How to choose the right eCommerce solution for your website

You need to know what you want and need before you start looking for an eCommerce solution. The more details you plan ahead of time, the better off you’ll be.

As a website designer, I have worked too often with clients who chose their eCommerce solution just because it was “free” or because their website designer recommended it to them. Your designer can be a wonderful resource in choosing the right eCommerce solution, but only if they know enough about your needs and the options available, and are used to working with a variety of eCommerce solutions rather than focusing on just one. or two. . One size does not fit all in e-commerce.

Start with a “wish list” of all the features your ideal eCommerce solution would have, and rank them by priority. Know which features are an absolute “must have” and which ones you can be flexible about. Digital product delivery can be critical to your business. Or you may need a specific payment gateway, but you can be flexible on shipping. These are the types of things you want to know before you start shopping for your eCommerce solution.

Here are some of the most important areas to consider:

* What level of technical skill is required to update/manage the eCommerce solution? Some are easier to use than others. Be sure to try a demo before making your choice. All ecommerce solutions will have a learning curve, but some will be easier than others. Look at the support options available for learning – what’s available? User’s guide? Video tutorials? Technical support?

* What payment methods will you accept? PayPal? Credit cards? It is important to know this before choosing because not all eCommerce solutions work with all payment gateways.

* How will you charge for shipping your items? Do you need real-time shipping quotes (UPS, USPS, FedEx or other carriers)? Or will you use a table, percentage, or flat rate shipping method?

* Do you want to offer coupons or sales? What type? Do you need to limit sales to particular categories or products or limit the number of times a coupon is used?

* Do you need your cart to track your inventory for limited quantities or unique items?

* If you offer digital products (PDF eBooks, MP3, etc.), do you need instant delivery of the products through your eCommerce system?

* What is your budget for the total cost? Note that in addition to license fees, you need to budget for a designer, possibly an SSL certificate, and support for your chosen cart. A licensed cart is often less expensive than a free cart when you add in the cost of customization and support.

* If you are planning to have your sales shipped to you or are working with a product fulfillment company, check that they can integrate seamlessly. Your drop shipper should be able to guide you to the systems that work best with your systems.

Some other features you may want to consider:

* Can you manage your entire website with the eCommerce solution or do you just manage your products?

Some shopping carts are designed as “full site” solutions where you can add informative pages, change your site design, and more from within your shopping cart management.

Other carts are designed as “add-on” solutions where you add small “add to cart” buttons to your existing website pages, or link to a web store but keep your informative pages on a separate website.

* Is it “search engine friendly” or will you have a hard time getting traffic from search engines?

To be search engine friendly, a cart should allow you to control your page titles, descriptions, keyword tags, image names, etc. The URLs it generates shouldn’t be filled with characters like ? y & y = but instead they look like real words (preferably your product names).

* Do you want something that is fully branded and integrated into your domain name/website or do you want to start smaller with a hosted eCommerce system such as an Etsy store (etsy.com), Hyena Cart (hyenacart.com ) or an eBay store? (ebay.com)?

Once you have a list of the features and functions you need in a shopping cart, it’s time to look at your options. Compare them one by one with your list of needs and you can find the one that best suits your website.