ecorner stores functionality
Custom Functionality
The packages that eCorner provide come with just about anything you will ever need to run an eCommerce store. If you are starting a new eCommerce business we would recommend that you use as much of the out-of-the-box or standard functionality as possible and our stores have it all. Your online business will start to make money for you then you can look at expanding and adding new functionality.
Web development can cost over $150 per hour but varies by provider. We recommend that you ask for a full proposal with specification and a work order that identifies the work and time for each task for your approval so you know what you will get. You should always look at the Terms & Conditions and ensure that there is a warranty period. Expect to pay some part upfront but you should always hold some part of the payment back to ensure completion as you expected. Check if the development company has product and professional indemnity as a mistake may cost you a lot of money online.
Payment Gateway
If you want to accept credit cards online we recommend that you use a Payment Service Provider and process the credit cards via a Payment Gateway. There are strict regulations around the use and storage of credit card information which are regulated by the Payment Card Industry via their Data Security Standards you can find more information at their website www.pcisecuritystandards.org or through your bank.
All eCorner Stores are PCI DSS compliant. Payment Gateways have to be integrated into your website. eCorner has already integrated a number of leading Payment Gateways including:
PayPal (Standard, Express and Payflow),
eWAY,
Dialect Solutions,
DPS,
Netregistry,
Camtech,
SecurePay
Worldpay.
These are made available as part of the package from eCorner. You will need to setup an account with the Payment Service Provider (and maybe also and online merchant account with your bank) to take online payments. Setup costs vary dramatically from nothing at PayPal up to $500 for some providers. Some Payment Providers will also charge an annual fee between $200 – $500. You will pay transaction fees for each payment that you accept again these vary greatly but expect from 1.1% + 30 cents up to 4.5% or more depending on the Payment Service Provider.
So check this out carefully. Your bank will also charge you some fees to setup you Online Merchant Account these do not vary greatly from bank to bank but shop around and ask questions. eCorner does not charge any separate transactions fees.
Shipping and Logistics
eCorner provide a wide variety of shipping methods built in which you can setup on your website. These handle just about any possibility. We also provide integration to Australia Post for calculating shipping cost in the shopping basket. The actual shipping cost to send your packages is not part of the eCommerce package and you need to make sure that you calculate and add shipping cost correctly.
We help our customers SEM by listing them on our marketplace at www.ecornerstores.com.au. If you want professional Search Engine Marketing (SEM) results we recommend that you engage an SEM specialist company like Hot Goanna.
Web Analytics – Visitor and Page Tracking
A good online shop can often fail because the owners don’t know what is really happening on the website. In order to understand the activity on the website you need to collect information about what visitors there are and what they do. This is collected by a web analytics program like etracker or Google Analytics. Every eCorner store comes already integrated with etracker but there is a cost for the etracker service. However you can also use fee analytics like Google Analytics on your online store. There are obviously many differences but the key issue is that you must, at a minimum, track activity like:
visitors
return visitors
geographic location
page impressions
entry and exit pages
Analytics costs can vary and be more than the cost of the store in large and complex ecommerce environments but if you use Google Analytics it is free and for a service like etracker, which provides real time data as it happens, the costs start at $50 / month for an enterprise solution.
Systems and Integration
This is about connections to existing systems within the organisation these generally are:
1.Financial
2.Warehousing
3.CRM
4.ERP – encompassing all the above
5.External supply and logistics
6.Payment systems (credit cards and banks)
Most modern eCommerce Software has the capability to utilise Web Services and SOAP as a communication protocol to other systems. Some older or legacy applications might not have web services APIs but in that case other file transfer systems and even flat files can be utilised.
Some Cost Estimates
Summary
It is possible to quickly end efficiently build and deploy an enterprise level online eCommerce shop operating in B2C (or B2B) mode using the latest generation of technologies.
These are flexible and can be easily extended.
They integrate with other systems and technology using web services.
They come with a full set of pre-built features and capabilities.
They run with a high level of security and reliability.
They support many Web 2.0 capabilities.
The estimates in the above table can be used as a guide and can vary with individual situations. But in general they provide an accurate cost range for the development, deployment and management of an enterprise level online shop.
Another option for large enterprises is micro-sites that are targeted at specific products, markets or demographics. These can allow a retailer to test new markets or products quickly and efficiently with a minimal investment of potentially less that $10,000 – $30,000.
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