How to build a successful e-commerce website?
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- You need a web site that sells itself! -
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I have to admit when I wrote that headline I burst out laughing! Of course you need a
web site in place to start an internet business - everybody knows that! But bear with me -
I'm not about to lecture you on how important it is to have a web site. You wouldn't be
reading this if you didn't know that already! My focus here is on the quality of your web site.
You'd be surprised how many people just build a site and think it will do. If you want to
make real money from your eCommerce site you need to focus on how to design a
SUCCESSFUL one. Let's take a look at some key points you
should consider:
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- Conduct competitive research before you start the project
You'd be shocked at how many people don't do this! It doesn't matter how great the idea you have
for your eCommerce site is - if someone else is already established out there doing the same
thing then you need to know about it. BEFORE you start your own project or online business,
you need to know who your competitors are and what they are offering. Go to search engines like
Yahoo or Google and type in keywords relevant to your business. This will allow you to undertake
solid Internet research about your competitors. Look at their sites and what they offer. Find out
how to differentiate yourself and offer something others don't have.
This will help you properly structure your online business and build a successful foundation for
the future.
- Determine your target audience
DO NOTdesign the same website for more than one target
audience! It might be easier, it might be cheaper, it might seem logical - but your only
guarantee is that it won't serve any of your target audioence well.
Focus on one target - even if it means that you have
to design another site for a different group of people! For example, if you are in the herbal
business you have 2 primary target audiences. The first is people looking to buy herbs for
themselves for natural healing. The second is health care professionals looking for a supply
channel. As you can see these are different audiences with different needs. They will have
different levels of understanding about your products and very different ordering needs.
These differences will affect your web structure, overall tone of your website and internet
marketing strategies. So it's very important to focus on one group at a time and serve this
group instead of creating a web site for everybody!
- Set your goals
There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you structure your site.
Although a web site might seem like a 'static' shop window it's actually much more than that.
It's kind of like a highly trained sales person that can adapt its message to each individual
customer. You need to train it up by setting its goals! Before you start,
ask yourself the following questions:
- What do you want from your eCommerce site?
- Will it purely serve your current customers?
- Do you want to turn it into an online sales
generator?
Different goals determine the structure of both your content and your online store.
For example, if you are an auto parts wholesaler you may want to have your web site both
serve your current customers and generate more sales leads from the internet.
Then, for the shopping cart, you might want to have a different pricing structure
for your current customers than for new ones. This allows you to honor pricing deals
you have given to your existing customers without new customers knowing about them.
Think smart now and your site will carry on thinking smart for you!
- Define your programming needs early
You don't need to understand technology to set up an eCommerce web site. That
DOESN'T mean you
can ignore the role it will play in your success! Smart eCommerce people consult with a
technical specialist early on in the process to determine HTML, application development
and backend needs. Don't worry - your specialist will take your vision and goals and sort
out the nasty IT stuff for you! This will save you tremendous time, money and trouble later
as your web site development continues. Get it wrong now and you'll be paying much more later
to iron out problems you could and should have avoided in the beginning.
- Design website structure and content around your internet marketing strategies NEW
This is latest and greatest technique I have learned. Best thing is it's simple. It'll also give
you an incredible competitive edge as most people think they can just tack their strategies on to
their web site. And, that really is putting the cart before the horse!
Before you start to think about how you want to structure your website, think about how
you are going to market it. In the "How to successfully market your online business on the
internet" section that follows on from this guide, I will talk about the different techniques
you can use to market your products/services. In my experience your marketing plans will DIRECTLY
affect your site structure. It makes sense therefore to get them sorted first.
For example,
imagine you supply winemaking equipment and tools and you want your site to actively encourage
more customers to buy your products. Instead of having just an online company catalog, why not
market your products by showing people how to make their own wine at very low cost? The benefits
to you? Once you've told them how to make their own wine, they'll need to buy the relevant
equipment and tools. Bingo! You've just made a sale! As you can see, if you choose this way to
market your products, then your web structure will need to be very different from that of a
simple online company catalog.
- When designing your website, make sure it's easy to navigate and user-friendly
You can do really exciting things with web design now. You can make a web site that's all singing,
all dancing and prettier than a Caribbean sunset! If I had to teach Web Design 101 this would be
the first and biggest thing NOT to do that I'd talk about.
People like simple. They like easy to use. If you don't give them that - they will leave. For example, try to avoid using Flash unless
you're looking to educate your customers or for another specific purpose. It may look great but
it can do more harm than good. Visitors come to your site for information and to find a product/service
that they need. If they wanted a show they'd go to the theater! Flash will normally make your pages
download more slowly (they'll get frustrated…..). If your visitors are not internet savvy
(and many of them won't be!) or are using older version browsers, they'll get a very annoying pop-up
window asking them if they want to install Macromedia Flash to play the movie. Many of them will
say no and leave the site without getting what they came for! Trust me, there are a lot of internet
newcomers out there who are not as comfortable using the web as you and I are. If they see something
they don't immediately know they leave. If you want to make them stay (and come back!), you'll
make it easy for them.
