Having An Online Shop – Do You Rent A Shop Or Build It Yourself?
Many start-up businesses will often have to think about when they will build their first site for their business. This could be for simply promoting your site or allowing your customers to be able to purchase your goods through your site. This process allows you to hold less stock in place for your business and is a less expensive option that having a physical shop front.
An easy option for less experienced businesses in the world of e-commerce is to rent an e-shop. This means that the website does not actually reside through our computer at all but rather the computers of the company that you are renting the e-shop from. When any sales are made then you will be notified by email, they are generally done via PayPal or WorldPay.
The costs involved with renting an e-shop vary greatly. Generally speaking it comes down to the number of products that you are selling and the amount of web space that you require. They can range from fifteen dollars a month to a hundred dollars per month. At the lower end of the scale you would be restricted to selling just a handful of products. At the top end you could have your own comprehensive catalogue of products available to buyers with photographs and a searchable catalogue.
The downside of renting an e-shop is that you will not be able to customise the site to your liking. Sometime the host may let you change a few items. This means that if you wish to expand your online empire in the future you could be very limited and you may have tied yourself in.
There are various design templates and wizards available now to help you with the process of constructing your site. It is then transferred into HTML code so that you can then amend certain details such as the footer colour or adding certain scripts to enhance your site, for example you could have a script that add a PayPal button, or an online shopping basket.
With the rate that e-commerce is currently growing in the western world, it is inevitable that many sellers are choosing this options to trade as their first choice. Think about it, you have minimum overheads. With a physical shop you have to employ staff and pay bills such as gas and electric. The better your online store stands out from the crowd the better chance of a success you will make with your e-commerce endeavours.
