Posted by Rob
Posted on 06-02-2008 under Client Education, Creative Business, Development

We here at Frye / Wiles use the term “Results-Oriented” a lot, and for good reason - we could rattle off all the technical mumbo-jumbo in the world to our clients, but in the end, what is important to them is the result they get from hiring us. So, going against our instincts as nerds, we have forced ourselves to approach all projects (and in-project details) with the results-oriented mentality. Results and ROI for our customers is what we are working toward. With that in mind, I’m going to jump right into Part 1 of my illustrious series, “What’s Involved in Ecommerce” (see the Prologue first if you haven’t read that yet and feel lost at this point)

So, Design. This is probably the easiest part of the Ecommerce process to understand from the customer perspective. After all, just like going into a brick-and-mortar retail, you first have to design a store, and then you have to build it. In this case, the process is very similar to any other kind of web design, and there is much written on the subject of web design on the Frye / Wiles website.

Development is where it gets more nebulous. What people often don’t understand are:

1. The huge number of various ways you can accomplish Ecommerce
2. How complex it can get

I’m going to attempt to clear this up.

Methods of accomplishing Ecommerce (from least in-depth to most in-depth):

1. Paypal Single Item Purchase - set up a Paypal product, put a link to it on your site, and you’re done - people click the link, and people can purchase a single item through paypal. Customer is taken off your site for this, and then returned to the site when it’s done.
2. Hosted Solution - many companies provide turnkey hosted webstore solutions (godaddy.com comes to mind). For this option, you pay a monthly fee for them to run your webstore. You just handle distribution. Customization is very limited.
3. Prebuilt Webstore installation - there are many options for prebuilt webstore software available. You lack major feature customization, but can customize the look and feel of the site to match your web presence. This is a solution that is hosted on the same server as your website (as opposed to a 3rd party hosted solution), so you assume responsibility for security and compliance (which will be discussed in a future post). This is the appropriate option for about 80% of customers.
4. Fully custom webstore - this is the most elaborate and expensive option, but also the one that allows for the most customizability. Fully custom webstore development is a very in-depth endeavor, but if your company has very specific Ecommerce needs (and a budget to match), this is the option for you.

So the first things to really think about when approaching an ecommerce project are:

• What is your budget for the project? Be realistic about the budget - if your business is going to be primarily a web-based retailer, it makes sense that you should spend money on the project. Ecommerce is not generally as expensive as building out a real store location, but if it is still a business investment, and if you want it to work, be prepared to pay for it to be done right.
• What is your desired result? A lot of people want to get into Ecommerce, but have no specific goal. “I want to sell merchandise and make boatloads of cash” is not a goal. Think about desired, realistic sales numbers (keeping in mind that Ecommerce is not a mystical e-ticket to financial gain). Business is business, regardless of the venue. People who are successful in business are the ones who write plan, plan, plan.
• Will this investment bring you decent ROI? Often, companies will want to add a webstore to their site as almost an afterthought. If you have a construction company and want to add a webstore to sell ceramic mugs with your logo on it, chances are pretty good that you will never make back the money you spend on the store development.

See a trend here? Ecommerce is business. Business should be planned and executed properly. If you start a brick and mortar business and give it 150%, it may give you back 100% after a few years. If you give it 10%, it will give you back 5%. Ecommerce is no different.