If you plan to sell products or services online, you need an e-commerce website that can handle your transactions. An e-commerce website provides visitors with the means to select products and services, place them in a shopping cart, pay for purchases, and arrange for delivery.
Before you make a decision about what features you want, and what platform to use, you need to define your business needs. Will the site be used for B-to-C or B-to-B transactions? Consider your customer as well, focusing on usability. You want your e-commerce website to meet your needs, while at the same time providing a positive experience for your customers.
Some of the ways to build a solid e-commerce site include:
- E-commerce/enterprise software
Software specifically designed for e-commerce is a must. You want to choose a platform that can support your current needs, and that can allow you to scale up as you grow. Magento is a great choice, providing a great deal of flexibility and scalability. However, you can also use osCommerce, Zen Cart, Znode or LemonStand.
The Buffalo Barry Indian Art e-commerce website was created and developed by Bergeron Creative Studios using WordPress and Gold Cart Plugin.
- Shopping cart plugin
This can be an easy way to add the ability to accept payments on your site without getting an entire enterprise platform. WP e-Commerce is compatible with WordPress sites, and provides the ability to customize and to integrate with different payment processors. Gold Cart is another solid plugin.
- Payment processor
You need to have a way to process payments if you want a successful e-commerce website. PayPal is one of the most popular options, along with Google Checkout and Amazon Payments. You can also Ecwid, an e-commerce widget that provides you an easily integrated solution for shopping carts and payments.
- Social Media options
Many of the above e-commerce solutions are now offering Facebook apps to sell your products and services directly from your Facebook page.
Remember the “e” in “e-commerce” is not for “easy,” so be realistic about which features and platform are most likely to benefit your business and your customers, and make a determination as to which route to take.
