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Business owners striving to sell their product and
services online have many questions about what is
needed. This section is meant to provide a step-by-step
overview of things you will need in order to conduct
business on the Internet.
If you choose to work with us, we're happy to help you with one of
our managed web plans.
::: STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR BUSINESS AND PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES
This may seem obvious, but you need to understand what
you are selling, and so on. If you are in business
already, then this is already complete. The basics of
selling online and offline are mostly the same from an
business operations standpoint.
At this point, your focus should be on understanding the
products you are selling, e.g. if you are selling
software vs. clothing goods, because they have very
different characteristics, etc. You should also start
defining the requirements that you will need to be
supported by your chosen "shopping cart" or e-commerce
storefront platform as you define your product
attributes.
It is also important at this time to verify the
sequence, gather images by which you expect your customers to order,
and any logical considerations that must be applied (For
example: Your customer must
order certain quantities and you should have images for
each item,
etc). After defining what you want customers to order from you,
you should also define your return policy, privacy
policy, security policy, etc.
::: STEP 2: CHOOSE A DOMAIN
Why is this step 2? Because a good domain name is hard
to come by these days So you may find that you have to
change your business marketing & positioning strategy if
your preferred domain names are not available. Feel free
to call upon our support team
for pointers or consult with your Intellectual Property
advisers/attorneys if required.
Once you've picked a domain name, have it registered
immediately. You have a choice whether to register by
phone at 1-800-494-6997 or simply register by
clicking here. We encourage
new customers to use our staff for the registration
process, but you can use your registrar of choice. Do
not worry about who is hosting your domain at this time.
::: STEP 3: CHOOSE A WEBSITE DESIGN
Next, before selecting a shopping cart, you should
think about what type of design you want for your web
site. You'll need to see how the shopping cart solution
can be customized to provide the desired website
interface you feel works best for your site. WebBuilder.com™
allows you to sample some of our "business-class"
web templates FREE of charge for 30 days. This is a cost
effective way to try it out before you invest.
::: STEP 4: GET YOUR INTERNET MERCHANT ACCOUNT
In order to sell online, you have to have an "internet
merchant account". This is the same as a normal retail
point of sale "POS" system, except your bank has
authorized you to accept credit card payments via the
Internet. Contact us for
setting up a merchant account in minutes. Depending
on your needs this step can take from a day to several
weeks, therefore you should start on it immediately.
::: STEP 5: CHOOSE A "SHOPPING CART" SYSTEM OR
E-COMMERCE STOREFRONT PLATFORM
You should then review the market for available
"shopping cart" solutions. Shopping carts come in all
sizes, colors & price ranges, so evaluate the cart to
see how it can meet, or adapt to, your requirements. See
if there are monthly fees, "per product" listing fees,
etc. Web Builder offers an entire e-commerce platform,
so you do not need to hire a web designer. Bear in mind,
Web Builder provides a suitable shopping cart within our
website plans.
*Review our
features page to see what our automated shopping
cart offers.
::: STEP 6: CHOOSE A HOSTING COMPANY
In most cases you do not need a hosting company since
Web Builder hosts most website plans for our customers.
Nonetheless, should you decide to host your website on
your own servers, or outsourcing that to a "hosting
company" feel free to call us for suggestions since
hosting companies again come in all shapes and sizes.
Some focus on LINUX/UNIX technologies, and some focus on
Microsoft Windows NT technologies. Web Builder uses
Microsoft Windows technologies for it's web plans.
When choosing a host company, evaluate it based
on the following
criteria:
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Windows NT & SQL Server High Performance Servers
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Willingness to install
shopping carts on demand. Timeliness of support responses (if your site is down,
you are not making money)
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Performance & Bandwidth of their servers and facilities
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Price
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Ability to provide dedicated SSL (Secure Socket
Layer Certificates) at a reasonable price
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Ability to
allow custom modifications to be made to the server if
needed for particular client stores
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Regular backup
policies & procedures
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SPAM traps enforced on mail servers to prevent junk
e-mails
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Industry standard security policies &
procedures at facility and General features offered.
You should order your SSL certificate at this time also,
by sending a request to your hosting company.
::: STEP 7: BUILDING YOUR WEBSITE
You, or someone like us for instance should now install
and configure your website and shopping cart.
Customizations can also be applied to deliver your
desired web design (look and feel) also at this stage.
::: STEP 8: ENTER OR UPLOAD YOUR PRODUCTS
Now that you have a web site, shopping cart, hosting,
internet merchant account, you're almost ready to open
for business. You will need to use your shopping cart
system to enter your products into their "database".
Most "shopping carts" allow you to do this via web-based
interface or bulk upload routine. Web Builder supports
most of them.
This step also usually involves uploading product
pictures, define the categories and departments you want
on your store, etc. Ancillary duties include
understanding your local tax, state, law requirements,
shipping requirements, etc.
::: STEP 9: TEST YOUR WEBSITE
Always test your site before going to a live
environment.
::: STEP 10: START YOUR MARKETING PLAN
Now that you have a full and live store and website, you
should turn on your marketing (e.g. Online Yellow Pages, search
engines, direct mail, etc.) to attract visitors to your
site.
If you need assistance call
our toll-free support line:
1-800-494-6997
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