Article Vault A - Z (eCommerce)


Who Invented Internet Commerce?

Ecommerce actually began long before most of us would have thought.

Many years before PCs and laptops were in our homes and doing mobile travel for work, business or play made Internet commonplace, ecommerce existed.

The first ecommerce occurred way back in 1984, when electronic data interchange, EDI, was made standard through the use of ASC X12 programming. The internet actually began in 1948 via the CIA for spywork. This was before ahem, Al Gore was born. So if Al invented it he is fully qualified for a full blown miracle. Oh well.

What was so important about this was that companies now could reliably complete online transactions with one another. The beginning of something big and innovative.

In 1992 Compuserve debuted, for the first time offering retail products online to customers.

Although this was the first time that ecommerce was enabled for the consumer it was still limited. Consumers had to purchase Compuserve, install it on their systems, and then subscribe to get into the product.

This was still an amazing breakthrough in spite of the work needed to make it work. Compuserve did not enable its ecommerce for general public access. They would be much bigger today if they had done so. Big mistake.

Two years later, in 1994, Netscape premiered its online services by offering a simple to use Internet browser. An important part of what Netscape offered was the security necessary for selling online ecommerce transactions.

You know, that little padlock in the lower right corner of your monitor window. It was called Secure Sockets Layer, and is still a crucial part of every ecommerce transaction or online payment.

Just one short year later history was made with the launch of both Amazon and eBay. Much different than their current ecommerce look, these two online vendor portals at first allowed online purchases but did not offer any auction based transactions.

In fact, at first, all Amazon offered was the opportunity to buy books, CDs and other print periodicals on a modified multilevel marketing basis.

A major part of the reason that ecommerce had not really taken off at this point was because the most common method of getting online, and about all that was available to the public up until 1995, was dial up. It was slow. It interrupted the individual and family ability to use their own phones and it made ecommerce a difficult process.

That is when Digital Subscriber Line, now more commonly referred to as DSL, was introduced to facilitate. Still using the telephone line, it increased the speed of ecommerce transactions and online search and surfing in general dramatically. It offered users the convenience of surfing the Web without tying up their phone line.

Ecommerce began to grow in popularity big time as a result.

Broadband soon became a commonplace offering in homes and offices, offering even quicker speed, an always on convenience and new technology that made the Internet more attractive.

Many employees used work computers for email and online fun until the great crackdown on employee use exploded throughout the USA making it a dismissable offense to use the net online for anything other than work purposes.

Ecommerce grew exponentially. As of 1999 Internet spending swelled to $20 billion.

Today it is a lot more billions of dollars. It is a fount for all kinds of creative uses replacing many functions of the postal mailing service, phone services and dramatically reduces the expense and experience necessary to start a business.

Knowledge can be earned on thousands of subjects using article directories and other informational sources.

Recently I asked someone who had a clearly profitable website that was beautiful, how old he was. I was shocked at the answer. He was making five or six thousand dollars a month. He is thirteen years old.

There are others like this also. Do you see the potential?


eCommerce The Solution For Big And Small Businesses

Do you have a business? Were you told you needed an ecommerce solution to help your business? Do you need to know how and where to get an ecommerce solution? Perhaps you are not even sure what an ecommerce solution is. For those of you who have asked these questions, an answer has been found.

First off, you need to know what an ecommerce solution is. An ecommerce solution can be defined in many ways. An ecommerce solution is a way to define electronic shopping carts. An ecommerce solution is used for businesses that sell things on the web. An ecommerce solution makes it possible for any sale or transaction to be made. They enable the use of credit cards and other forms of payment to be used right on your website. It is used for large companies like Ebay or Amazon. But now an ecommerce solution is for small companies and businesses as well.

There are other aspects and definitions of this subject. An ecommerce solution can also be defined as software that allows you to do business on the web. It is also software that designs websites that are used just for selling products or services on the web. An ecommerce solution can also be defined as a company that hosts websites. Either way you look at it, an ecommerce solution is for anyone doing business on the web.

An ecommerce solution does many things, as you can now tell. Finding a good ecommerce solution can be a tedious task. The best thing to do is to go online and use a search engine. Type in ecommerce solution and look at the top websites listed that offer this. There are many ecommerce solution stores that offer free trials. Many often guarantee ease of set up, customizable solutions, and guaranteed results with powerful marketing tools and affiliate programs. All of this is included in a set price.

When looking for an ecommerce solution, shop around and see which one offers you the best deal. Most offer a set yearly fee. This can be anywhere from $300 to $800 a year. There are some ecommerce solution stores that offer a month to month contract, however. These are usually $55 to $100 a month. Many offer a 30 day money back guarantee if you are not happy with the results of the ecommerce solution and it's software.

With all of this in mind, you are that much closer to finding a great ecommerce solution. There are many options out there, so do your research. For anyone who wants to do business on the web, it is an absolute necessity. Soon you will be on your way to a profitable and successful web based business!


Gear Up Toward eCommerce Success

Online shopping is the latest trend among customers. Why would you still go to the shop personally when you can do shopping from the comforts of your own home? Because of the rising popularity of online shopping, more and more business persons are setting up their own ecommerce websites to meet the needs of customers and of course, earn big money online.

