E-commerce can involve electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, e-marketing, online marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), automated inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems.
Customer service software applications and customer service solutions range from simple to complex. Some businesses have a greater need for customer service software than others. Build customer loyalty by providing faster, responsive customer contact. While consumer service is vital, it must be handled differently for different organizations. The most worthwhile customer service software should provide all these attributes in a knowledge base system that allows you to easily access all your client communication in one place.
When starting an online business, we must find a reliable web host that meets our requirements. Searching for a reliable and cheap web host is not an easy task. But if we know what we are looking for, it makes our job more straightforward. Because by a suitable host, we can easily accomplish our business goals. So what is then? E-commerce hosting will help?
We can only trust a cheap web host if it meets our business requirements. The verification process comprises some common issues and some other issues specific to our business.
A significant concern is the quality of support provided by the host. We could e-mail a cheap Reseller Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, or Shared Hosting plan – CPWebHosting company a few times to estimate the response time they provide.
We should also try to analyze the quality of the answers provided by the hosting company. Are the answers in-depth, or do they just cover the basics? Make inquiries about the various methods of support. Most web hosting companies offer online support personnel, message boards, and help desks.
Storage Space is an essential parameter for our search for a reliable web host. We require at least 100 MB of space for even a simple site. Most good web hosts offer their customers a minimum of 1 GB of space.
Bandwidth is another essential part of the verification process. Most good web hosts offer 25 to 50 GB Bandwidth.
Support System, as discussed at the beginning of the article, is the most crucial point to check.
Secure Servers are essential if we sell products/services online. We have to look for web hosting companies providing SSL encryption since this will guarantee security for all money transactions conducted on our site.
Private CGI-BIN is an excellent scheme to have a private CGI-BIN directory for the safety of our files. This is where we store our binary scripts and interactive programs, including shopping carts and payment processing.
Web Log would help us keep track of various statistics for our business. These statistics aid us to develop new strategies to retain our present customers and attract new customers.
Operating System and Program Language Capabilities All reputed web hosting companies allow front pages on either a UNIX- or Windows-based system. Many web hosts provide Windows and UNIX-based hosting, but the rates may differ.
An efficient and valuable method to find a good web host is to discuss with people we know who have websites. Enquire about their experiences with their current and past web hosting services.
E-commerce tools manage and promote online sales.
E-commerce tools are helpful in online marketing.
E-commerce tools are helpful in online marketing or the electronic exchange of products and services.
You need to automate everything if you want to be successful in measuring customer satisfaction. Surveying your customers is an excellent way of measuring customer satisfaction, but if they take too much time away from other important work, it will fall by the wayside. Automate both your requests for completing the survey and your collection and reporting of the data. Some service desk software will do this for you. If yours does not, consider customization that will enable it — it’s worth the investment.
The main determining factor is your number of products. If you have only one or two products to sell, you may be able to get by without any type of shopping cart, just a simple order form.
If you have several products arranged across a multi-page site and want your customer to be able to browse your pages, picking items at will with the selections stored for checkout at one central screen, it would be a good idea to have some sort of “shopping cart.”
Technologies for E-commerce website
you must get some SQL supporting hosting plan; I think it is a must for applications such as e-commerce. SQL Server is one of the most widely used database engines available today. SQL server is designed to let you build any type of Internet application. Microsoft SQL can handle hundreds of thousands of transactions per day and is a widely used database in corporations requiring large, high-use databases coupled with high reliability.
It depends on which platform you want to opt for first.
If you want to go the Microsoft route, you will want to look at ASP.net combined with an MSSQL server. However, if you’d prefer to use Linux to lower costs, you’re much more likely to utilize a PHP/MySQL setup.
E-commerce solutions can run on other platforms, though anything mainstream will run on either.
Online transactions can actually be undertaken by a third-party provider. For instance, through its Express checkout, Paypal can take care of the bulk of your processing. Similarly, this holds true for Google Checkout.
Merchant account number
Unless you have bad credit, getting a Merchant Account to take Mastercard, Visa, and American Express is not that difficult. It can, however, be daunting trying to find someone who can offer you a merchant account. Most banks and financial institutions do not provide their small business customers merchant accounts for “mail order” or “online” sales because they consider these high-risk. Many companies offer this service, but it is often expensive or complicated to set up. Also, unfortunately, some “fly by night” operations only stay in business long enough to take your substantial deposits.
