After you’ve determined your market, decided on your business model, and come up with the right domain name, your next consideration is hosting. Get secure, reliable hosting. Cost is not the only factor here, and neither is stability - although both of these are crucial to your business. Do a little research before you commit to a web host, because once you’re in, you’re not likely to want to move several dozen - let alone several hundred pages of your established websites... like I just did. Actually, it was more like several thousand. But I digress.
You’re looking for reliability here - it’s your top priority in choosing a host. You want a web host with 99% uptime, and you want a hosting company that’s going to be around for awhile - especially if you’re paying them annually. Take a look at the technology that the host offers. If you’re developing with PHP scripting, you’ll want to have a Unix or Linux hosting account. If you use ASP, then a Windows account is in order. Certain technologies are not cross-compatible.
The best hosting offers technical support 24/7, accommodates multiple technology platforms, and offers tiered hosting plans that won’t break your business bank. If you’re looking for hosting recommendations, check the list on my website at eCommerceGal.com/web_hosting.
There are companies that offer a user friendly development tool, training, tech support and site hosting bundled together for what is usually a stiff monthly payment. What they’re promoting is a spoon fed approach, often aimed at time-starved small business owners. Some of these packages cost hundreds of dollars a month. While this all-in-one package may look good in the box, it gets ugly in a hurry. Those monthly fees add up quickly, and the value delivered by these proprietary solutions is questionable. The biggest problem factors in when you try to migrate your website to another venue or web host. Their proprietary technology is often limited, and you will outgrow it in a hurry. But it just doesn’t transfer to the real world. Making the right choice at the outset will save you a whole lot of grief in the long run.
Whether you’re using one of these one-size-fits-all solutions or you decide to go with a simple WordPress installation and a free theme, you’re going to encounter the same learning curve or outsourcing fees. You might as well choose the option that empowers you. Your web host will provide just about all the tech support you need. Keep it simple and affordable, and your odds of success go up exponentially.
Next, you may be wondering if retaining a professional consultant for web development is a good idea. It depends on what you want your site to do. It’s not uncommon for consultants to charge more than the down payment on a house for custom turnkey technology, yet not even provide training or personnel to implement it. That’s extra. All they’re delivering is the site structure - just the bones - and a few training videos. I know some of these guys, and they’re very sophisticated, personable, experienced. It’s easy to get wowed by their bells and whistles and their resumes. But that doesn’t mean their services offer any more value than you could get from a good content management system like Joomla and a handful of quality graphics. In the world of ecommerce, time to market is crucial. You want to keep your business fast and light.
We’ll go into the technology specifics in just a moment. The philosophy you want to develop is that an as online business owner, you’re the one with the vision, and you decide how your business will be conducted. Any technical help you hire should serve your business in a supporting role. At no time should your developers dictate the terms of your business to you. If you ask for a button, a link, an opt-in form or a widget, your devleoper should deliver it to you. If you’re going to be an online business owner, take the time to understand just a few basics of the technology you’re using. Here’s a case where knowledge truly is power.
Hiring technical help typically makes sense for specialized jobs on a limited engagement. When it comes to more complex coding, hiring help really is the best way to go if you’re not technically savvy. Research the technology you want to use, then hire a techie to implement it. Use an online escrow service to handle the payment - that way you’re happy with the work, and payment is assured to your contractor. There’s no haggling over the details. You can find good help through Craigs List, and in a lot of cases, that means you can hire off-shore talent for routine coding jobs. However, at all times you need to retain the keys to your website, and the focus must remain on providing service to your customers - not funding your consultant’s wine collection. You know what I’m talking about.
Selecting and Using Your Web Technology
Creating a website is not that big a deal if we compare it to what you need to learn for other technical skills. Most people tend to give up and pack their bags as soon as they hear the words “programming” and “technical”. They think it`s too much of a hassle to actually learn a new “language”. Let’s put it this way: you program the heck out of your ATM machine every time you punch in your PIN number and pull out a handful of twenties. If you can handle that, setting up your WordPress blog will give you no trouble.
You may be wondering whether you should use open source software, and why. That’s a great question. Let’s start by defining what we mean. Open Source is a set of principles and practices for writing software, the most important of which is that the source code is openly available. That means the software has been developed and improved by the user community, and you have the freedom to use it. It also means you can obtain it with zero cost.
The free software movement was launched back in 1983. In 1998, the name was changed to open source software or OSS. There is such a wealth of open source technology available for all kinds of sites, whatever you want to do online. This is a great place to start, and you can hire a contractor to install it for you if it’s over your head. Popular OSS programs run the gamut from simple blogging platforms to enterprise-level applications. The open source technology that’s available is really powerful, and it includes simple HTML web templates, blogging, eCommerce, auction sites, your own online directory, your proprietary search engine, or even your own forum or social network. I’ve used and installed most of these types of technology for my own sites as well as for my customers. If you can follow a recipe, you can install your own forum.
The benefits of using open source software go beyond the implementation and the low cost. In most cases, OSS applications offer efficiency, reliability and the option to customize. There’s also a large community of support for these programs, and usually you’ll find the answers to your questions almost immediately through a web search or a dedicated forum for your chosen technology. Also the tech support department of your web host can usually point you in the right direction if you have any trouble finding your answers independently.
Let’s take a look at some of the different technology types that are available to you for developing and maintaining your own web presence.
Selecting & Installing Your Shopping Cart
When talking about eCommerce, the first thing we want to do is address the question of check-out. You need an application that will work with your website to allow your customers to choose and order products from you. Open source shopping carts are widely available, and they include OSCommerce, ZenCart, OpenCart, XCart, and CSCart. Each of these applications has its own fan base and forums to support them. I personally use OpenCart for my store. You can see what this looks like at Store.eCommerceGal.com. Go ahead and browse through, take it for a test drive. I promise you won’t pay for anything you don’t buy.
Now, with eCommerce shopping carts, you’ll still need to provide a safe place for your money to land. That is, you’ll need some kind of merchant account to go along with your shopping cart. Unless you’re in love with idea of investing in a monthly plan, using a service like PayPal should do the trick and serve your needs just fine at the beginning.
Some common digital cash payment processing methods include PayPal, CheckFree, FireballCart.com, Authorize.net, BidPay, BillPoint and WorldPay. Here’s something I’ll bet you didn’t know. e-Gold.com allows for payment in gold, silver, platinum or palladium using an account-based system. Ah, but no diamonds - a girl’s best friend.
Since there is not an actual store for people to walk into, the set up of your site will determine if they stay long enough to make