E-Commerce: Fundamentals of Building Web-Based Businesses

Timothy LeeUALR Arkansas SBTDC

Categories of Consumers

• Newbies

• Time Sensitive

• Clicks & Mortar

• Hooked Online

• Hunters & Gathers

• Brand Loyalists

Business to Consumer

• Convenience Goods

• Replenishment Goods

• Research Goods

Business to Business

Taxes and the Web

• Internet Tax Freedom Act– interstate moratorium

• Streamlines Sales and Use Tax Acts– Intrastate taxes

– Destination based

Obstacles Facing Small Businesses

• Costs• Security Concerns• Technical Expertise• Customer Service• Lack of Qualified

Workers

Phases of Internet Involvement

• Connectivity (Brochureware)

• Customer Connections (Pre-Commerce)

• Commerce (Simple Commerce)

6-Step Development Process

• Step 1 - Create the online content

• Step 2 - Host the content on the Internet

• Step 3 - Market the website and content

• Step 4 - Collect and record customer orders

• Step 5 - Process payments

• Step 6 - Fulfill customer orders

Content is King!

• News

• Product Reviews

• Customer Service

• Search Tools

Elements of Good Online Design

• General Layout• Navigation• Key elements

– Masthead /Logo

– Navigation

– “The Offer”

– Title / Meta Tags

• Download Time

Registering a Domain Name

• Choose a Domain Name

• Check Name Availability

• Register New Name with hosting service

Let’s Take a Break !

• 10 minutes

• Stand up and stretch…

• Get a drink of water…

• Swap business cards…

Locating a Web Host

Unix/Linux &Apache• Apache web server• CGI / PERL scripts

Windows NT & IIS• IIS web server• FrontPage extensions• ASP scripts

Web Hosting Features

Minimum• Free Domain

Registration• 500 MB storage• Unlimited traffic• 5-10 POP3 boxes• Statistics• FTP access

Desirable• Custom CGI• Unlimited aliases• Autoresponders• Secure server (SSL)• Shopping Cart• Log files access

Uploading Your Website

• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)– Most common method

– Full control of files

• Frontpage– FTP “shell”

– both NT & Unix

Marketing Your Website

E-Mail Techniques

• E-mail Address • Signature Files • Mailing Lists • Autoresponders• Bulk E-mail

Marketing Your Website

WWW Techniques

• Content• Meta Tags • Search Engines • Reciprocal Links • Blogs• Podcasts

Marketing Your Website

Offline Techniques

• Stationary• Paid Advertising

Getting Found in the Search Engines

• Indices– Yahoo.com

– Dmoz.org

• Search Engines– Google

– MSN / Live

• How to register

Collecting and Recording Customer Orders

• Printable Order Forms

• Toll-Free Telephone

• Shopping Carts

Shopping Cart Features

Minimum• Easily Add, Modify,

Delete Items• Customize Interface• Calculate Taxes /

Shipping• Credit card validation• E-mail Notification

Desirable• Upload Product

Database / Spreadsheet

• Product Images• Real-time Credit Card

Processing• Customer Order

Tracking

Shopping Cart Software

• ISP / Host Provided– Zen Cart

– OScommerce

• CGI / PERL scriptswww.cgi-resources.com

• 3rd Party Software

Cart Installation and Testing

• Configuration

• Product Loading– Manual

– File Upload

• Testing

Payment Systems

• COD(online email form)

• Checks(print & mail web page)

• Credit Cards(script & secure server)

• Virtual Cash / Wallets(script & secure server)

Processing Credit Card Payments

• Using Existing Systems

• Automating Payments– PayPal

– Authorize.net

• Alternatives

Credit Cards

• Secure server (SSL)

• HTML Form to database

• Merchant Account

• Don’t Factor!!

Fulfilling Customer Orders

• In-house Fulfillment

• Outsourcing Fulfillment Services– iFulfill.com

Fulfillment Problems

• Overselling

• Slow Response Time

• Returns

• Charge Backs