There is a very bright future for ecommerce websites. As long as there are needs that should be met, there will be customers. For ecommerce website owners, earning money online can be so easy. If people need your products and services, your website will stay alive as long as you want.

Online Competition For Ecommerce Websites

Because of the increasing numbers of online shoppers, there is a need for more ecommerce websites. The problem, however, is that there seem to be several ecommerce websites now. A lot of business persons have answered the call to sell something online. This makes online competition very tough.

Just think about this, if you sell health and beauty products online, there are hundred more several websites like yours. They also offer the same products and services. If there is one customer looking for a health product, he has a hundred choices to choose from. So how can you increase your website’s chance of getting that customer?

Plan Ahead And Market Your Ecommerce Website

This is one thing that most ecommerce website owners do not completely understand. Most of them think that once they have set up their websites, they don’t have to do anything anymore. They will just sit and wait for sales. This may be true ages ago, but with the tough competition now, if you don’t do anything, you won’t get any sales.

Ecommerce websites need two things to consider. First is planning and the second is marketing. Before setting up the website, there must be a thorough planning first. In planning, you must consider the target market, budget, design and other factors that will affect the overall performance of the website.

Second is website marketing. After you have set up your website, you need to work on a marketing campaign. Through marketing, you can make your website more popular and visible to your target market. There are several web marketing options which you can use. The choice of the web marketing option depends on the need of your website.

Remember not to stop working on your website after the set up. If you stop working on it, the sales will also stop. Continually market your website for continuous sales.


Capitalizing On The eCommerce Revolution

Most small business owners think they understand the importance of having a quality web site. Unfortunately, many home-based entrepreneurs think of their web site as nothing more than an online brochure. While informing the public about the products and services you provide is important, using the internet to make those products and services more easily available is the real name of the game. If you are not taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the ecommerce revolution, then you are missing out on millions in potential sales.

Establishing Credibility for Your Ecommerce Web Site

Years ago, credibility was a major barrier for entrepreneurs wishing to conduct business on the internet. Luckily, times have changed and people have become more comfortable with ecommerce. However, you still need to make sure that your business has a professional web presence. Whether consciously or subconsciously, people feel a "contact us" page lends credibility to a web-based business. A toll-free number is even better. Testimonials from previous customers can allay fears, especially if your references are willing to post their email addresses for verification.

An overall, professional look for your web site is important, as well. Make sure you have consistent navigability and a crisp, concise design. Avoid cheesy flash gimmicks and other fancy ploys. Take a look at the most popular ecommerce sites on the web - they all have professional yet simple layouts and designs. Don't be afraid to model your look after Amazon, eBay, or other ecommerce leaders.


The Essential Tools of Ecommerce

In order to accept credit cards online, you need shopping cart software, a payment gateway, and a merchant account. There are some all-in-one ecommerce solutions, but they tend to be less customizable and are intended for businesses with smaller sales volumes. It's okay to start with PayPal or Google Checkout, but you should also be aware of what professional ecommerce solutions have to offer, because if you're successful, you will need to upgrade.

There are hundreds of shopping cart software packages available - just do an internet search and comparison shop for the solution that best meets your needs. Payment gateways typically come with merchant accounts (for an additional fee of $30 or so per month), so long as you use a third-party provider. The other option is to use a bank for your merchant account, which normally costs less in terms of fees. However, banks are often reticent to grant merchant accounts to online businesses.

Applying for a Merchant Account

You have to fill out an application in order to get a merchant account. Merchant account providers evaluate your suitability in terms of risk. Their fear is that you will either fraudulently misuse your merchant account, or people will be unhappy with your products or services and file what is called a "chargeback" against you - refusing to pay their credit card bills. Since most merchant accounts deposit funds into your bank account within 48 hours of a charge, the merchant account provider is worried that your chargebacks will exceed your ability (or willingness) to pay for them. Thus, not only your personal credit, but also your business model, will be considered during the evaluation process.

The good news is that even if you're initially denied, there are hundreds of options out there for accepting online payments. Nontraditional merchant account providers may charge higher fees, but when the alternative is to not have ecommerce access at all, the fees are negligible. The typical fee for a $40 transaction is around $0.99; whereas a high-risk accountholder may be charged $2.10. Sure, that's more than double, but if your pre-transaction fee profit margin is $12, the extra $1.11 in transaction fees is more than worth it.

Some Final Tips

Kevin Costner's character in Field of Dreams was haunted by the saying, "If you build it, they will come." Unfortunately, this isn't the case with ecommerce web sites. A better mantra would be, "If you market it, they will come." The good news is that it's never been easier to market yourself on the web. Consider buying some pay-per-click (PPC) ads through the popular search engines, or advertising directly on a couple of blogs that are related to your business. Better yet, you can use internet auction sites, not only for direct sales, but also as a marketing tool to bring people to your web site. Finally, the age of social networking makes it easier than ever to find customers - enlist the help of your online friends to spread the word.

When your business is ecommerce-enabled, you have a full-time sales agent working around the clock, often for less than $1 per day. If you're not taking advantage of ecommerce, there's no telling how much money you're throwing away.