This is another email I sent a customer not too long ago. After reviewing it I realized it’s got some really useful information and I thought it couldn’t hurt to share this with the world. There are a couple of options I’ve featured and I’ve listed them below in regard to pros and cons.
1. Interspire Shopping Cart ($995 for professional)
- PRO: I would recommend getting the professional version and hosting the site yourself (or with us). It has the best set of features and they are continually updating as you can see… it’s on version 6. This shopping cart is outstanding and jam-packed with the most features you’ll probably find on a shopping cart (while still being easy to use). Overall, we have a number of happy clients on this platform, it’s mostly well supported, and we know it forward and back (minus keeping up with all the version feature upgrades).
- CON: The designs are mostly very “blah” and bland in my opinion. They all look like those cheap templates and it’s next to impossible to create a custom design around these sites as we have spent QUITE a bit of time trying to do this. The big problem is that everytime you modify the designs you have to update all the code when a new version of the software comes out. It’s simply not worth the cost. So if you can stand your site looking MOSTLY like one of these templates (http://www.interspire.com/shoppingcart/storedesigns.php) this is a good solution. Overall, I would say that your brand suffers a bit from the lack of style.
2. WordPress + Cart66
- PRO: Very clean and easy to use
- CON: Lacks advanced features that my limit you as you grow
3. WordPress + Shopper Press ($79)
- PRO: I like all the built in features and also like the style of the overall administration and front end features.
- CON: We have actually never used this product but I still think that it’s worth considering. Also, it might not be industrial strength e-commerce.
Overall Thoughts
My personal opinion is that your ecommerce sales is what pays the bills. But it’s your marketing that drives the traffic that get’s that done. Right now it might be past customers and warm lead referrals but as you realize it’s important to start cracking into inbound online traffic. I believe that most people are usually looking for the best deal when searching for a product online but if you can become a via source of reliable and trustworthy information in addition to great products you’ll create a more sustainable company that will weather the “cheapest” product available online storm. With all that being said, I think a site like interspires shopping cart conveys… we are just an ecommerce site like all the rest and we want your money. My personal opinion is that a great ecommerce website is just like a great marketing website. It embodies five key principles.
- 1. Design
- 2. Usability
- 3. Content
- 4. Traffic
- 5. Conversion
The Bigger Picture…
However, you need an even bigger picture than this. You need what you’re going to do after you get the website. The plan of action and scope to take your site traffic to the next level. It looks something like this at the most basic.
- 1. Website
- 2. Search Engine Optimization
- 3. Blog
- 4. Mailing List
- 5. Social Media
- 6. Link Buiding
- 7. Paid Advertising
- 8. Traditional (offline)
In Conclusion
I’m not trying to overwhelm you (sorry if so) but whatever decision you make should take into account partnering with a web firm that can not only make the site for (or under) the budget you’re looking for but also help you actually achieve success with your website. This is my passion and I look for new ways everyday to help my clients get there. If you feel one of the above solutions is right for your needs then we should setup an in-person meeting to discuss your project more and then I’ll be happy to deliver a final time/cost estimate shortly after. Thanks in advance and have a great day!