Posts Tagged ‘shopping cart software’
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
The first recorded “eCommerce” transaction occurred in the early 1980’s; the internet hasn’t been the same since.
By 1994, with the advent of security protocols and continuous connection to the internet, eCommerce found a permanent place in the homes of people all over the world, from wikipedia. In the last 10 years, the internet has exploded like a supernova and Google has recorded over 1 trillion URLs, or addresses to websites, with no end in sight.
Because of its exponential growth, MANY different eCommerce platforms have evolved. Just do a search for “shopping cart software” and you will be overwhelmed with page upon page upon page of websites, reviews and advertisements for eCommerce software. So which way do you go? What software do you choose?
Well that obviously depends on whether you are planning on figuring this out yourself . . . which unless you are quite “tech-savvy”, I wouldn’t recommend or whom you choose to develop your storefront. Each developer has their own preferences and platforms that they work on for a myriad of reasons. I would HIGHLY encourage doing your own research before hiring a developer and before deciding on the right proprietary software.
The first step is to consider your vision for your storefront, what do you see? What features do you want? Check out some other competitors and eCommerce sites that you like. What do you like about them? Is it their easy navigation? The cheerful color scheme? How the buttons are laid out or roll over into a different color? Or maybe you love the customer review section that gives you all the info you need to make an informed decision.
Next, consider your customers. What experience are you trying to give them? What is the feeling you want them to have while on your site? What will help them make a decision toward purchasing from you?
Make a list of all the features you want on the site, if you are at all artistic and even if you aren’t, draw out the general layout you are thinking about. The more information and the clearer you are about your vision, the easier it will be for your developer to find the right software for your storefront and the easier it will be to create your vision.
When you meet with a developer, make sure you ask them questions about the different platforms they typically use and TAKE NOTES. Ask them questions about the features and functions. What feeling do you get from the developer in terms of their knowledge of the software?
Another point to consider is whether you want to make updates or you want the developer to make updates for you and how often. How will that work? How difficult is it to navigate the dashboard? And if you plan on using the developer for updates, how easy or difficult is it to get your questions answered or have a phone call returned? You don’t want to go with a developer who doesn’t return calls or make changes for you in a timely fashion.
A lot to consider I know . . . but then again this is just your livelihood . . . how do you want to proceed?
Tags: eCommerce, shopping cart software
Posted in Web Site Information | 2 Comments »
