eCommerce Web Sites

Unless you have been hiding in a cave the last 5 years, you have undoubtedly heard something about eCommerce.

eCommerce simply means that products and/or services are available for purchase on a web site. Some products are more conducive to eCommerce than others but it is up to the client to decide their point of purchase.

Let the customer decide if they want to purchase online. Then provide them with an alternative point of contact to purchase offline.

It's a simple fact of retail sales since 2000, if you aren't online, you're missing out on a major customer base. Secure Internet connections are trustworthy and people are buying online now more than ever before. Your clients just plain expect you to offer your goods from a shopping cart web site or they will likely look elsewhere.

Types of eCommerce Web Sites:

There are three types of eCommerce web sites ranging from very simple forms to complete legacy systems. Click on the links below for descriptions of each:

1. Secure Form - Web forms can be secured and used to transmit a limited amount of purchase information to the store. This type of transaction is extremely limited so we discourage it for all but the most basic product offering.

2. Shopping Cart - A stand-alone shopping cart such as Magento is a database web application designed specifically for online purchasing. A shopping cart may be highly customized and offer thousands of products. The shopping cart is a great point of purchase but back end services generally aren't included.

3. eCommerce Platform - An eCommerce platform such as Yahoo Stores is a complete brick and mortar store, minus the brick and mortar. These platforms generally include enterprise-class commerce systems that integrate point of purchase, inventory and possibly fulfillment.