| The highly competitive ecommerce arena has begun | | | | flag waiving in the arena. |
| to see an evolution in the paradigm of packages prices | | | | Though some may come to the ecommerce table |
| and shopping cart platforms. Many ecommerce | | | | with a sizeable sum and a wealth of business |
| management software providers are successfully | | | | management experience, I am most interested in the |
| bundling their ecommerce software with storefront | | | | plight of those who do not. For those weary |
| templates, shopping carts, and complete marketing | | | | occupational travelers, business confidence may fall |
| services making it easy for the inspired entrepreneur | | | | sharply as hard earned start-up capital diminishes, and |
| to start an online retail business. | | | | success will be carefully garnered by monitoring |
| While the internet itself always provided a revitalized, | | | | spending. |
| virtually unlimited opportunity for making money, there | | | | For sake of those e-commerce combatants, we're |
| still existed - as with most pursuits - numerous | | | | most interested in the growing breed of ecommerce |
| challenges and a somewhat slippery learning curve. | | | | providers who offer complete services - hosting, |
| Foremost among the obstacles for excited proprietors | | | | design, shopping cart, store management tools, |
| and transitioning companies, was adapting an existing | | | | analytics, seo marketing, ssl certificates - basically |
| local retail business to the web: stores without stores, | | | | everything you need - at an affordable price. These |
| displays without bulky shelving comprised solely of | | | | vendors bring a ray of hope to the prospect of |
| pixels, customers service departments replaced by | | | | starting an online business, and can certainly bring forth |
| phone agents, and the unending yearning to create | | | | operational proof of other companies they've assisted |
| significant brand awareness in a market that had no | | | | numbering in the tens of thousands. Which begs the |
| regional boundaries. | | | | question, with so many advanced yet simplified tools |
| However, the advantage of the internet was the | | | | available and so many companies already enjoying |
| profusion of readily available information, and the game | | | | success, how easy is it really? Does anyone with a |
| began to change slowly, and then rapidly, in a | | | | desire, some cash, and a willingness to succeed really |
| historically unrivaled communication of knowledge in the | | | | have a shot at the modern American dream - making |
| form of everything internet, from html tutorials to | | | | a viable income working from home as an internet |
| shopping cart solutions, all for the taking for those | | | | retail proprietor? A home-brewed latte, some |
| willing to eager to learn - and to pay. And, so the future | | | | checkered pajames, and a picture window for office |
| and ecommerce were born, fast and unrelenting. The | | | | adornments are the stuff of dreams for many |
| merchants of small town life often seen sweeping the | | | | office-scorched blue collar Americans. |
| steps of their shops each morning, tidying their stores | | | | So, just how well do total ecommerce providers |
| for the days traffic, spent more time in front of their | | | | succeed at helping you succeed? |
| computers, changing the graphic on their banner ads, | | | | There are numerous good ecommerce players out |
| as the first, obvious element of online business was | | | | there - Volusion, BigCommerce, Shopify, and 3DCart |
| recognized. Though online retailers would still require | | | | are a few notables - that can provide your store with |
| consistently reputable customer service departments | | | | a site, hosting, ecommerce platform system, shopping |
| and quality products to sustain repeat buying and avoid | | | | cart, customer support, etc., however, they can vary |
| dangerous complaints from newly sprung online review | | | | significantly in quality, ease-of-use, and price - all |
| sites, proprietors foremost need was for a presentable | | | | factors that can affect the reality of online success. |
| online location - a good website - and ten thousand | | | | The question is, in a rush of e-commerce competition, |
| web design companies responded on cue in a | | | | have packages become like so many package |
| Starbucks-sustaining din, accented by the sound of | | | | products, appearing to include everything you need but |
| fingers-flying across Dell keyboards and the | | | | lacking in fundamental quality. Children's fishing sets are |
| exuberance of freshman classes filling the seats of | | | | available at discount retailers that provide a pole, reel, |
| newly-created college web classes. | | | | lures, weight, bobbers, and an assortment of |
| A good web design, a user friendly shopping cart, the | | | | neon-colored tackle for under $15, but many Dad has |
| right niche products, and successful SEO and | | | | faced crying toddlers after arriving at the vacation |
| cost-per-click marketing quickly arose as ingredients of | | | | destination to discover that the reel jambs and the |
| a winning web formula that companies had to struggle | | | | lures don't work. When it comes to your ecommerce |
| to discover, understand, and master. And, inevitably, as | | | | provider, you don't want to be a victim of that old |
| the necessary components of online business become | | | | adage, getting only what you paid for. After all with |
| more clearly defined, the opportunity to make money | | | | competition and technology increases, can't we |
| servicing those trying to make money selling was | | | | demand that the functional value of our purchases |
| handsomely seized by ecommerce programmers, | | | | exceed their cost, or at least exceed another product |
| web developers, and web marketers. | | | | of the some price. |
| It is somewhat dizzying and mathematically staggering, | | | | Some ecommerce companies offer relatively cheap |
| looking back now in 2010, to remember just how fast | | | | shopping carts and management tools, but their site |
| the internet rose since its dawn, first cresting the | | | | templates are crudely commercial - replicas with |
| technological mountains. Now those musing starting an | | | | differing color schemes - and obtaining a custom |
| online business over their cappuccino the morning after | | | | design is an additional service costing hundreds or |
| graduation can sign up with a monstrous drop-shipping | | | | thousands more. Once you enter into a deep-digging, |
| conglomerate offering thousands of products, carefully | | | | nuts and bolts comparison you'll discover the variety in |
