Starting an E-commerce Website

With the advancement of technology, the internet combined with web hosting has created a whole new playing ground for people who want to go into having a business of their own. One very good way to have you business online is to have your very own e-commerce website. With this kind of website, you can use your website to buy and sell products. However, to have a good e-commerce website, you will need a good web hosting company.

Firstly, you should know what you need to have a successful ecommerce website. Like we mentioned, you need a good web hosting company to deliver that quality. Unfortunately, there too many companies out there for you to choose from and this process may prove a little bit challenging. However, when you eventually select the right one, you will get professional service, great security, tools, scripts as well as database systems and email service to fully put your business into a very commanding position.

Besides having the entire technical requirement that you need to get from your web hosting, you should also think about the appeal of your website to your audience. This will definitely come from the design of your website. With your website functioning, you will be able to satisfy your customers because today's competition in the industry has immensely gotten tougher and tougher. If you do not provide service which is up to standard, I'm pretty sure that your customers will look for another website that does.

So, you should find the right web hosting company so that they can provide you with everything you need in you e-commerce website. If you find the proper company, you will then be able to decorate your website with specially designed templates, easy transaction process where buyers and sellers can check their transaction without hassle and also shopping cart function to help customers simplify their shopping experience. You will also be able to get secured service that supports credit card transaction allowing convenience at its best. Furthermore, some companies even provide you with special graphics and catalogue to help you improve your business.

Therefore, the big question still comes to choosing the right hosting plan and company. Even though the service is much more affordable these days, we must still be cautious in selecting a company that can deliver what they promise. An e-commerce website can de done in a Linux or Windows server. It can be doe in a shared or even a dedicated server. The choice is up to you. If you plan for success in your business, an e-commerce will definitely be a good investment and tool for you to achieve success. Although you might have to invest a little in the beginning, the end result will definitely be worthwhile.

Looking for some honest web hosting advice? Check out WebHostingSecretRevealed.com - a place where the webmaster (Jerry) examine various hosting services by hosting websites on the web hosts first hand.

Article written by Justin Knights, freelance writer.

