Ecommerce Business Solutions
So, You Want to Be an E-ntrepreneur?
Entering the world of ecommerce is a big step, but it could be one of the most exciting ones in your life. Whether you want to make a little extra money on the side, work from home and be your own boss, or just share your passion with the world, a pre-packaged ecommerce solution to help make selling your goods easier may be just the thing to help you do it. But how do you know how to choose the right one for you? It's a big undertaking, but figuring out the features that you want, finding unbiased reviews and information, and finding an affordable package is a good place to start.
Features
What do you want in a shopping cart? Depending on your level of Web programming skill and technical savvy, you might just need a shopping cart that you can plug into your website, or you could need a whole platform to host, display, and sell your inventory. There are software companies specializing in all different types of ecommerce solutions. They key is isolating the features that you want.
Social media is a huge component of online sales, so odds are that you will want a package that integrates well with Facebook and Twitter, and maybe even YouTube and LinkedIn (and whatever other specialized social networks you might use). Full-featured ecommerce packages also have the added bonus of being able to host numerous images of your products and track inventory for you. Take a moment and write down exactly what you want in your online store before you go out and start looking for one.
Unbiased Reviews
Too often online we find content whose main goal is to sell you something. When you are evaluating different kinds of shopping carts and ecommerce solutions, be sure to use "third-party sites." A third party is someone who is not employed by the company being critiqued. Evaluations or reviews posted on a company's own website are understandably a bit suspect. After all, who is going to post negative (or even less-than-great) content about their own product on their own site? No one, that's who.
Look for websites specializing in reviews of numerous different e-tailing software packages, and make sure that they specify somewhere on the site that they do not take money in exchange for rankings or positive reviews. This is the first step toward finding trustworthy information about ecommerce software.
Cost
Once you've got your features in mind and you've started gathering information about different e-tailing options, start formulating how much you are willing to spend per month. Many plug-and-play shopping cart units are available free or at an extremely low cost; however, their capabilities are limited. Full-featured ecommerce software packages usually start at $15 to $25 per month, but if you are patient, you may be able to seize upon a special offer (e.g. waiving the setup fee, three months for the price of one, etc.). Keep in mind the volume of business you expect to be doing, at least for the first year, until your business starts to build some buzz.