posted by WEBSITES.COM // March 24, 2009 // Build Your Website

Many companies make the mistake of entering into a new e-commerce venture without sufficient planning and forethought. This will ultimately lead to frustration and increased development costs as mistakes are made and corrected. Understanding the fundamental components of an e-commerce site will help you evaluate basic requirements before committing resources toward an e-commerce solution.

Trading platform – Every e-commerce site will need a website which has been designed and developed to facilitate online trading. There are several options available here. First, there are the software packages that are sold as a complete solution, such as Interspire Shopping Cart. These are generally feature-rich and very professionally produced. The second option are the free, open source solutions such as Magento, ZenCart and OsCommerce, usually very good e-commerce platforms but sometimes lacking the polish of the professionally developed solutions. Last, there are a smattering of hosted solutions such as Shopify. These websites allow you to rent an e-commerce platform, usually for a monthly fee or a percentage commission on sales.

Payment gateway – Every e-commerce site needs a vehicle to receive payments, this is termed the payment gateway. There are many options available when setting up a payment gateway, from specialized merchant accounts that allow the processing of credit cards to simple online providers such as PayPal and Google Checkout. Depending upon the value of transactions received via the payment gateway one will be more suitable than another in cost and ease of use.

Backend systems – Usually, although not always, backend systems will be incorporated into the e-commerce trading platform as part of the admin system. These backend systems allow the e-commerce site owner to manage the site, review orders and deliveries, maintain the product catalog and interrogate historic data.

Content – The main facet of an e-commerce system is obviously going to be the product catalog. When building a catalog it vitally important that product descriptions are accurate and compelling, and that high quality images are provided to assist in product selection. Never stint on the contents of the product catalog; this is the online equivalent of window dressing and it is the single thing that will encourage customers to make a purchase.

Hosting – An e-commerce site is a profit making website, so it makes sense to ensure that it is available and operating 24 hours a day for 365 days of the year. Choose a high quality web host with an exceptional uptime guarantee. Cutting costs with the web host will usually lead to a headache later on; invest in quality from the outset.

These are the basic requirements for any e-commerce system, although more complex sites will usually incorporate many more modules and features. This short article should give you a general background in the key parts of an e-commerce system and help you to begin planning a successful and profitable implementation of your new online store.

Article Source:

Please login or register to post a new comments