E-Commerce - Shopping Cart
E-Commerce is a fancy term for all types of buying and selling online. The most common way to be involved in e-commerce is by using a "Shopping Cart Application" or "E-Commerce Store". (They are the same thing.) There are other ways to be involved in commerce over the internet, but this is the most prevalent.
Each shopping cart application is a bit different. We like to use Spiderweb Logic ECart that can be customized for all your needs. Our ECart is optimized by design for search engines. (That will help you attract more visitors.) See our Shopping Cart samples.
If you are an ASP.Net webmaster/coder and want to create your own website, I encourage you to review the PayPal integration template we have provided for your perusal. This should help jump-start your PayPal eCart development. This will be updated more over the next month.
We will be adding a template soon for Credit Cards (C#/ASP.Net) using Authorize.net.
Features of our standard Spiderweb Logic ECart
Search Engine Friendly
We designed our shopping cart to be very friendly for search engines. This is an essential ingredient to your overall success. We make sure it is easy to find... and provide the latest tools to help you get found - like Google XML Sitemaps and Google Gbase Product Data feeds.
We allow you to easily edit the SEO features of your site too. So if you are a search engine expert or novice, you will love our tools.
The BIGGEST expense for customers is often not the building your website - it is in properly MARKETING your website. We maximize your value here by making sure you have a good design - from a search engine and user perspective. This allows your marketing dollars to go the farthest, with a site that is easy to optimize, and that is search engine friendly.
Easy to Edit / Manage
You can easily add, update, and delete products from your shopping cart website using a standard web browser.
You have everything you would expect from a robust ecommerce system, including coupons, standard reports, and even ability to connect with people who "abandoned their cart" without buying.
We also provide training. For local customers - we do this in person. For those outside of San Luis Obispo county we do this using some of the latest conferencing software.
Easy for Customers to BUY
This is very important in todays economy. Don't force your customers to sign up for a membership just to buy - you can easily scare away customers with unnecessary steps.
Customized to YOUR Business
We will give you a customized solution - including a customized shipping solution. You can have a fixed price shipping for all your products, or we can calculate shipping based on a simple rate sheet you provide, or we can have USPS, FEDEX, or DHL automatically estimate your shipping rates based on the weight of your products.
OPTIONS:
Customized Membership System (starting at $700 extra)
We can build you a custom solution to offer members special services or prices as desired. It starts at $700, and we can have them do just about anything you desire, including having special discounts, view purchase history, or having ability to create member pages.
Prospect / Customer Relationship Management - CRM (only $450 extra)
This is a HUGE value for very little additional money! With this feature we can track current and POTENTIAL customers through the site. Track what they bought - what carts they abandoned, what emails the site sent them, including any promotional newsletters.
This is a powerful follow-up tool that is integrated with a specialized newsletter feature that is customized to send out coupons, suggest products, or just talk about your business.
Think - if you can send an email to all customers who showed an interest in Product X - those who inquired about it, those who purchased it in the past, and those who almost purchased... Perhaps send them a specialized coupon to have them come back and buy.
This is niche marketing within your own customer base - people who have a definite interest in your site - customizing marketing to them. You already paid the "marketing" cost of getting them there the first time. Recycle! Get them back to buy again.
You can also manage phone calls, and special notes for each client. Talk about managing your customers!
We are always happy to add new features. If you want something we don't already have, we can build anything you dream up.
Marketing your E-Commerce Store
Marketing your shopping cart is a significant part of the cost of maintenance, just as marketing is a significant cost of any sort of successful business. There are a lot of skill and time needed to do this successfully for the Internet. Some of you may have the money to invest in hiring a professional. We do website marketing as part of our business, and are eager to put together a custom plan to meet your needs. A standard marketing package starts at $200 a month, with some additional fees for initial directory submission and keyword analysis. This is to maintain a regular link-building campaign for your website - particular to your keywords.
If you are interested, feel free to request a website marketing package from us.
However, if you are too broke with our current recession to consider this, I encourage you to schedule a block of time to learn the game. Here are some good resources:
