Your first decision: use an online store interface or not?

If you have a large number of items to sell then it undoubtedly makes sense to present them through a traditional online store. Your potential customers must have a way to navigate all those products to the one(s) they want, and typically you’ll want to provide a shopping cart to buffer up their buying choices ready for a single trip through a smooth payment process. You might still want to go for the store-front option even if you have a more modest number of items to sell; perhaps your customers will expect to have the typical online shopping experience they get from big companies like Amazon, etc?

However, for smaller numbers of products and perhaps certain types of customers, the virtual storefront is often unnecessary and even undesirable. For example, if you have an agreement with your customers built through Facebook, it could be much more effective for your business to sell from within your Facebook page, and there are various ways to do this. Equally, customers buying niche products may be happy to accept or even expect a different ordering process.

Another thing to consider of course is how you expect your needs to change in the future. You might not need a store-front now, but what about in six months? A year?

The following sections examine different eCommerce approaches. Read them with an open mind; you could find that, against your initial expectations, one of them makes particularly good sense for your business.

Selling with a Store

The online store-front is generally the most costly eCommerce option, and this is largely due to the big name store operators are like Shopify or big commerce, who are constantly monitoring and improving the online shopping experience. If you choose to present a store interface to your customers, then they’ll naturally expect it to work the same way as those big stores. If your interface appears clunky and incompetent by comparison, you’ll likely lose sales.

However, you choose to take the financial hit of a traditional store up-front, or on a month-by-month basis, and this leads to the next decision: will you go for an independent eCommerce solution or a hosted eCommerce package.

The independent eCommerce solution involves installing software on your own web hosting space and configuring it to provide the look and features that you need. Examples of e-commerce Websites include Magento and Woocommerce. While the basic software package is often free, the cost of installing and tailoring it for your business isn’t. Unless you’re very technically inclined, you will need the help of a web designer to set up your store, which means that this option generally comes hand-in-hand with a greater up-front cost. However, once your store is up and running, ongoing costs could potentially be lower, though you will need to keep it up-to-date with the latest security patches, and you will likely want to give it a “makeover” every few years to keep up with the advances of the big-name stores.

Alternatively, you could go for one of the many hosted eCommerce solutions available, such as Shopify and BigCommerce. In this case, your store will be hosted by the provider company on its servers and you will pay a monthly fee for this. How high that fee depends on what features you need for your store; typically the cheapest option is crippled in some way, encouraging you to go for one of the higher tier offerings. You don’t have the up-front cost of installation with the hosted option, but you will still have to configure your store’s appearance and behavior. Usually, free templates are available, but many business owners still employ a web developer to help them achieve a truly individual and appealing result. Hosted solutions can typically work as a standalone website, offering features such as static pages and even a blog, or they can be made to integrate with your separate pre-existing website (which may again require the help of a web developer).

Selling without a Store

With only a few products (or even just one) to sell, you have a much greater range of eCommerce possibilities. You can display your product(s) any way you like on your website, free of the limitations & conventions of a traditional store presentation.

Your options for taking payments are equally diverse; there are a great many third-party payment processors available (PayPal perhaps being the most famous), each with its own distinct feature set. For example, some have a standing charge but take only a small cut from each sale; others dispense with the standing charge but take a slightly larger cut. Some businesses even choose to offer their products online but take payment through entirely different means.

Typically the no “eCommerce website” eCommerce approach has the lowest up-front and ongoing costs, freeing up funds for promoting your business and products. Ultimately this may be the best use of your budget.

Often your website is the first thing a prospective client sees

Make sure it creates a positive impression and converts leads to new clients and sales!

Contact Us Now for a Quote -It costs less than you think!