- Make your content talk!
A picture may paint a thousand words but well-crafted web copy can make a thousand sales!
To sell a product or service, you must present the customer with a solution. You need to
emphasize how your product or service will benefit them by solving their problems or meeting
their needs. This is how you will ultimately make the sale.
Having compelling content is way more
important than having a visually attractive site. As you know, a good sales person is the key
factor for business success. An eCommerce site doesn't have a traditional sales person - it
IS your sales person. It's vital, therefore, that your site sells as effectively as possible.
If you're not good at presenting your products or services yourself, then hire a professional to do
it! This is something you MUST get right if you want to make money. If you like the writing style
of this online course, then we can help you out - quickly and effectively. Just contact us and we'll be more than happy to take care of your copy writing needs!
- Optimize for search-engines
Your web site design will also affect how high (or how low!) you are ranked by search engines.
You need to be as high in the rankings as possible otherwise potential customers just will
not find you - it really will be like looking for a needle in a haystack! Many people just can't
work out how these complex rankings work - I can show you the way! Take a look at our
"How to successfully market your online business on the internet" section. You'll find all the
detailed techniques you'll ever need right there.
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If you design the website yourself......
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Finally, we need to take a look at web site design. Nowadays, programs such as
Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia DreamWeaver allow you to easily design web sites yourself.
These HTML editing programs are easy to learn and use and you can build a website in a matter
of days. But, if you are seriously thinking about setting up an online business, then I strongly
suggest that you learn HTML - the language that writes web pages.
There are various advantages to this:
- HTML editors such as FrontPage and DreamWeaver won't let you do everything you want to.
Each has limits on features that they are capable of handling.
- Hand-coded HTML is a lot cleaner than that coded by HTML editors. This makes it much easier
to modify and maintain as your business grows.
- The benefits you'll gain from learning HTML are far greater than just knowing how to write a
web page. For example, you'll be able to read and modify pages written by others, such as web page
templates etc. It also helps you understand other languages such PHP, JavaScript, DHTML, Cold Fusion.
All of this could be extremely useful to you as your site develops.
I'm sure some of you are thinking that learning how to code is way too hard and should be left to
technical specialists. Of course they want you to think that! Let me tell you a secret - learning HTML is not difficult at all! I learned it from a book called "HTML for the world wide web by Elizabeth Castro" in 1998 in 2 weeks! Although I have read a lot of other HTML books since, I still feel that this one is the best. It's well organized and concise and has been one of the best HTML sellers on Amazon. Think about it - just 2 weeks invested in this book will pay off real quickly and give you benefits you can build on for the rest of your life! Not to mention the money it'll save you on hiring technical specialists!
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What to ask when interviewing a professional web service provider?
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If you have extra funds, are short on time and want to get your website down right the
first time, then hiring a professional is another option. Once your site is up and running,
you can take over the site maintenance yourself using the knowledge you've learned and keep
the professionals as a back-up. This will give you maximum control over the development of
your web site and will keep your costs satisfyingly low!
Choosing a professional web development service provider can be a complex process.
Let's be honest - it's a real headache. It's not something you can afford to get wrong and
you need to make sure you ask the right questions before you choose. The first thing you
need to do is to check out their portfolio and ask for referrals. But don't just make a
decision based on that. Any half-decent developer will have a pretty portfolio and some
satisfied customers!
To get it right you need to find out their background in other fields. A good web
professional is not only measured by how much he/she can meet your immediate requirements,
but also by how much he/she can help you build a successful online business infrastructure.
It's vital that your web professionals understand your business operation and are able to
utilize internet technology to design the best online business model for YOUR needs. This
requires business experience beyond just pure web design. Virtually every single time I
meet with new clients for the first time, they are amazed at how much more the web could do for THEM. So, when you evaluate a web developer, talk
about what you want first and then ask what he/she can do for you.
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"How to build a successful e-commerce website" Course Index:
- Preface
- Course overview
- Find your domain name before it's too late!
- You need a web site that sells itself! (You are here!)
- A secured hosting server gives you confidence!
- Guard your privacy with a SSL Certificate!
- Find a shopping cart that works for you!
- Manage your online funds with an internet merchant account!
- Put the pieces together with a payment gateway!
- Last Few Words
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Online Course written by Maggie Pearce
About the Author: Maggie Pearce is the founder of Online Image, a web development firm specializing in high quality innovative web site production that takes your business further on the internet! At online image, we deliver more than top quality online presence; we develop online infrastructure that makes your website sell itself!
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