It is so hard today for beginners to select which ecommerce solutions provider to go with. To make it even worse, there are such a lot of shop cart packages to choose from. If you are undecided which package to choose, unwind and take a deep breath. Then glance at the feature list of the different packages.
If you are thinking about opening your first store, take my advice and avoid the higher tier shop cart packages. Try to adhere to ecommerce solutions which are priced around USD60 each month. In my opinion, this segment offers the best value for money in terms of features for the price paid.
But before you sign up for a no-cost trial, look at the feature list. Any ecommerce software worth their salt would have at 90% of the features noted below already available.
Security
Would you shop at a site you believe was not secure? I did not think so. Make sure that the shopping cart you decide to subscribe to incorporates totally encrypted 256-bit Secure Sockets Layer ( SSL ) protection. You will need this to ensure that your data as well as those of your shopper are always protected.
Disk Drive Space
Make sure you have enough disk space to host your pictures as well as other data on your store. For a new store, about 5GB of space should suffice . If you want more space, do not upgrade your subscription package unnecessarily. It may be less expensive to just purchase more disk drive space.
Since pictures take up the most disk drive space, always optimise your photographs before uploading to your store. Also, host videos on video sharing sites so they do not take up your disk space.
Bandwidth
If your store is new, it is extremely unlikely that you are going to be experiencing heavy traffic. So 6GB of bandwidth should more than serve. As with disk drive space, if you want more bandwidth, see if you can purchase more bandwidth instead of upgrading your package.
Number of Products
Most new merchants do not have many products on their stores. On average , an ecommerce store has about 5 hundred products. But just in case, ensure your subscription covers more than the average number of products. 1000 products is a sure thing.
Payment Processors
Many stores use at least two payment processors to take payments. One for world clients and one for local ones. The problem for many merchants is finding a payment processor for local customers. So before enrolling, check the payment processor list to determine if they have what you want is listed there. If it’s not, inquire if the payment processor you want can be integrated for free or maybe for a manageable sum.
Product Zoom Tool
If you are selling products which incorporate small details. You should use this feature to offer a close-up look of your products to spotlight finer details. This can be a deal killer for many buyers.
Fast Checkout
Fast checkout or one-page checkout is excellent for patrons who need no hassle purchases. The drawback of this feature is that merchants would not be well placed to collect valuable customers ‘ e-mail for followup campaigns and the consumer would possibly not be ready to receive order updates via email.
Turning on this feature is merely a matter of picking a check box in most small business ecommerce software.
Drop Ship
Obtaining the services of a drop shipper is a workable choice for new merchants who do not have any provider contacts, do not have space to store inventory and do not have the resources to pack and ship the products. Even seasoned merchants use products from drop shippers to broaden their product offering. Please remember that you may not be in a position to get the best margins from drop shippers but you get a lot convenience instead .
A few ecommerce solutions essentially feature a drop ship service already integrated into their system. This means that no integration fee will be needed if you select to use the drop ship service, only the monthly service charge charges to the drop apply.
To summarise,
- Do not be afraid to tweak features which you think can improve your bottom line.
- Ensure that you are getting these features for free.
- Always check the feature list to ensure it include features which will help you run the store with ease.
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