Ecommerce for Beginners

Like most average persons, I wanted some extra money to supplement my regular income. I had considered a part time second job at times, but hated that option because it would take me away from the family, make me more tired and probably just pay minimum wage. I also wanted to be able to work from home.
I had surfed the internet for years and had often considered the idea of participating in the internet revolution. I had read some statistics on the use of internet and the increasing numbers of homes with computers and the increasing percentage of Christmas shopping done over the internet. So I decided to jump in with both feet.
First what is ecommerce? The online world designates web sites devoted to retail sales as an e-commerce site. E-commerce sites sell either information or hard goods such as cameras or knifes. E-commerce sites also have Shopping Carts and Payment Gateways attached to them that non-sales web sites do not need.
Ok……so you want to develop an E-commerce site. You are now probably asking do I have enough skill, mental patience or aptitude to be successful?
Well if you have average intelligence, I believe that you and thousands of people just like you could have an E-commerce web site. All that is required is the willingness to learn a few things, patience, and the determination to apply yourself.
How? I am glad you asked.
Let's begin. We first need to discuss the basics components you will need.
1. Computer 2. Internet connection 3. Site building software 4. Graphics Software 5. Web hosting company 6. Shopping cart 7. Payment gateway
The above elements are where most people stop when they think of what they will need when they want to start an ecommerce site. However, there are other elements that need to be considered, such as getting legal and product sourcing.
Items 1 and 2 above are pretty straight forward and most people can understand why they are necessary. The other items however are a little more complex. Site building software allows the beginner to construct a web site without knowing html programming code. What is Html programming Code?
Html is the programming language of the internet and stands for Hyper Text Mark Up Language. The two best software programs currently available to write Html are Microsoft's FrontPage 2003 or Macromedia's Dreamweaver. These programs are more correctly known as HTML Editors.
These two programs are the best ones available. I have them both but use FrontPage 2003 primarily. I think FrontPage 2003 is easier to use and does better tables then Dreamweaver. Most professional web site developers, however consider Dreamweaver the better of the two because some claim it has more features, but I find it is a little more complicated to use. I would recommend that you surf the internet and read the reviews on both of these programs and make you own choice.
Next you will need a good graphic program such as Adobe Photoshop 6. A graphics program allows you manipulate the size of images create images in different formats and create special effects. "PhotoShop 6" is the current version from Adobe and is the best software program for graphics. Adobe "Photoshop Elements" can also be used, but is a limited version of the full Photoshop software. The programs from Adobe are expensive so shop around for the best price.
Web hosting is very important and you need to comparison shop for features first, not on price. Web hosting and ecommerce are extremely related, and learned by personal experience the mistake trying to separate ecommerce from web hosting. The web host company is the company that rents room on their server for your web site, but they can much more. They can offer an integrated shopping cart.
The shopping cart is the heart of the ecommerce web site. The shopping cart for all intents and purposes runs your ecommerce web site so it is critical to get a good one. It contains and displays the products you intend to sell. It also does other neat administrative functions that will make your store easier to run. There are some stand alone shopping carts for sale but most come with web hosting service attached.
The "Payment Gateway" is the cashier in the store and is also known as a "Merchant Account." This is basically a business credit card account. The payment gateway allows your se store to accept credit cards and transfer money to you. Merchant Accounts are very important and you should also carefully review their services and prices. If you do not get a merchant account you are pretty much limited to papal. Search the web and check out the available shopping carts and payment gateways.
Now what are you going to sell, and where are you going to get it? You can look every where for the products you want to sell. How do you know what will sell well? You need to do some market research. Not everything sells well, including electronics. If you have no preference on what to sell, find some marketing software that will allow you to determine which products ell well online.
Next, you will need a source for those products. Assuming you are not making them yourself. The best way is to drop ship them. The trouble is finding a reliable drop ship source and avoiding the imposters.
Once you find you product source you need to open an account and stock your store and start selling. There munch more to an ecommerce store then can be explained in a brief article format. As someone who recently went from zero to an online store Cynscorion.com), I know first hand of the pit falls that await the beginning ecommerce site builder.
If you want to learn more about what to avoid in building an ecommerce site go to either: www.cynscorion.com and go to the bottom of the page and click on "Ecommerce Book For Beginners" ,or go to: http://cynscorion.com/store/cart.php?page=what_yofuture_release_of_a_very_unique_ecommerce_book This book is for people undecided on whether to start an ecommerce site and want to find one point of reference to assist them in making their decision.
Lastly, I wish you good luck and success in your ecommerce endeavors. If I can do it, so can you!
For additional assistance go to:
http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=101573
The author created his own ecommerce web site going from knowing nothing to having a fully functional ecommerce site on the web, and wrote a book on the experience. The aptly titled "STEP 1: E-commerce for Beginners" explains to BEGINNERS what "STEP 1" is, and what they should be prepared for and makes recommedations to make the experience of building the 1st web site less stressful.

Basic Steps to a Great Business Website

So much has been written on the topic of what makes a good business website, and I myself could go on and on about good content, meta tags & other search engine optimization, market strategies and so on.

But there are so many people out there that don't even know the basics of website creation; where to begin, where to place the graphics, what to avoid, and so many other things. Finding simple advice to get them going can be difficult.

Of course content, SEO, and marketing are absolutely essential, but first you have to organize and build the thing. And that is where a lot of folks get into trouble; right at the very beginning! And if it is not a quality site to begin with, or if you irritate your visitors, then all the marketing in the world will not help you get them to stick around or even think about coming back!

I know that many of the things that I personally look at when I visit a small business site are just pet peeves. I am in no way an expert on site building and promotion. I won't even pretend that I am. But as a website visitor, and e-commerce shopper, I do have an opinion on what types of things will make me quickly leave a site, or add it to my favorites for future browsing. My opinions are just that, but you can be sure that if something on a site annoys me, then others will inevitably find it annoying as well. It is true that not all visitors will be annoyed, but enough that it could cost you in the long run. Some things that we do or put on our sites are just not important enough to lose sales over. So re-examine your business site and ask yourself if there are things about it that could be changed, to attract and keep your visitors and customers.

Let's start with website hosting. No matter how many times it has been said, there are still small business owners who do not understand that you should NEVER EVER use free web hosting for a business website. Any credibility that you hope to establish for your business will go right out the window. I for one, would not even consider buying from, or joining the opportunity of a company that cannot or will not pay for good hosting service. If the company cannot afford one of the very many great hosting deals out there (some of them as little as $5 per month with less than $12 per year for domain registration) then something is very, very wrong! So before you even begin to plan the design of your site, then you need to register a domain name that is easy to remember, on a host that is reliable. If you are just starting out, Yahoo has very reasonable rates for hosting, with lots of space, several email addresses, free domain registration, and more. They also have a very good site building tool that allows you to point, click and build a site without having to know any html.

Let's talk about graphics and fonts. This is where a lot of builders go wrong. They have the domain, they have the hosting, but they have no idea about graphics use, layout and design. First of all, don't overload your site with graphics! They clutter the page, and can seriously slow down your page's loading time. Use a simple background a few simple graphics and fonts that are easily read by all computers! Verdana, Times New Roman, and Comic Sans are always good bets. Your site may look "cute" with some other font, but chances are 1/2 of your visitors will not even see it anyway! I have seen these sites address the issue with a little link telling me how to view the site the "proper" way, by going to another page and downloading the font that they have used. Why should I have to download a font, unzip the font, and install the font to view your site properly? I won't do it, and when my browser cannot read your font, it can wreak havoc on your layout! It is easier to just move on and find what you are looking for somewhere else. Browse around and look at other sites in your business category. You will get loads of ideas on what works and what doesn't. If the site is difficult to navigate, then ask yourself how it could be better. If something seems to be working, then incorporate the same style into your own site. Of course, you don't want to simply copy the site. Besides the fact that you would be dealing with copyright issues, let someone figure out that you have done that, and your adventure in on-the-web selling is over!

Organize the layout and don't overuse Java scripts. It is essential to make your site easy to navigate and without too many bells and whistles. Put your links near the top of the page, or better yet, side navigation is always a good way to organize the links to what you really want your visitors to see. Stay way from flashing text, and moving pictures! I have visited sites that have literally made me dizzy and sick to my stomach from all the movement going on! You don't want to overwhelm your visitors and make them run screaming from your site as fast as they can!

Speaking of scripts, there is one script that is guaranteed to help you lose sales! The Mouse Trailer! Ninety-five percent of the time, when I visit a site that has a mouse trailer, the image in the trailer blocks all the links that I try to click. This is not uncommon. I have been forced to leave these sites and shop elsewhere because I cannot click the navigation links. Not only has then been frustrating, but it has cost that merchant a sale. In my lifetime I have owned or used 5 computers. In that time, I have had only ONE computer that DID NOT do that. So I have had 4 computers that could not navigate sites with mouse trailers. Multiply those computers by even 100 and you might just begin to think, that even though that little trailing bee or those sparkling stars are cute, they are costing you a bundle in lost revenue. Get rid of the trailer for your businesses sake!

Misspelled words and bad grammar can really make you look unprofessional! Okay I know I am the world's worst typist! I make mistakes all the time. Little silly ones that should have been easy to see, but after spending several hours typing everything up, and then reading and re-reading it, I have simply stopped "seeing" the mistakes. Type your page content in MS Word first and use the "Spell Check" function to check for mistakes. Then copy and paste the text into your web page. But you will still need to be careful; you can misuse a word and it will not be "caught" by the spell checker. Here area few of the worst ways you can use grammar on a site!

Product's, Graphic's, Link's- I have seen the apostrophe overused more times that I could even count anymore! If you want to take your visitors to your Graphics, or your Products, then that is great. But leave out the apostrophe! The very basic rules of grammar that we learned in grade school tell us that the apostrophe is used to show possession in that instance and unless you are going to tell me about something that the product or the graphic OWNS, leave it off!

Stationery vs. Stationary- Note cards, paper and envelopes are Stationery. If you are standing still you are Stationary. It is possible for your Stationery to BE Stationary, but you probably wouldn't want to say that in your product description, so bee sure that you use the correct spelling for the situation!

