If you are thinking about dipping your feet into the ecommerce waters, it is essential to make sure that you have all the right tools at your disposal to be successful. Running a successful online business is more than just putting up a site and hoping people will see it.
If you want to get noticed and make a sensation, you’ve got to have a website that will get the job done for you. Many business owners make the mistake of trying to do their website on their own, and the results are seldom what they expect.
Whether you need assured quality programming in the UK or website design in the USA, it helps to have a professional working with you to help you avoid common issues that can lead to failure.
One of the best companies that has made numerous businesses successful is the Royal Atlantis Group. With more than 4 years of servicing the design and programming market, this business knows how to get the job done right.
Here are just a few of the most common mistakes that business owners make that inevitably lead to failure.
1. Unprofessional design. Even if you are using a program that is made to help you design your own website, there are specific design flaws that you will need to avoid if you want your business to be successful. It can be easy to make a mistake, but unfortunately, these mistakes can live with your company for a long time. An unprofessional design speaks volumes about your business and can leave a lasting bad impression on the public.
2. Failure to make it easy for visitors to use your site. It may seem simple to you, but can the average web user navigate your site easily? This is an issue that plagues many first time site owners, and it can mean the difference between sales and crickets in the background. You’re going to need to have a site that is intuitive and does the marketing for you, without ever having to say a word.
3. Failure to take advantage of new technologies. Every day, something new comes along that makes it easier for your business to run smoothly and reach out to your customers. If you are not keeping up with the times, your website can fall behind and your competitors will take advantage of this. You need these tools if you want to stay competitive in your industry.
4. Failure to stand out from the crowd. One of the biggest problems for new site owners is that they create a site that is bland and uninteresting. Worse yet, many of these sites are forgettable, and that is something that you do not want. You need to be able to have a site design that will grab a visitor’s attention and make them stick around. Sometimes, to accomplish this, you’ve got to go with professionals that know how to get the job done and make a difference in how your site is run.
Disclaimer: The information in this Press Release includes certain “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor provisions of Provincal and Federal Laws. The public is cautioned that such statements are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including the future financial performance of the company. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will provide to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to successful performances of internal plans, the impact of competitors, and general economic risks and uncertainties.
For additional information on the website design and development services of Royal Atlantis Group, visit their website at www.royalatlantisgroup.com
royalatlantisgroup.com – website design and development company
Off-shore business is grabbing grounds gradually and companies are in fact saving on the bottom line by cutting costs. However there are few issues that are most often faced while getting services accomplished from a service provider or agency which is across shores. Here are some handy tips the areas which can be improved upon to overcome such difficulties.
Communication Barriers
Lack of communication can be said to be the major factor in bringing failure to some outsourcing projects. No doubt communication has become easy and can cost nearly nothing to interact seamlessly. However at the end of the day one is still dependent on the individuals on the other end their communication capabilities.
While dealing with the service provider, the clients should make sure that the requirements provided to them are detailed and well understood. If not, the work might not go as planned and at the time of the website, you might have a long list of things to do even beyond the timeline which was planned.
A good way to overcome this difficulty is to have as many voice interactions with the account manager who is servicing your account. Communicating only over email can bring out communication gaps.
Moreover, the language might also be an issue while communicating. Let us consider that you are sitting in the United States and your web solutions company is situated in India; there might be problem with understanding due to the difference in accent. In that case, it is advisable to go on a Live Chat which is always helpful. Even then if there is difficulties in making them understand, do a little research and send them samples of how you want your website to be. Make little efforts today and you can get great results tomorrow!
Ill defined acceptance criteria
Although there are various expectations that you might have from the Web Solutions Company you are hiring , but you might still be have doubts about the conditions in the contract provided. Thus there are some factors that you might ignore at the first place but create problems when questioned. Certain things need to be clearly mentioned in the contract before you signup.
The objective for the payments and the acceptance norms of the payments should be plainly displayed so that you do not have any problems while filling up the payment amount in the cheques. The process for managing work regarding defects or Change Requests should be clarified. This should be done so that the service providers do not throw tantrums if there arises some issues with the execution of the project. In case any target is missed by the service providers, the party that will decide on the payment withholding needs to be defined frankly. This will assure that the service providers will never make frequent errors and will be extra careful. Involvement of the customers is important
It is often seen that once the client explains the requirements to the service provider, they develop the misconception that the work will be done. Ideally one should not really pull out of the progress tracking of the project and be updated with what is happening atleast on a weekly basis. This way, there will be less errors and would have less hassles at the time of project delivery. So it is prudent enough if you involve yourself in the project and keep yourself abreast with the ongoing development.
