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Hosting services
that integrate
site-building
tools and
e-commerce
capabilities can
simplify
building an
e-commerce site,
but you can
still take some
steps to make
the most of the
opportunity.
Here are a few
suggestions:
Before You
Start...
1. Compare
the costs.
Monthly hosting
fees are just
the beginning.
You'll also need
a merchant
account if you
intend to
process credit
cards. That
often means
another monthly
fee, as well as
a percentage
"discount" on
each purchase,
and possibly a
fixed
per-transaction
fee. Some hosts,
like the Yahoo!
Merchant plans,
take a cut out
of each
transaction as
well, and some
merchant
accounts
withhold a
reserve against
charge-backs
(disputed or
reversed
transactions).
2. Get
your paperwork
in order. Secure
your domain
name, if you
haven't already.
Set up your
merchant
account. Even if
your business
has one for a
retail location,
you may need a
different one to
accept
card-not-present
transactions.
And consider a
visit to your
accountant and
attorney to find
out if expanding
your sales to
new regions will
have tax or
legal
implications.
When You Design
Your Site...
3. Plan
your site. Know
who your
customers are
and develop a
clear vision of
how your site
will meet their
needs. Devise a
plan: Put
together some
simple
mockups—even on
paper—and decide
what pages and
sections your
site needs
before you jump
into designing
pages and
uploading your
product catalog.
Remember that
different users
may prefer to
find products in
different ways:
browsing by
manufacturer or
brand, browsing
by product
category, or
using a site
search, for
example.
4. Apply
best practices
to your design.
Common
principles of
effective Web
site and
e-commerce
design are well
established at
this point.
Consult books
and Web sites,
like Jakob
Neilsen's
Alertbox (www.alertbox.com),
for expert
advice. Surf
your competitors
to see what they
do well—and not
so well.
5. A
few basic
principles: Keep
it simple. Don't
make your
customers work
hard: Other
sites are just a
click away. Make
sure your pages
are slim and
fast-loading
(lots of users
still have
dial-up
connections),
but don't skimp
on detailed
product
information that
will help them
make an informed
purchase. Use
tactics like
creating
thumbnail images
that you can
click to
enlarge; this
helps keep page
size down but
still lets
customers see
lots of detail
if they're
interested in a
particular item.
6. Include
critical
information.
Almost every
e-commerce site
needs to provide
contact
information,
payment options,
shipping and
return policies,
and a privacy
policy. If you
also have retail
locations, be
sure to provide
addresses,
business hours,
maps, and
directions, too.
Other types of
content that are
often useful
include an About
Us page
describing the
company and
providing bios
of key
personnel. You
can also have
pages for
customer
testimonials,
news and
announcements,
and order
status.
7. Conduct
informal
usability
testing. Do a
quick sanity
check on your
design and site
organization.
Show it to a
friend or
colleague who
hasn't seen it
before and is
willing to give
an honest
opinion. Ask
them if they can
figure out how
to find
interesting
products and
place an order.
Repeat this with
a few different
people and
you'll quickly
flush out major
shortcomings and
oversights.
8. Check
your site
carefully before
you launch.
Nothing says
unprofessional
like broken
links, spelling
errors, missing
graphics, and
other obvious
glitches. Make
sure you catch
them before the
site goes live.
And check again
after you launch
to make sure
nothing changed
when you went
from preview
mode to live
site.
After You
Launch...
9. Gain
visibility. You
don't
necessarily need
to pay for a
search-engine
submission tool:
It's not hard to
submit your site
manually to the
big players like
Google and MSN
Search. You can
try to get a
listing in
directories like
Yahoo!'s, but
you'll have to
pay for the
privilege.
Driving traffic
to your site can
be a major
challenge, so
consider
cross-listing
your products in
high-traffic
marketplaces
like eBay or
Amazon.
10.
Keep it fresh.
Take advantage
of seasonal
opportunities,
refresh content
regularly, and
consider running
promotions and
specials so that
visitors get in
the habit of
returning to see
what's new.
Don't forget to
remove dated
material when
sales or other
special offers
end.
11. Build
customer
relationships.
It's often much
more efficient
to service
repeat customers
than to acquire
new ones. Entice
visitors to sign
up for e-mail
notifications,
offer promotions
and discounts to
your best
customers, or
find other ways
to go beyond
just fulfilling
individual
transactions.
12. Monitor
your results.
What sections of
your site are
customers
visiting? How
many of them
buy, and how
many just leave?
Which products
are selling
well? Use
whatever
reporting tools
your host
provides to
learn as much as
you can. Update
your site often
to serve your
customers
better.
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