UK ecommerce store - how, who, where?

I want to set up an ecommerce store selling products on-line for the UK market for the first time.

I would really appreciate feedback from people that have done this before.

How does an ecommerce store work with regards to setting up the web site/payment processing?

Can anyone recommend any pit falls I should be aware off?

What companies are good to deal with?

Any other info is much appreciated!

Thanks

 

I maintain several UK e-commerce websites for clients and I find the biggest headache is customers putting in the wrong credit card information (getting the issue number and CVV2 code confused, selecting Visa when they have a Visa Electron etc). I would definitely advise making the credit card info entry form as clear and well annotated as possible.

Customers also get very concerned if they don't receive an email confirming their order (which is a pain for me as AOL seem to have blocked emails sent from my server and lots of people have @aol.com addresses) so make certain you send one - and if its not hugely inefficient send one to confirm dispatch also.

 

Some good tips there norfstar!

Thanks.

Rep added.

 

There are many options available to you from:

1) Use a pre setup "off the shelf" package solution where you pay little - nothing up front but pay a fixed monthly amount. Advantages are that you dont need the up front capital and all updates/ issues are sorted out for you. Disadvantage is that the long term costs are higher and it is much more difficult/ impossible to make your site different from anyone else using the same service. Is a one size fits all which means it wont necessarily fit correctly.

2) DIY solutions - use a pre built script such as oscommerce or zencart and set it up yourself either designing or buying a design for the front end. Advantage is that they are common and so people know how to use it as customers, lowest cost solution. Disadvantage is that you are "on your own" in terms of setting it up or fixing problems, can be difficult to make your store look different to everyone elses again. Need to spend time researching improvements to the site through plug ins etc rather than actually running the business. Is a one size fits all which means it wont necessarily fit correctly.

3) Semi-custom - similar to the above but pay a pro to set it up/ set up or design the front end. Advantage is you have some element of support and an "experts" experience to call on. Disadvantages are that you can only do so much with customising solutions without running costs out to similar levels as option 4 below and you may still end up with a site that looks like many others or that doesnt function exactly as you want it. You also have reoccuring costs of developers etc each time a new version of the software is released (and if it is over customised these costs may be high)

4) Bespoke - pay professionals to make something that functions identical to what you want/ need. Advantage - it can be truely unique and be perfectly suited to your needs. Disadvantage - highest cost to set up, potentially tied to a developer for future changes, if it is too different users may not understand how it works.

Naturally we fit in number 4 but it isnt the correct solution for everyone

 

Thanks for the tips Astaroth. I will add rep for you once I learn how

 

If you're looking for good software I would suggest CubeCart, with the SEO mod.

Install the SEO mod immediately after installing the software if you use it. I've found it to be very simple software to use, with a large number of free mods and some very good paid ones as well. You can use it for free if you keep the copyrights up just to try it out, and buy a license key for it after.

 

Wow! Thanks Hannah, I've just taken a look at cube karts web site and I'm impressed. I think I'll go with them for the set up.

I will add rep for you as well, as soon as I learn how (Anyone know how i do this? hahahaha)

 

Press the scales thingy in the top right hand corner of hannah (and everybody elses) page.

What software are you using? The two biggies are Zen Cart (Open Source) and Actinic (paid). Both have their advantages and disadvantages (Actinic has great URL's, and it's all in the box, great support, but tricky to design with. Zen Cart is easy to design with, but not as great support, but there is more addons to do all sorts of functionality than you can shake a stick at)

 

Ive been doing eccomerce for quite a while now, Im based in the UK also, we use paypal for payment at present which for us works surprising well, We use a hosted shopping cart called 'volusion' which I absolutley love - I think the game is about having what people want at the right price and amking the site attractive enough so the products sell themselves, a good way to do this is good product pictures and a bit of creative writing for product descriptions to help customers use their imagination.

My 2 pence

 

Thanks for the advice johnaspey! Rep added for you too. I have a $2k budget for this project, I think I'll dedicate half that to design and writting and the other half for set up working with programmer. I specialise in SEO so my job will be getting traffic to the sites via PPC and via Search engine listings.

I have added rep for everyone else too!

Please keep the advice coming, especially links to where I can learn more about this area of business.

 

To be honest, if you are looking at a UK developer £1,000 will not get you the greatest amount of work. Obviously you can look to offshore it where you will get more bang for your buck but it potentially brings its own issues.

 

Thanks for the comments Astaroth. I plan to set the site up myself, as a little learning project and will get, probably an offshore developer to teach me what I don't know when I get stuck.