The most critical decision is choosing the right e-commerce platform for the project.

It is important that the client is involved in this decision and understands the competing feature sets. Clients commonly overlook this in assumption that all commerce platforms are the same or similar, and wind up with a site that doesn’t do what’s expected of it.
Follow this link for a list of eCommerce platforms.

Now you’ve looked at your options, demoed the stores, studied the feature lists, and decided on a store platform, it’s time for Angelwire to roll up our sleeves and get to work building your store. The project can be divided into five major segments; installation, configuration, template customization (skinning), modifications and catalog building.

We’ll need access to your web server, or we can host it for you. The platform is downloaded from the source site to our workstations and then uploaded to the web server.

Installation procedures vary from platform to platform, but generally involve creating a database, changing some file permissions and running an installation script.

Configuration typically takes place in a configuration file in the source code and also through the administrative dash. Examples include modifying directory paths, entering store owner data, setting up payment options, etc…

Templatizing is the process of designing or acquiring and installing the graphical template for the store. Platforms have varying degrees of support for templates, from no support and templates must be installed via html on a page by page basis (like osCommerce,) to full CSS templating support (like Magenta.) There are out-of-the-box templates that can be purchased and/or downloaded for most platforms, and this can sometimes reduce installation costs, if the template is written well (good code) and customizations to the template are minimal. In other words, installing and customizing a template with cryptic code can actually take more time than creating a custom one from scratch.

Modifications typically include creating/editing/installing of modules. This can be as simple as turning features off, or commenting features out of the source code, to downloading and installing extension modules, or creating new functionality out of thin air.

Once the store is set up and running, still hidden from the public, it’s time to begin adding products to the catalog. Typically this is the point at which we hand the store off to the client, and provide some initial training on using the store’s admin interface. Good product titles, descriptions and photos are critical here.

It is not uncommon for a client to come back to us after they begin adding products and demo their own store, and request additional modifications. Even if the client did their research and chose the best store for their application, actually seeing their own products within the store and template they choose often brings to light changes and additions.

Finally, the store is ready to go live. What can you expect in terms of traffic and sales to your new site?
The answer is, unless you have a strategy, funds and time for generating traffic, you should expect none. Think of your online store as a brick and mortar store, tucked away in a corner on the information superhighway. Without effective online marketing, advertising and search engine optimization, no-one will even know you are there. Please do not overlook this. Hundreds of thousands of online stores have failed because the owner just expected success because they made the right choices and created a beautiful, functional online store for their business.

Ask about our ongoing maintenance and support plans for search engine optimization and advertising campaign management.

To be successful online will require hard work, but can be extremely rewarding.