Although the technical side of setting up an e-commerce website is straighforward and we can handle this end, the marketing and the upkeep of the store takes some planning and investment of time on your part.E-commerce doesn't only need to sell physical products. E-commerce is great for selling things such as tickets and seats to events, services, e-books.

To create an online store, we use a standard open source shopping cart that we install and configure to your specifications. We also design and create a template that we apply over the set up store. Our primary concern when setting up and designing online store is usability and simplicity we want it to be easy for people to buy from your store.

We handle the whole online store set up and design process. This includes

• Design of the look and feel of the site
• Creation of the online store and setting up functionality.
• Getting your first product set into the store
• Set up of secure site certificates (the little lock on the bottom corner)
• User testing and bug fixing.
• Custom coding of any special features that you desire
• Helping you understand how your e-commerce site works, and supporting you when you have questions.
• Helping your get the most amount of orders through increased web traffic and a detailed promotion strategy.

Once the store is set up, you can log in to the back end and manage your stock, add new products, process orders and change the content, pictures and set specials and promotions. If you ever have trouble with any part of your store, we are always at the other end of the phone or email to help you.

The following is a list of things to consider before you start your e-commerce site:

• Make sure your product list is complete with detailed descriptions written for each item. It is important to have these interesting and detailed, as these descriptions are replacing your customer actually touching and feeling the item.
• Samples of your products so that you can photograph them, or good photos from your supplier. It is always good to have a couple of photos to demonstrate each product, especially if there are details you wish to illustrate.
• If you want to process credit cards on line, you need a merchant account from a bank, or with a gateway provider. We can help you with this, however the application process can be long, so you usually need to start the process before you start the development of your site.
• There are other payment options that are becoming more prevalent over the web. You can choose from PayPal, who is an external credit card processor that is becoming more popular and easy to use, or  Direct Deposit; which is good for people who are in the same country as you, and who don't need an immediate despatch of goods.
• An idea of your target market, and a plan on how to sell to them. We can help and advise you here, but this is integral to how successful your site will be, and it needs to be considered.
• How you will pack, deliver and confirm delivery of your items. Also consider doing something interesting with your packaging, as it adds the personal touch that is missing with an online store.
• Allocated time after the development process to maintain and promote your online store.

By now, you know what makes a Niche Studio e-commerce website different from the others. You also know what things you will need to consider when setting up your online store. So now, all you need to do is talk to us and we can get started! Send us an email or give us a call we'd love to hear from you, or answer any questions you may have. Or have a look at some of the websites we have created for our other clients in our work section.