When comparing website builders, keep in mind that eCommerce is a large part of the builder that needs to be reviewed and tested. Some of the key things to look at are; shopping cart, shipping options, product catalog, secure checkout, merchant account integration, coupons, import/export, order review and processing, inventory control, sales tax, gift certificates, subscriptions, downloadable products. This is just a partial list but the right website builder will have these options and more.
Shopping Cart, make sure the builder has a shopping cart that allows you to add products to the cart and buy them. Integrating a 3rd party shopping cart within a sitebuilder can be a real headache. Having the shopping cart built into the website builder allows you to get support from one company and not having to contact separate parties and then get the finger pointing issue.
Product Catalog, verify you can setup and manage your products within the sitebuilder. Sitebuilder should also have the ability to create categories and sub categories for organizing larger product listings.
Secure Checkout, sitebuilder NEEDS to have a secure SSL checkout certificate integrated in. You should not have to go out and buy a SSL certificate and then integrate it within the sitebuilder. Again, one product and one support number to call.
Merchant Account, eCommerce solution will need to support various merchant account setups. A merchant account is the bank that will do the credit card processing for you. Sitebuilders won’t have this option built in because they are not a bank but should have the option to work with the most popular gateways out there. Authorize.net, linkpoint, verisign and more.
Coupons, gift certificates, subscriptions and downloadable products are a much needed add on for any eCommerce solution. Again, they should be built into the website builder so you don’t have to integrate another party solution.
Inventory control isn’t needed by everyone but if your business requires it then verify the eCommerce website builder supports this option as well. It will be very difficult to integrate online inventory control with retail stores because of the inventory change within the store.
Make sure sales tax and shipping vendors are available as well. As eCommerce store will need to charge tax for the state they are in and not for any states they don’t have a physical location in. Integration with FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL and others is a very important option.
Keep this in mind when looking for a Website Builder with eCommerce features. One company we recommend that handles all of the above and much more is eDirectHost at www.edirecthost.com, they have one of the most advanced eCommerce shopping carts in the market today.
Tags: eCommerce website builder, online website, Shopping Cart, website builder, website hosting
