Using "The Machine"

UsingTheMachine is all about helping you leverage the Internet for business success. I recently received some reader feedback with a request asking for some advice on a "Simple Online Store" with a "Flash Intro".  First, I would simply lose the "flash intro" part of that question. Flash intros have been proven not to add to the success of the store and many advance users will find them annoying roadblock to bypass prior to getting to the store.

Remember, I love questions and no matter how basic or complex you think it is please feel free to "Ask a Question" and I will do my best to help you out.

Getting an online or e-commerce site/store for your small business is not hard.. but  it can seem complicated... why? because there are just so many options.  If your not familiar with e-commerce then the task can seem daunting. So what I want to do is run though some options for online stores and more specifically what you should look out for when trying to find that initial e-commerce solution to start selling over the Internet.

So first thing to consider of course is what your selling.. as potentially your options will be different.  For example, if you want to sell hundreds of products for example a discount retailer then potentially you will have more work in managing all those products and need more advance catalog features to help you out.

So given the question was about a "Simple" solution, I am not going to worry about what provides the most advanced features (discounting, coupon codes, inventory, shipping prices, tax etc.),  instead I am going to focus on simplicity first. (by the way starting simple and cheap is a good way to start off regardless of what you sell.. first make sure you can sell whatever you are selling before you invest in a large amount of e-commerce capabilities.)

So here are some options from the millions on the Internet:

(Disclaimer:I do NOT run a high volume stores on each one of these services and only have real experience with a couple of them. What they have in common is they are hosted that is you don't have to install software to use them and they are more focused on the novice, non-technical e.g. they are for business people not web developers. I would study each one further and try out some if possible to see which meets your unique business needs the best.)

Simple Store Options: (simple to more advance)

CartFly - CartFly is essentially free, the charge a transaction fee only on all sales (3%).. the unique thing about CartFly is essentially your store/cart is a Widget.  This means that not only can you put it on a Web Site you can also put it on a Blog or Social Networking site like facebook or myspace. Key limitation is obviously your store can only look and act within the constraints of the Widget. On the CartFly there are many other stores listed that you can look at so it is easy to see what is possible.

blinkcart - is as simple as CartFly but is not a "Widget" but the only thing you have to do is create the appropriate link to the blinkcart service for each of your products. I can see blinkcart being more appropriate for stores with less products and more content about each product.  Think of a product that needs a whole web page of content or even a whole web site, maybe more pictures or even video.  This would be easier to do in a blog or your web site than a product catalog. Then you can simply add a link (add to cart) to your cart for purchase. blinkcart has a monthly fee with a limit on products, it starts off at $12 month - 30 products up to $59 - 170 products.

Shopify - Shopify is more advance than simple cart services.  It is a full function e-commerce store with some advance features like inventory levels and on higher end plans discount codes and more.  The unique thing about Shopify is it is easily modified to provide a unique experience, they also have a diverse set of pre-built "styles".  Shopify is great if your business has a brand image to uphold.. so things like high-end or niche boutiques or specialty shops. If you want a modern hip experience first Shopify can give you this starting off at $24 per month and going all the way up to $300 per month.

ProStores - ProStores is an eBay company, so they obviously have some expertise.  This is service moves up a notch and can include more advance features like merchandising, discounting, email marketing etc. They do have lots of pre-built designs and there is always the possibly to pay extra to get a custom design (or you can do it yourself if you have web design skills).  There is a low cost option $6.95 per month plus a 1.5% transaction fee.  However, the basic service starts off at $30 per month up to $250 per month all have a .5% transaction fee. 

GoodBusiness - GoodBusiness by GoodBarry is more like what the big boys use.. not because it is an amazing e-commerce store it is similar to functionality to all the others what sets it apart are the features around the store.  Specifically a full set of tools for analytics, integrated customer database, email marketing, lead management, cross sell, up sell, inventory control, multi-currency, gift vouchers, affiliate programs and much more.  This is what is unique instead of having multiple tools you get everything in one.. and this type of solution is great if you are serious about building a full time e-commerce business as you truly need all those pieces and more. GoodBusiness starts off at $39 to $120 per month.