You might want to also list periodic updates in your service agreement at the outset with the service provider.
Issues with cultural differences
Cultural differences are sure to arise in case of off-shore business. Thus it needs to be made certain that the contact points between you and the service provider is cleared out for smooth execution of any project. It is preferable that you interact with the agency representatives well at the outset over the phone and emails to satisfy yourself that the difference is not too wide. For e.g. handing over a Search Engine Optimization project to a Chinese company may not be a good idea. There is such a big language gap that the only way that might help interacting is through Sign Language! That unfortunately is not an option if you are sitting a few thousand miles away..
Time differences and work ethics
Time differences between countries can be another factor in creating problems at work. For instance, if you are in Europe and your service provider is in India, there is a time difference of 3-5 hours. To tackle such problems, one has to adjust the timings accordingly and turn the problem into a void one. For this, you need to tell them your availability time during which they would easily be able to get in touch with you for sorting out problems or answering queries. If the time difference is more than 10 hours then ensure you have some kind of an overlap of atleast a few hours during the day so that you can atleast interact.
Also, try and get a grasp of the work ethics of the company you intend working with beforehand. It is important to see if they are forthcoming and pro-active. Companies or groups which are not are a big NO.
Working with an Organization or an individual?
Since outsourcing has become a lucrative opportunity in the developing countries, a lot of freelancers and fly-by-night operators have mushroomed. A lot of untrained and under qualified people could actually pose to be an organization. While you are outsourcing, it most recommended to go ahead with a company which has some proven credentials and verified references. If you are not sure about the credentials of an individual or a group of individuals, do not associate with them. You might end up throwing your money away and trying to press charges against the person but all in vain. Working with an organization on the other hand will be safer bet as a lot of your due-diligence is automatically done. You are already going to save money by working with an offshore provider, why get more greedy! Ask for some globally authenticated quality certifications – An ISO 9001 -2000 is an example.
If you think you have tackled all these points diligently, some of the Advantages of Outsourcing your project can be seen by clicking the link.
This is a short article because in the constraints of time and space preclude me from writing a 10 page article. Recently i built a ecommerce web site titled Cynscorion Products that sells knifes. I originally set out in July of 2004 to build an ecommerce site to bothe earn extra income and as a challenge to myself.
Along the way I learned several things about both myseldf and web site design. Fourth months and about $1,900 later I have a ecommerce web site that I could have built in about 45 days and for one third the cost. Yes, there were some expensive lessons I learned the hard way.
So, to help others who may be considering an ecommerce site i would like to offer a few tips.
1. Read books on ecommerce from both book stores and ebooks obtained from the internet. There are also a lot of free resources on the internet that you shouuld take advantage of. Do not just jump in with both feet like I did.
2. Start thinking about what you want to sell. If you make your own product, you should proceed to step 3. If you do not make the product you intend to sell then you first need to consider what you want to sell. If you have no preferences or if you have a hobby that you may potentially be able to turn into products market analysis is your next step.
3. Your need to determine if there is a market for your product. If there is no demand for your warm and fuzzy hand stitched bra’s then attempting to sell them is failure waiting to happen. Most people fail intheir first ecommerce site because they sell what they like, not what other people are willing to buy.
4. Start looking for a product supplier of what ever you intend to sell. The store is no good with out merchandise to sell.
5. Review the web hosting companies and shopping carts available for price and features. Get a good shioping cart that offers flexiblity. Even if you do not intend to use all of the features immediately, you may want them a year from now. Do not box your self in.
6. Consider your Merchant Account or Payment Gateway provider carefully. This the part of the ecommerce site that accepts credit cards and transfers the money into your bank account. Comparison shop and check their monthly fees and percentage fees. Ask if they require contracts and they have a lot of experience with ecommerce sites and beginners. Do not assume anything when dealijng with a merchant account company. It will cost you money, because the error will be yours. I know this from personal expereince. Read the fine print!
7. Lastly, if this is your first site, find someone who has built an ecommerce site befor and learn from them. You do not need to waste time and money reinventing the wheel.
So there you have it. Just few things to watch out for. Check out my web site and see what I built and read the story of how I built it. It is a funny story. Just go to the bottom of the page and click on Ecommece Book. Oh one more thing, avoid any travelling online seminar that promises a quick onl;ine web store. It an’t gonna happen. ecommerce stores take time and effort, but a person of average intelligence CAN do it. if you have any questions send me an email. i will try and help you if I can. Just to my web site and click on “contact us”.
