Every day we are bombarded with the opportunity to buy online. It is almost mandatory for retailers and producers have an online shop and it is becoming common for service-based organisations to sell online. For those companies that sell electronic products/services, it is a business-critical aspect of their operation. If you want to sell globally or 24x7 of course it is vital.
As you would expect, the answer is that it depends on the requirements of your business and customers. We suggest that you start with some good online shop software but start simple. Adding new features later is not a bad thing - in fact it is a good thing as customers like to see innovation and new services. You can get early feedback from customers which will help to determine what can be improved and how to prioritise the next round of features.
Of course it is essential to have it built by people who have experience. There are many complexities to be navigated and pitfalls to be avoided.
We may recommend solutions from high-end eCommerce solutions like Magento, cart plug-ins for Wordpress or Umbraco content management systems, simple cloud-based solutions such as Pay Pal's Mini Cart or feature-fat cloud solutions such as Shopify.
How to convert a user from a browser to a customer
If you prefer, you may download a PDF copy of How to build an Online Shop.