Separate or Seperate- The correct spelling is Separate. Be sure to check that you have it spelled correctly in your text.

There and Their-If you are want customers to know where to find THEIR products, then direct them THERE.

Its and It's-The word "its" shows possession and the word "it's" is a contraction for the two words "it" and "is". Use them carefully in your text!

Avoid unprofessional mistakes! After you get everything typed and you have checked and re-checked have a friend or two proof read for you. A fresh pair of eyes will usually spot the mistakes that you have missed.

Don't use background music on a business site! It is 1am, and you have finally gotten a few minutes to do some web browsing. You crawl into bed next to your sleeping spouse, boot up the laptop and get ready to do a little shopping. You find what you are looking for, you click the link to the site, and suddenly "Yankee Doodle" is blaring from the speakers and your now wide awake spouse in not impressed! I cannot stress this enough; music has no place on a business site! It is annoying, period.

Don't overuse the statement "Coming Soon". Scenario: I am e-shopping. I am trying to find a certain product. I visit an online store, and YAY! I see a button that is going to take me right to what I need! I am so excited that I have FINALLY found what I was looking for. I click the button only to be hit with a message that says "Coming Soon!". This is so aggravating! If you do not have it, then do not create a link that promises that you do! If you want folks to know that something is on its way, then say that in the text on your home or main store page. Don't trick me into thinking that I will find what I am looking for when I follow your bogus link. I will probably not ever visit your site again. Why should I? You may just be telling me you have what I need, when in reality I will again be taken to an empty page.

If at all possible use a shopping cart on your business site! Your customers will not want to order via email or order form. They want to be able to shop, pay, and get a receipt right then. If you want them to fill out an order form, or email you an order and you "get back to them" with a total, then you run the risk that they will change their minds, find the item cheaper, or be able to get it faster from somewhere else. Paypal has a shopping cart that is very easy to setup and manage. If you are looking for a cart with more options and flexibility, then Mal's E-Commerce offers a very good free cart that can handle just about any aspect of your business. It can be set up to use with any site, but does require a little more knowledge of html scripting. They do, however have excellent helps, tips and tutorials to help you set up even the most complicated of shopping cart choices.

Don't use pop up traffic builders! It may make your page counter climb, but are you getting REAL visitors, that REALLY want to see what you are offering? Chances are your site simply popped up into someone's face and they closed it just as quickly as they could. Also, with the widespread use of pop up blockers, chances are your site isn't even getting seen all that much. Don't annoy your own customers with these awful things. Find better ways to advertise your site, where you will get quality visitors that really want to be on your site!

E-Commerce Website Designing Vs General Web Designing

There are websites we design and since all the websites are not the same in the same way ecommerce website design is a lot different as compared to a website design. When the web designer is making a website in account with considering forthwith money and customers he gives additional consideration in its creation.

Conversion is the top precedence where visitors turn into paying customers. How the customers experience about the site is dependent by the conversion rate of an e-commerce site enormously. A question arises here what is the difference between e-commerce web design and regular web design? Can you design an e-commerce website just as you design an informational web page? The answer is no. The difference between the e-commerce website design and the regular website design is in detail.

E-Commerce Web Designers A website which has creative graphic designs and online marketing capabilities is established with proper execution. It provides a good online shopping cart, payment gateway, online merchant accounts etc. When a person visits an e-commerce website to buy something if he does not feel right about the website he would not but anything even if he is getting what he exactly wanted to have.

One way how e-commerce website makes money is undergoing a change of browsers into paying customers. It is very essential to keep in mind that when you are designing an e-commerce website you should make the site simple and good making the customer feel comfortable. A successful ecommerce website provides the customers a pleasant shopping experience that includes access to well categorized products with adequate information. The availability of a trouble free experience to online shoppers is the most important achievement of a good e-commerce website. A good ecommerce website will have these important things along with other capabilities good security, convenient ways of online payment and delivery, easy navigation and accessibility.

