What is involved in setting
up an online store
You need a domain name, somewhere to host your site and
of course the actual store. JJSolutions can set all this
up for you. Once we design your store, it will be ready
for you to add your products, this is easily done from
the store administration page. We can help if you need
any assistance. You will be able to manage every detail
of the store from the cost of shipping, managing customer
details and managing sales and stock levels.
Your biggest problem comes after you build the shop
- it is letting other people know that you have one.
You should concentrate on promoting your shop to your
customers. We will submit your site to all the major
search engines, if your site is Irish related we will
also submit your site to the major irish related directories
and search engines.
Unless you advertise your shop you may never receive
an order.
With the E-Commerce Windows and Linux plans you can
have an online store that can compete with the best
of the rest. It will also give you an advantage over
your competitors who do not yet have a store.
Do I need an Internet Shop
A few years ago nobody had heard about the Internet.
Today everybody has. Many even prefer it to TV. It is
as simple as that. The fact that you are reading this
shows you are taking things more serious than many of
your competitors. Congratulations. Because with all
these people shopping on the Internet, you�ll at least
need to know what is going on.
Granted, you could just ignore e-commerce, continue
with business as usual, and it mightn�t even hurt you
- for now.
But shopping habits are changing dramatically. Customers
expect more and more service. Among these services,
access via the Internet rates high. Because it saves
time. Remember how no one thought fax machines where
needed? Or mobile phones? By providing e-commerce as
a service, you ensure your customers stay loyal to you
- and you will gain new ones.
Research in the USA has shown profits increase by up
to 10% in brick and mortar shops, who also opened a
shop on the Net, and promoted it to existing clientele.
This included purchases by many customers who checked
out the products on the Internet to save time, but then
purchased them in the real shop, anyway.
And just think of all those businesses which successfully
sell only on the Internet, competing and surviving against
the big chains.
Get your foot in the door!
E-commerce is still young. But it is continuously growing.
More and more consumers go online every day. Most of
them have more money to spend than the average consumer.
Your Internet shop can be a sideline to an existing
business - or a new venture.
Your Internet shop can generate direct sales - from
people ordering directly via their computer - and indirect
sales - from people who browse your web site and then
visit you in the real world to buy or call you up. So
even if you don�t sell much via the online shop, your
overall sales should still go up if you promote your
Internet shop properly.
Keep looking after your shop
People need to see you are looking after your shop.
If it never changes or you do not respond to requests,
they�ll lose trust in you and take their business elsewhere.
Your Internet shop will need constant attention - just
like your bricks and mortar business. It is not a magical,
get-rich-quick scheme that works wonders on its own.
First, you must check your e-mails at least daily -
to make sure you respond promptly to any customer inquiries
and orders. If you do not respond to e-mails within
a day or two (preferably faster), people will lose trust
in your business. Your Internet shop should also automatically
send an order confirmation to your customers, to make
them feel comfortable about the order they have placed.
The JJSolutions online store can alert you on your mobile
phone when you have a new email from a customer, and
also automatically send an order confirmation to your
customer when they place an order.
Consider changing your web site every now and then.
This could be as simple as changing the text on your
first page, your home page. Or you could change the
complete look and feel, depending on the season. Just
treat your Internet shop like your real, physical shop.
Think of different displays or promotions you could
use to attract customers.
Keep your Web site updated with new information, new
additions and special prices.
Your Shop Building Options
To open an Internet shop, you must create web pages
with your information. You have three options:
1. Create your own web pages from scratch
This requires a strong knowledge in writing a multiuser
application, knowledge in server side programming
and database development. This is obviously not the
easiest way. These days even professional web page
developers use special software for the purpose.
2. Pay someone else to create your shop for you.
This may be a good option, depending on your budget.
It can be very expensive, if you are not careful.
Get a fixed price contract so you don�t get caught
out. However with the right developer it can make
your life easier. Our online store allows you to have
everything you need to sucessfully run a store at
a price you can afford.
3. Build it directly on the Internet
Some ISPs or Service providers allow you to build
your shop directly on their system via the Internet.
This usually means they assign you an Internet shop
address, and if you become unhappy with the ISP service,
all the work spent on the shop is lost, as you can�t
take it with you.
If you want to build your shop using such a service,
at the very least make sure you can point your own
Internet address to this shop. You will spend a lot
of effort promoting your shop address. If it is owned
by someone else, they effectively control your shop.
You do not have to spend a lot of money to start your
own internet store. You can sell an unlimited number
of products, and even accept credit cards online via
a secure server. The transactions are realtime therefore
the money is in your account when the customer clicks
the submit button on your website.
Please contact us to find out more information about
accepting credit cards online.
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