| select a design company promising exceptional | | | | price, quality, service, usability, is great even among |
| custom work for a few hundred bucks, hire an | | | | competitors. Ultimately, selecting the right company will |
| inexpensive SEO firm promising first page results, and | | | | depend upon your particular business, target market, |
| barrel head long into an unknown, optimism-laden online | | | | product catalog, knowledge level, experience and |
| business future. | | | | budget, with the latter likely holding more weight than all |
| Unfortunately, like falling stars on an August night, the | | | | others. |
| sight of once-bright entrepreneurs burning out from | | | | One of my favorite new ecommerce comapnies this |
| their web dreams has become a regular statistical | | | | year is AWDCommerce, ( an emerging Montana |
| vision, and the reality considered by this article. Namely, | | | | based e commerce software developer and a |
| how viable is creating an online business? And | | | | subsidiary of American Web Design, for their quality, |
| specifically, have ecommerce companies succeeded in | | | | cost, and small-town style customer support. They |
| delivering the services that give you a better chance | | | | offer over 500 customized storefront designs for |
| of succeeding than failing? | | | | numerous industries of very high quality for a |
| Sure, we're way past the early '90's when everybody | | | | professional site, robust ecommerce management |
| was jumping on the internet as it sailed away from it's | | | | tools, exceptional small-town style customer service, |
| brick-and-mortar harbor, but ecommerce still has no | | | | shopping cart, unlimited products, support, and hosting |
| end in sight and is, perhaps, more appealing possibility | | | | for $39.99/mo. What I liked most is AWDCommerce |
| than ever for Americans analyzing the future of their | | | | combination of price, quality, and support - they provide |
| financial well-being in a lengthening recession. | | | | everything, with friendly small town support to back it |
| Online adaption has taken place though, and while early | | | | up, for under $40 a month. The storefront designs |
| internet pioneers faced a more uncertain journey - | | | | offered a superb quality against comparable templates |
| having less affordable options available for web | | | | - providing entrepreneurs with a truly, professional |
| services - modern web mavericks will face a different | | | | appearance - plus they offer agent-assisted |
| primary problem: themselves. There's just too many | | | | assimilation and customization of logos and graphics, |
| people doing the same thing and the competition can | | | | making the site formation easy for the unsavvy. |
| be fiscally suffocating. It's in the choices made during | | | | Rather than offering "scalable" plans labeled like |
| that critical growing stage that will play the largest role | | | | Olympic medals, they allow up to 10,000 products so |
| in being able to jump to the next milestone without | | | | you have room to grow without seeing a higher |
| drowning out. Like everything, to succeed online will, | | | | monthly bill. AWDCommerce developed ecommerce |
| without question, require some investment, but | | | | platform didn't look as nice as some, but was very |
| spending little enough to put all the pieces in place - a | | | | easy to use and offered a strong array of |
| dependable hosting solution, an appealing, dependable | | | | professional management features. The company also |
| site, successful CPC and SEO marketing strategies, | | | | offers custom programming for any required app |
| efficient ecommerce management tools, etc. - and | | | | development and organic SEO and cost-per-click |
| getting a large enough return in the form of purchasing | | | | marketing services to help spread your brand wings. |
| consumer traffic while make or break a new | | | | I wouldn't be surprised to see AWDCommerce show |
| generation of potential web tycoons. | | | | significant growth in the e-commerce market this year, |
| Enter the aggressive arena of ecommerce and you'll | | | | and are a good example of a smart, all-inclusive |
| find numerous ecommerce software providers and | | | | provider for proprietors with limited pockets seeking to |
| web development companies standing by the gate | | | | get the most bang for their buck. |
| ready to equip you for the battle for a nominal fee, | | | | There are many good companies out there able to |
| themselves engaging in a tense contest to earn your | | | | provide a website, hosting, shopping cart, web-based |
| money as you pass by. But choose wisely, young | | | | management tools, analytics, and marketing and I |
| maverick, because paying too much for the wrong | | | | would assert that, more than ever before, they do |
| service could leave you strapped when you get the | | | | indeed make it possible for proprietor's with the right |
| marketing gauntlet and have no padding left. There are | | | | niche product and work ethic to successfully launch an |
| specialized web designers, shopping cart providers, | | | | online business with as little as a few hundred bucks. |
| SEO gurus, custom programmers, and hosting giants all | | | | One things remains certain though: choosing carefully in |
| dangling their goods before you with appealing phrases | | | | the selection of web services will have a measurable |
| like "scalable", "custom", and "#1", vying for your | | | | impact on your business once you enter the arena and |
| selection. Other companies promise to do it all for | | | | find yourself before the cheering crowd, with internet |
| peanuts, and while tempting, leave you with a nagging | | | | royalty like Google and Yahoo watching your |
| anxiety that may be getting less than you paid for, | | | | emergence with a robotic efficiency. |
| which is very little. Then there is an aisle of | | | | So be encouraged. The merchant games have |
| ecommerce giants that are well adorned, and seem | | | | always been tough, and though the intensity may have |
| stronger and more experienced, holding a long list of | | | | make a daunting plateau, there may have never been |
| previous champions they've supplied, and they would | | | | as much help available or potential gain as now. |
| likely be an excellent choice except that the young | | | | As a previous cash-strapped, green-footed web |
| business warrior would suffer a debilitating loss just | | | | proprietor myself, I wish all a happy deployment and |
| paying for the goods, before ever seeing their brand's | | | | good showing in the games. |