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. Computer2. Internet connection3. Site building software4. Graphics Software5. Web hosting company6. Shopping cart7. 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_bookThis 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.
|
|
|
Created & Maintained by Empower! CMS Web Sites
Host2Sell Web Hosting | Emarketing Workshops | Site SEO Review | FREE NewsletterFive Steps To Create Your Software Product With Outsourcing
Many executives and investors are skeptical that software products can be developed using outsourcing. Even more skepticism is expressed at the idea of outsourcing version 1.0 of a product. Yet Accelerance clients are using outsourcing to create their products right now. What is the secret to using outsou...(related: Web Development)
I Did It: Six Months To A Successful Website
For years now I've been looking to start my own business, but my highest priority has always been to spend less time working, a...(related: Web Development)
Let Marketing Manage Your Website Content
The definition of the phrase "Content Management" depends on what the organization may need or a vendor may offer. There is no general purpose or standard content management system that can satisfy today's diverse business needs across the board. And so, factors for successfully implementing a content management system vary depending on individual business needs.Conducting a thorough assessment of an organization's specific business application or processes prior to installation is one of the keys to implementing a successful content management system. T...(related: Web Development)
Content Management
More and more businesses are recognizing the importance of content management when it comes to their websites. Website content is more important than eve...(related: Web Development)
Free Webmaster Tools - 7 Things Every Webmaster Needs In Their Toolbox
Webmaster tools are vital to becoming both efficient and effective in your online efforts. The following are my picks for the top types of webmaster tools:Tool #1 Link FindersEvery webmaster needs this free tool. It will help you ...(related: Web Development)
How Web Templates Are Helping Online Businesses To Multiplytheir Income
Web templates by nature are created to aid and ease thestrenuous process of a typical web development phase. Ideacollection, analysis, research, design are just a small partof a bigger picture. It is no doubt with the availability ofweb templates, we can almost eliminate the need of researchand initial analysis, although not entirely.Theoretically, most of the time and hard work spent oninitial research and development ar...(related: Web Development)
Building A Web Site Requires The Right Software To Eliminate Headaches And Keep Money In Your Pocket
When most people build a web site, they think one simple thing. "If I build it, they will come". How further from the...(related: Web Development)
Direct Sales And Your Corporate Website - A Creative Marketing Plan That Works!
Creatively marketing your corporate site takes time in the set up but you will learn that building your customers isn't about marketing your products but getting your name and reputation into the minds of internet customers.I have randomly chosen W...(related: Web Development)
How To Make Your Own Website For Free
If you like the Internet and surfing through the billions of web pages on it then you might be thinking that you also would like to have your very own web page. Well, fortunately you can create your own web page for free and have it online so the whole world can surf the web and see what your web page is al...(related: Web Development)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Empower! Web Design | All Rights Reserved. | Web Development