E-commerce web designers must put a special focus on:

Branding It is very important to gain trust of the customers and one should focus on it in order to make potential customers with all their trust and feeling of security and for all this it is essential that the e-commerce website should be well branded. A well branded website means good logos, mottos, designs, etc.

Shopping Carts Shopping cart system are developed using in depth technical knowledge of database management, billing and accounts practices, applications along with secure payment gateway implementation. The ease of shopping carts is an important factor in commuting browsers into customers.

Security and Merchant Accounts Due to the convenience, simplicity, security and speed, the online shopping industry has become so popular. Everyone can make online payments very easily and securely through credit cards through online secure forms which are encrypted for credit card fraud and safety. E-commerce web designers have now also reformed their talent towards these secured forms for all those people who wish to pay online for the ease but are reluctant due to online theft. Web designers are now also creating online merchant accounts that are secure and convenient for businesses to sign up for all their customers.

Gopixel offers website design and graphic design solutions for small businesses in Castle Rock CO, Parker CO, and Highlands Ranch CO. Visit Website Design Parker CO for more information.

Website Advantages for Your Online Strategy

No one has to tell you that the internet is an overwhelming
source of information and is a major resource for individuals
and businesses to seek out products and services. If you have a
business of your own then you probably already have a website to
showcase your company's outstanding products and services. The
question that you should ask yourself is "am I taking advantage
of all the resources available to best market my business
online". If you haven't actively pondered this question and
aren't in pursuit of implementing your website's online strategy
action plan then you are at a disadvantage. The odds are that
your competition is already doing something about it. It takes
more than just having a nice website online. A successful online
business uses everything at its disposal. The tools available
today to heighten the aesthetics of your website, increase the
volume of your website, increase the search engine ranking of
your website, and increase the overall success of your website
include these components:



1. Graphic
Design

2. Flash
Animation

3. Integrated
Shopping Cart (if you sell products online)

4. Content
Management (CMS)

5. Rich
Media

6. Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)



Graphic Design is the process and art of combining text and
graphics and communicating an effective message in the design of
logos, graphics, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and any
other type of visual communication. It is important to portray a
professional look and feel on your website. A strong graphic
design element can significantly help the success of your
website.



Flash animation is a graphics animation element, written and
marketed by Macromedia,
that uses vector graphics. The resulting files, called SWF (said
like swiff) files, may appear in a web page to view in a web
browser, or standalone Flash players may "play" them. Flash
files occur most commonly in animated advertisements on web
pages and rich-media web sites. Many websites choose to have
only a Flash Header,
while some choose to build their site entirely within Flash.



An Integrated Shopping Cart is a piece of software that acts as
an online store's catalogue and ordering process. Typically, a
shopping cart is the interface between a company's website and
its deeper infrastructure, allowing consumers to select
merchandise review what they have selected make necessary
modifications or additions and purchase the merchandise.
Shopping carts can be bought as independent pieces of software
so companies can integrate them into their own unique online
solution, or they can be offered as a feature from a service
that will create and host a company's e-commerce site.

Content
Management is the processes and workflows involved in
organizing, categorizing, and structuring information resources
so that they can be stored, published, and reused in multiple
ways. A content management
system (CMS) is used to collect, manage, and publish
content, storing the content either as components or whole
documents, while maintaining the links between components. It
may also provide for content revision control.

Rich
Media refers to media on the web that offers an enhanced,
interactive experience. VRML for
3 D, Macromedia Flash
and Shockwave would be good examples of languages for rich
media. Rich media is often used for banner advertisements, for
homepage's and for e-mail communications. It is important,
however, for designers considering the use of rich media, to
understand the audience they are designing for, and make sure
the audience has access to the information being conveyed via
the rich media. Rich media is the delivery of video, voice,
data, and animation in a manner that can engage, entertain and
inform audiences faster and far more effectively than any
other type of communication. Rich Media is considered to be
the next generation of business communication.

Search
Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is the process of
increasing the amount of visitors to a Web site by ranking high
in the search results of a search engine. The higher a Web site
ranks in the results of a search, the greater the chance that
that site will be visited by a user. It is common practice for
Internet users to not click through pages and pages of search
results, so where a site ranks in a search is essential for
directing more traffic toward the site.

