So You Want an E-Commerce Site, Now What?

To the average joe, an e-commerce website may seem simple. You get what you see… That homepage slide show goes from right to left, and yup, the numbers change when it slides, and when you click on a slide it takes you to that featured product… Simple, right? Wrong. How many seconds in between each slide? Can the client control this promotional space themselves? What happens when you click on the “Learn More” link; does it go to the product, or it’s category landing page? Is the slide show using JavaScript or Flash? See, what is simple to the eye is far more complex to us. Simple tasks are few and far between in web design and development, and this is especially true when working with an e-commerce website.

The biggest piece of advice we give for anybody that’s asking “What’s next” when thinking about starting an e-commerce website is to think about all the variables involved. Imagine your site from all angles and think about what we could do with this site to best sell your product and simplify your business process. The more we know about your business, the better we can position your e-commerce build to assist your process. Here’s the top ten list of questions your web design/development agency should be asking YOU before building your e-commerce store:

1. Would you like us to custom design / develop this on a standalone platform, or SAAS (Software as a Solution) such as Big Commerce? Keep in mind, not all SAAS e-commerce solutions allow us to customize them and they do come with a monthly fee. So, if you’re not looking to do anything too fancy this may be a good option for you. We can give it a face-lift and likely update some of the front-end JavaScript. Probably can’t alter the layout too much though. If you’re looking for more custom flexibility and more advanced marketing tools, you may want to go with a more complex platform such as Magento.

2. How do you plan on accepting payment? Have you thought about which credit cards your store will accept? There are two steps that you need to take here: a) Pick a Payment Gateway – The company that is going to actually accept your payments online, such as Authorize.net, and b) Set up a Merchant account with your bank, which will process the orders after the Gateway accepts the information. Keep in mind that Gateways and Merchant are separate entities that work together, and may or may not be offered as a bundle. You’ll need to ensure with your web design company that the Gateway plugs in with your platform... and that your Merchant plugs in with your Gateway.

3. Do you have high resolution images of your products? There’s nothing worse than browsing an e-commerce store with blurry images. Do yourself a favor and get this done professionally… it may be an extra expense, but if you’re serious about making money online it’s an absolute necessity.

4. Who is your shipping provider? Do you offer Next Day Air? You better make sure your provider can plug into your e-commerce platform too. Although, most of the big players do, so you shouldn’t have to stress about this too much.

5. Are you up to date with PCI compliance requirements? These days the compliance rules regulate how your store functions. You’ll want to read the manual before starting the project… and it’s never a bad thing to make sure your web design team does so as well. Nobody wants the internet police showing up at their door because you don’t understand the regulations.

6. Are you going to have gift cards on your website? What about coupon codes? They’re two different things… so it’s important to distinguish the difference and to clarify their capabilities and which is included.

7. What are your tax rates? Do you have to comply with state specific rates? County rates? Some platforms only support certain tax rules, so this is worth looking into.

8. Do you want to feature layered navigation on your site? It’s a big term for something that seems so standard… believe it or not, this is not a base feature for many platforms. While at number 8, this one is more important than you may think for a great user experience. Take a look at Di Bruno Bros. for an example of effective layered navigation.

9. Would you like a one page checkout process, or a multi-page checkout process? There are studies out there supporting both as the superior option. To us, it’s more of a preference, but it’s a feature you should decide on before you start the project. Think about the demographic of your clients and the products you sell. High end goods may benefit from a slower checkout process and not rushing the client to the finish line.

10. How do you want your shipping labels to function? Do you want your site to automatically print them with the address and scan code ready to go? What would work best for the employees processing your orders? This is a big one… there are tons of services out there to assist you. As always, you’ll want to confirm that it will function properly with your site.

This list is just scratching the surface; the point is, e-commerce is no joke to us, and it should be serious business to you too. With hundreds of thousands of variables going into each build, the options are endless. There are solutions for small and large e-commerce builds alike. But, do your due diligence and focus on what’s most important for your business. Prioritize your needs; think about your budget, and hone in on the elements that will help you sell online, because that’s what it’s all about.

The process really doesn’t end here. There are tons of other things that you as an e-commerce site owner still need to think about. You’ll be thankful you took the time at the beginning to do so.

If you’re interested in our full list of questions, shoot us an email… We’d love to discuss all 3,000 of them with you.