The options for selling online are vast so here’s a run down of the technical jargon and what you need to know to start selling online.
A shopping cart & a normal site?
A website is used to display information through static pages allowing you to create information easily.
A shopping cart requires more functionality such as grid layouts, additional functions, processes and pages to simulate a commerce environment. Shopping cart systems are large add ons or full systems for a commerce operation rather then a normal website.
Which shopping system to use
Shopping systems round up into four categories:
1.)Brochure/cart site combo (joomla/virtuemart)
2.)Pure shopping system (zencart or oscommerce)
3.)Pay monthly option (core commerce)
4.)Buy now button
The brochure/cart site combo
The functionality of a normal website with an added E-commerce operation giving flexibility to evolve your brochure site for the future.
Other website/cart combos can be limited on the shopping cart and that’s why there ideal as a combination method rather then a pure shopping system.
Virtuemart and joomla is an extensive combo system, matching up to a dedicated shopping cart system (our preferred choice.).
The pure shopping system ( zencart or oscommerce)
If the purpose of your new website is purely to sell products then a system like ZenCart or OS commerce is ideal. It’s literally an online shop, giving you every feature you’d need to handle a retail operation.
Payment gateways such as PayPal, RBS and NoChex recognise these systems as fully fledged shopping carts and make integration into their gateways a standard.
The buy now button.
Have no budget! The buy now button is your best option, integrative into any website. Opening an account with a PSP will allow you to create a buy now button and use it on your site. There’s no shopping cart just an instance to “buy now” and take a payment. Ideal if you’re selling one or very few products and don’t need any functionality apart from a sale.
The pay monthly option
If you’re willing to let go of ownership then pay monthly sites like (corecommerce) may be an option. They’re pure shopping systems built and hosted on their own servers. Professional and quick but with two drawbacks.
1.)You don’t own the installation or the host and therefore it may be a little binding.
2.)It requires a monthly fee which may turn out to be a bigger investment.
Payment service providers. (PSP’s)
Paypal, Worldpay, NoChex, Sagepay, Payflow are all payment service providers, online banks that put your transactions through.
Each has their own plans and features so pick carefully as pricing varies. You’ll have to create an account with them, verify yourself and business alongside integrating them with your bank. (speak to your bank for more details)
Payment Gateways
Payment Gateways are portals provided by Payments Service Providers, serving as a connection where your customers can make a transaction. You have the choice to make transactions live on your site in which more web development may be required or to take the customer to the PSP site which is a quicker option.
PSP’s have a list of shopping systems that they know are compatible with such as Zen Cart. This makes the setting up of a gateway connection quick and easy but the shopping system itself may not be ideal for your needs. Alternatively you can use a system which does cater for your needs but is not listed by the PSP, requiring a little more web development.
WHAT TO SELL!
After reading the above your probably thinking that its actually too much hard work. It doesn’t have to be when we’re here to take the load off your shoulders. The real thing you need to think about is what to sell.
As a service provider you your sales depend on results rather then products but you can combine the two.
Subscriptions:
Maybe its not a product that you want to sell but a subscription in which everything is kept online without the hassle of posting and packaging.
Add on products:
Alternatively from your own products you could also sell existing products in the forms of tools to help manage your clients service with you. IE manuals, equipment, software etc.
Information
Books, E-books, CD’s and downloads are all products that can be produced from your current services an sold as expert info. These products generate income but act as marketing tool to extend the income into a larger service contract.
All in all an E-commerce system with a good line up of products can generate great additional sales but essentially lead to bigger things. Get in touch to see how we can help.
A very interesting and informative article. I didn’t realise that so many payment options existed for online shopping. People have definitely overcome the fear of providing their bank card details online. The next hurdle is with B2B payments, not previously set-up, for the payment of corporate business journals, magazines, and consultancy fees. These payments still normally require a few signatures or authorisations before payment is approved. The current method is for the employee to personally pay for the services. The cost of the consultancy, training course, magazine subscription, or journal fee is then reclaimed through the company expenses procedure.