website you made, but remember to put some REALLY interesting information on your pages. This information must be free, unique and necessary to as many people as possible.

Remember, Internet was built as a research network among universities in early 80’s and only after the introduction of first graphic compatible browsers it exploded with the commercial websites. Search engine will definitely rank you higher for that free content and other webmasters will definitely create links to your website if it has useful and interesting information. The ratio should be 90% of free information and 10% of commercial content. You can only increase the percentage of free information.

There are also other reasons why to provide people with free information in the field you are making money: they will study, they will see that you know what you are talking about, and they will trust you! Excellent reputation is the main thing (the key to success) in doing Internet business. It must be built by years of hard work and could be destroyed in minutes.

What are the secrets of some commercial websites?

1) Content. As I have already said: free, unique and interesting.

2) Good design (website design must be clean and user-friendly, unprofessional design speaks for itself)

3) Search engine-friendly (Search engine optimization is complex set of knowledge on how to be number one in search engine listings)

4) Link building strategies ( for more information read this article: “The art of link exchange” http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/the_art_of_link_exchange.shtml)

5) Company branding. (for more information read this article: “Make your own brand!” http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/make_your_own_brand.shtml)

6) Excellent customer care and support (remember those notes 24 hours 7 days a week? This must be really true for a good commercial website)

7) Wise goods selection (You may think that people selling everything on the Internet but that is not quite true. There are some things that stores do not offer via the Internet and you need to find those things and offer them. Be a pioneer!)

These are the major factors that play role in building successful commercial websites. However, you need to search, study and select your own ways to online success. Remember, Internet is a very flexible and constantly changing environment; things that worked well several months ago may be completely useless in the present. Search and try! That is my main advice to succeed in online business.

Thanks for reading.

Article source: http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/commercial_sites.shtml