Ecommerce or electronic commerce is transactions or other terms of sale that are performed electronically. This involves purchasing, selling, and exchange of goods or services for the exchange of money using computer networks such as the Internet. Opposing to the popular belief, ecommerce does not only exist on the web. In fact, ecommerce already existed and do well in business-to-business transaction since the 70s via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) through VANs (Value-Added Networks). Ecommerce can be further broken into four main categories B2B, B2C, C2B, and C2C.
• B2B (Business-to-Business)
B2B definitely deals with companies who are doing business with each other. An example of this is manufacturers who are selling their product to distributors, and the wholesalers are selling it to retailers. Thus, the pricing can be based on the number of orders and is frequently up for grabs.
• B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
Business-to-consumer typically involves selling products and services to the general public or consumers through the use of catalogs utilizing shopping cart software. B2B can easily earn a lot of money; on the other hand, B2C is what really in mind in an average customer when it comes to the ecommerce as whole. With the help of ecommerce, you can easily purchase many things at time without having human interaction. An example of these if you are having hard time finding a book, when you need to purchase a customized, high-end computer system, or finding a first class, all-inclusive trip to a tropical paradise island. Thus, ecommerce can help you purchase the products all at the same time.
• C2B (Consumer-to-Business)
An example of C2B is when a consumer posts his projects or assignments in the Internet and web site. The consumer sets a budget online where within hours many companies reviews the requirements needed by the consumer and then bid on the project. It empowers the customers around the globe by providing the meeting ground and platform for that certain transaction.
• C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer)
A very good example for C2C is the eBay. It is where consumers sell their products to other consumers through bidding. Thus, the one who bids the highest can buy the product. Another example is the sites offering free classified ads, auctions, and forums where consumers can buy and sell products to other consumers. They use PayPal as a tool for online payment system where they can send and receive money with ease through online.
There is another form of ecommerce which is the B2E or Business-to-Employee ecommerce. Here, companies are using internal networks to offer their employees products and services online. It may not be necessarily online on the Web.
The other forms of ecommerce are the G2G (Government-to-Government), G2E (Government-to-Employee), G2B (Government-to-Business), B2G (Business-to Government), G2C (Government-to-Citizen), C2G (Citizen-to-Government). These transactions involves mainly with the government, from procurement to filing taxes to business registration to renewing license. There are still plenty of other categories that exist but then they tend to be superfluous.
Ecommerce web site design is similar to traditional web design, but requires a few more bells and whistles to handle financial transactions. This doesn't mean that you should be intimidated by the process and not build web sites that are capable of ecommerce transactions; it simply means that you may need to study this aspect of site development before getting started.
To begin, it is a good idea to read up on ecommerce web site design. This will help you understand how ecommerce site development differs from regular web site development, and will also help you to build web sites that accomplish their desired purpose.
Ecommerce Security
One of the most important aspects of ecommerce web site design is security. You need to make sure that your visitors can safely and securely input their most sensitive information into your payment system. To build web sites that are secure, you will need to protect pages with the encryption of SSL or Secure Socket Layer. Your web site host should be able to help you with this portion of site development and will most likely be able to sell you a digital certificate.
Visual Appeal
Visual appeal is another important aspect of ecommerce web site design. Competition is fierce on the Internet. If you want to build web sites that stand out from the crowd, they must be visually appealing. An attractive site will be more likely to draw customers, and is much more likely to encourage repeat business than a site that has been poorly developed. To get an idea of what looks good and what doesn't, you should visit competing and non-competing ecommerce sites around the web. You can also look into purchasing a loicgrosflandre.com/comment-vendre-sur-etsy-en-7-etapes/ book or another product that focuses on the visual aspect of ecommerce web site design.
Payment Processors
To build web sites that accept online payments, you will need to incorporate payment processors into your ecommerce web site design. You can choose to accept various credit cards, and other online payment methods like PayPal. This is something that should be arranged early in the site development process so that you can begin doing business immediately once your site has launched.
Software and Applications
There are many different software products and ecommerce applications that can be purchased to help you with your ecommerce web site design project. Some of these products will be helpful when you build web sites, and others will be helpful when you have launched the site and want to track orders, monitor your internal database, or enable features like email notification.
Professional Ecommerce Web Site Design Services
If you want to build websites that are ecommerce ready, but don't have the ecommerce web site design experience needed to accomplish the task, you can hire an ecommerce web site design professional to help you with the trickier portions of site development. With a minimal amount of help from you, a professional designer can build web sites that are visually appealing and then incorporate the features you need to complete ecommerce transactions.