Taking advantage of these online marketing and development
elements should not merely be an option for your website; they
should be a necessity. It is recommended that you learn more
about these methods and implement them into your business'
online strategy.

Types of Online Shopping Cart Systems: Options for your Business

An online shopping cart is the best tool you will have if you are starting an online business. It works extremely well for buy and sell endeavours made over the net. It makes your work faster and it gives you better access to what you have earned for the day. With all of these important facets of online shopping cart systems, there are different choices to include in your list. When looking for the right type of online shopping cart system for your business, consider what the service provider is willing to offer you. As a newbie in the world of ecommerce, you want something that will work easier for you. You do not have to spend weeks just to be able to comprehend with how to use the shopping cart software. It may take you some time but it does not mean you have to spend a number of days just to be able to understand them. With this, you may start taking a peek at the types of online shopping cart systems for your Internet business. Different online shopping cart systems Service providers have created a number of ways to give you much ease when using your online shopping cart systems. This being said, you are faced with choices on what to use for your online endeavour. Here are some of the types of online shopping carts that will work for you and your clients: Ready-made shopping carts. If you do not have time to construct your own shopping cart systems, you may always look for this option. What you need to do is choose the design from the ready-made options of the service provider. After that, leave all the technical work to the team. The provider takes the responsibility in placing your company's logo in the cart system. Customised shopping carts. In this type of system, you may now relay your ideas to the service provider. From your ideas, the team will work on the graphic designs for your own website. Before they load your shopping carts, your approval will be sought for the designs they have made. Once you agree with what the designers have made, then your website is ready for your business. Specialised shopping carts with your own designs. If you have artistic hands, you may always design the shopping carts you want for your business. Utilising the service provider's website, you may use the graphic concepts and create your own carts in the process. To facilitate the endeavour, easy-to-follow steps are provided. All the above-mentioned options are for new online businesses. If you already have an existing website to your name and you are planning of adapting a shopping cart system to facilitate your daily transactions, there is a type of software you may use. This type of system is known as the stand alone cart mode. In this method, you may simply use the cut and paste options to add a shopping cart to your existing website. You may also customise the carts according to your existing website design.

If you are looking for different types of online shopping cart systems to use for your existing or new business, http://www.absoluteshoppingcart.co.uk has options to offer.

Ecommerce Website Design Services

Ecommerce is that form of online business that continues to develop day by day. Due to the influence of the Internet, more and more individuals are entering the online business arena. Online shopping is of great appeal mainly because of the ease and comfort it offers. With increase in the number of online shoppers, ecommerce websites have to be more user-friendly and attractive. To be competent in the web market, it would be ideal to utilize quality ecommerce website design services. A Well-organized Website is the Need of the Day It is important to have a professional design for your ecommerce website, because that is what is going to attract customers. The website must be properly organized in order to create a positive and pleasing impression on the online shoppers. The website should precisely and appealingly display your products and services. A properly optimized website will make your visitors stay for a long time. This increases the chance of converting these visitors into customers of your products and services. Stay Competent with the Help of Unique Web Design Services For designing your ecommerce website, it is best to depend on a professional company. At present there are many companies offering state-of-the-art services. These firms offer outstanding website design solutions after carefully analyzing your business requirements and the targeted audience. For this purpose they maintain a team of skilled professionals who efficiently develop ecommerce websites using contemporary tools and techniques. The important ecommerce website design services offered by these companies include the following: • Planning and designing of website • Competitor analysis • Redesigning of existing website • Development of precise website contents • Creation of easy navigation scheme • Multi browser compatibility • Designing of shopping carts • Graphic design • Copywriting services • Ecommerce web marketing • Submission to search engines • Maintenance of sales reports These companies also offer other related services including inventory management, order management and tracking, product management, processing of payments, customer tracking and lots more. The web market is becoming more and more competitive. So it is important to depend on the right company, which can offer reliable and cost-effective services based on your requirements, and help you achieve your business goals.

Viral SEO Services is a full service internet marketing firm offering a fine line of website design services. We provide top notch solutions for ecommerce website development, and strive to bring you an immediate global presence.