All e-commerce sites are not created equal when it comes to your companies needs. We have discussed your website needs several times on the site. You can read about Must Haves Shopping Cart, Call To Action, Things You Missed on Your Site and so many more to come. For your business to be successful, you must research and find the right platform for you to use — not just sign up with the cheapest one.
Is Coding Something You Need To Know
A plethora of shopping carts do not require you to understand coding, aka: CSS, HTML, Rubies on Rail, Java and much more. There are some big e-commerce sites where you do need to understand that type of language in order to run your website. If you are just starting out in business and don’t have that knowledge, I highly suggest you steer clear of those sites. You want something that does not require you calling a developer every time something goes left.
Can You Grow With It
Sometimes those good old cheap $8 a month shopping carts will keep you exactly where you are. They are not meant for growth when it comes to your company. They do not have mass integration or plugins that can help your business excel. We have discussed several basic needs your shopping cart must have to help you succeed. Can your shopping cart allow you to sale a thousand items? Can their server handle the Oprah effect? If not, you want to rethink the shopping cart you are using.
Responsive Website
Customers shop on THEIR phones and tablets. This is something I can not stress enough for small business owners. Make sure that the platform you use for your business is mobile capable. There has been numerous times I have clicked links on social media only to close out 5 seconds later because its not a responsive mobile design. They either don’t do it or they shrink their site to fit the device I am on.
Promote You Not Them
In coaching sessions I hear “oh Tasha I have my own website and that’s where I get some of my customers.” Then I go to “their site” to see theirname.thirdpartysite.com. That particular company does not allow you to mask their name. You have to use their name in your URL and then they have their logo on the bottom on their site. You want a custom site that has calls to action, about pages, social media and more.
Money Don’t Mean A Thing
Just because it’s the cheapest shopping cart, it does not mean you should go with it. People get excited for shopping carts that are $8 a month. You don’t want it because it’s very cheap. You want an e-commerce shopping cart that actually works with you and your company. List all the things you want your site to have such as, an abandoned cart feature, newsletter plugins, multiple payment options, simple checkout, SEO options and much more. If the shopping cart you want is $39.99 invest in that. Your fees are tax write offs. Remember we discussed tax write offs a while back. Shopping carts can be fairly confusing when you are just starting out. Plenty of shopping carts are promoted on social media such as, Facebook hosting huge giveaways saying they will be giving mentors and much more. Hoping you’ll sign up because of all that gold and glitter. Do not believe the hype.
Find what works for your business to grow. What are your thoughts on these five points guiding your understanding of e-commerce sites? Sound off your thoughts and feelings regarding shopping carts.
Photography image by Zerge; imaged sourced by Flickr Creative Commons
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