If you are getting an ecommerce web site built, there are some features your site absolutely must have to be successful. Make sure your site has them and avoid a lot of pain and suffering further down the line.
Unlimited products and unlimited categories
You want the ability to add your own products and menu categories with ease to your site -you don't want to rely on your Web designer whenever something needs changing. Make sure there aren't any restrictions on the number of products you can add , as some companies charge you extra for going over this number. Worse still the system may not be able to do it resulting in an expensive upgrade. Content management
You need to be able to change text on your website e.g. information about delivery charges, terms and conditions etc, without having to ask your Web designer to do it. Otherwise you will incur charges each time you need something changed.
For this, you need a built-in content management system to change the text based pages yourself.
Easy-to-use admin area
An easy-to-use control panel is essential as you will be use it constantly. You need to easily check new orders, customer details, add items etc. If this is difficult to do you will find yourself wasting a lot of valuable time.
Comprehensive reporting
You need to see reports on visitor information such as what products have been viewed etc so that you can make informed decisions on new product to stock, what products you should drop etc. Comprehensive reporting gives you valuable market intelligence that you can use to really grow your business.
Newsletter and e-mail functions
It is absolutely essential that your ecommerce site has the ability to stay in touch with your customers, through email. You need to encourage repeat purchases, which you can do by sending email newsletters, special offer, details of new products etc. When choosing your ecommerce system or web designer, make sure you get all these features.
Link manager
You need to be able to add links to other sites without relying on your web designer every time you need a link added. Establishing link partnerships is vital ingredientl in obtaining good search engine rankings so ensure this feature is provided.
Search engine optimisation
Speaking of search engines, another vital feature is the ability to add and edit Meta tag information for each page created by the website. These tags are the hidden code that helps determine what your page is about, so by putting the right keywords in the right tags you can give your website a huge boost.
Other features
There are lots of other features that your ecommerce website can have, so it is worth having a think now as to what you may need in the future, as adding it in now may be a lot cheaper than getting it added in the future. Sections such as special offers, bestsellers, related items etc can all be very useful tools.
Unlimited products and unlimited categories
You want the ability to add your own products and menu categories with ease to your site -you don't want to rely on your Web designer whenever something needs changing. Make sure there aren't any restrictions on the number of products you can add , as some companies charge you extra for going over this number. Worse still the system may not be able to do it resulting in an expensive upgrade. Content management
You need to be able to change text on your website e.g. information about delivery charges, terms and conditions etc, without having to ask your Web designer to do it. Otherwise you will incur charges each time you need something changed.
For this, you need a built-in content management system to change the text based pages yourself.
Easy-to-use admin area
An easy-to-use control panel is essential as you will be use it constantly. You need to easily check new orders, customer details, add items etc. If this is difficult to do you will find yourself wasting a lot of valuable time.
Comprehensive reporting
You need to see reports on visitor information such as what products have been viewed etc so that you can make informed decisions on new product to stock, what products you should drop etc. Comprehensive reporting gives you valuable market intelligence that you can use to really grow your business.
Newsletter and e-mail functions
It is absolutely essential that your ecommerce site has the ability to stay in touch with your customers, through email. You need to encourage repeat purchases, which you can do by sending email newsletters, special offer, details of new products etc. When choosing your ecommerce system or web designer, make sure you get all these features.
Link manager
You need to be able to add links to other sites without relying on your web designer every time you need a link added. Establishing link partnerships is vital ingredientl in obtaining good search engine rankings so ensure this feature is provided.
Search engine optimisation
Speaking of search engines, another vital feature is the ability to add and edit Meta tag information for each page created by the website. These tags are the hidden code that helps determine what your page is about, so by putting the right keywords in the right tags you can give your website a huge boost.
Other features
There are lots of other features that your ecommerce website can have, so it is worth having a think now as to what you may need in the future, as adding it in now may be a lot cheaper than getting it added in the future. Sections such as special offers, bestsellers, related items etc can all be very useful tools.