Solution Overviews » Sales » Web Store
Web Store
1. Overview
At the most basic level, you need some way for customers to input an order on a website that can be sent to you. Solutions in this category are also called shopping cart or ecommerce applications. Web store features vary widely so you will need to identify the features you need. The following lists of considerations and features should help you get started. If you have not reviewed web store functionality in a while you may be surprised to see so much functionality is available.
Considerations
- Reality
Just because you add a web store, it does not mean that sales will skyrocket. The Internet is vast and so are the products and services available. You will need to advertise and ensure that your website can be seen by the leading search engines.
- Payment Processing
Will you accept credit cards and debit cards or will you invoice customers? Most solutions require a separate merchant account for credit card processing.
- Occasional Selling
If you only have a few items or you plan to sell occasionally, you may be able to use a simpler selling and payment processing approach. Some payment processors like PayPal will give you the HTML code for a button that will send your product's id, price and description so that you can identify an item id with sales.
- Integration with Accounting Software
Integration can be complex and time consuming. Consider whether the web store or your accounting system will be the master data source for orders, items and inventory. You may want to reflect orders, customers and inventory data in your accounting system. Many accounting applications now have add-on web store offerings so consider that along with other the products and services available.
- Niche Product and Service Web Stores
Niche options exist for many different types of products and services like electronic downloads and class registration.
If your needs don't justify the investment for a web store, you can investigate selling through a marketplace like eBay or Amazon.
Features
Web store solutions will usually include some of the following.
- Shopping Cart
Keep track of customer items until they are ready to checkout.
- Order Entry
Accept orders from a web page.
- Pricing
Set prices by groups and customers, accept coupon codes and calculate tax.
- Payment
Integrate with payment processors for credit cards and configure other payment options as needed. Recurring payments may also be handled. The best practice is to never store any credit card data locally. It is usually best to let credit card processors handle credit card input. All pages that transmit credit card numbers or sensitive information must be done securely using encryption called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Use of the web address "HTTPS" indicates that SSL is being used.
- Integration
Web stores can be integrated into accounting applications to transmit order information and marketplaces like eBay.
- Item Catalog and Inventory
Item catalogs may be needed for pricing and inventory.
- Packing and Shipping
Calculate shipping costs. Print packing lists and labels to help fulfill the order. Integrate with shippers.
- Reporting
Reporting may be included in the web store software.
- Security
Assign different levels of security to users.
- Returns
Process returns.
Implementation Options
| 1. In-House Web Store | 2. Internet Web Store Service |
|---|---|
You install the software on your web server in-house or at your web host. Most web hosts offer shopping cart software so you will want to check availability. |
You configure a web store that is hosted through a web service. If you already have a website, you can link to the web store. When customers are ready to buy they are transferred to the ecommerce provider's website to complete the sale. If you don't have a website yet most web store services also provide website design and hosting. |
2. Option Comparison
| 1. In-House Web Store | 2. Internet Web Store Service | |
|---|---|---|
| Security | You are responsible for your own security | Yes |
| Backup | You are responsible for your own backup | Yes |
| Cost Factors
|
Hardware | |
| Web server | None | |
| Software | ||
| Web store software | None | |
| Labor | ||
| Installation, configuration and maintenance | Configuration | |
| Services (approximate costs) | ||
| Payment processing charges are separate. | Usually a fee per month and a percentage of each sale. Payment processing charges are separate. | |
3. Next Steps
| 1. In-House Web Store Software | 2. Internet Web Store Service | |
|---|---|---|
Find Local Tech SpecialistsSearch TechShortcut's tech profiles for specialists in your area |
"Web Store" "Online Sales" eCommerce | |
Find More InformationUse Research Helper to find related web articles |
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Examples of Products and ServicesThese are not endorsements, simply some product or service names we encountered in our research to get you started finding your best fit. |
1Open source/free 2Includes a free version |
|
Outside Information
- PCMag.com: 31 Days to a Brand-New Web Storefront
- SBDCnet.org: E-Commerce Guides
- TopTenReviews.com: Shopping Cart Review
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