Monday, March 21, 2011

How relevant is your Ecommerce Web Site Design?

How relevant is your Ecommerce Web Site Design?
Word Count:
578
Summary:
Making an ecommerce website is not about simply designing a website for a product or service. A good ecommerce website design is one which combines the different elements of designing in perfect coordination, flawlessly.

Keywords:
Web designing, ineternet marketing, search engine marketing, E-Commerce website design

Article Body:
Ecommerce web site design can spell either success or doom for any business. In this internet age it is imperative to have an online site for advertising, selling or buying a product or service. There are numerous ecommerce websites doing business on the World Wide Web. Your website’s ecommerce design must be relevant to all the different elements needed for designing a good website. 
If you want to add a personal touch to your site, you can design your own site. However you can also get professional help from the numerous website designing companies to get your online business site designed. Select a good web design company which has high credibility to design your ecommerce web site.
The purpose of any ecommerce site is to generate business for a product or to promote a service. Ecommerce web site designing is not an easy task and is not done overnight. There are some basic simple rules which you need to follow to make a good website. First of all ensure that your website is compatible to different types of browser and operating systems.
The purpose of an ecommerce site is to generate business leads, and if online surfers using different browsers and operating systems cannot even view your site properly, you will lose out on a significant number of prospective clients. Think about this aspect before you actually go about designing a website.
It is said that pictures have the ability to communicate messages which sometimes even words fail to say. Pictures have a very strong ability to portray strong emotions. Silence they say is sometimes stronger than words. Put up relevant pictures on your site to put forward an idea. Take care that you do not put up any irrelevant and outdated pictures on your website. 
Color combination of a website is very important. Choose the color to be used in your ecommerce web site design only after a very careful consideration. Colors in an ecommerce site must not be garish and at the same time must not be too dull, so that it does not even invoke any response from visitors to your site. Choose a color pattern which is appealing to the eye, but at the same time refrain from going over the top.
The navigability and the functionality of ecommerce web site design are of big importance. Your site may be the best visually looking site ever made, but if it does not have proper functionality and navigability, no one is even going to give your site a second glance.  No visitor is going to wait and search for information in your site if it is not properly navigable and functional. 
Take care of the contents in your ecommerce web site design. Good and relevant content is a great means of bringing visitors to your site. Check out for yourself and see if the content in your site is relevant of not. Also see if all the links are properly placed or not and whether visitors are immediately transferred to the page that has the relevant information for their query.
Make your best effort in satisfying the visitor to your site. Consider yourself as a visitor to a site and think what all things you would want to see in a site. Users are the king in determining if a website will work or not. Take care of the user and try to satisfy his or her needs in your ecommerce web site design.

How Long Does It Take Your Site To Load on Dial Up?

How Long Does It Take Your Site To Load on Dial Up?
Word Count:
628
Summary:
Your site is getting traffic, but conversion rates are horrible. Everything seems to be working, so what’s wrong? Your site may simply be to slow.

Keywords:
load time, load times, conversions, conversion rate, web site, website, speed, dial up, 56k

Article Body:
Your site is getting traffic, but conversion rates are horrible. Everything seems to be working, so what’s wrong? Your site may simply be to slow.
Load Times – Are You Driving A Ferrari or Moped?
Give some thought to the sites you have visited of the past few weeks. Were you willing to wait 20 seconds for a site to load or did you hit the back button? Why would visitors to your site behave any differently? They won’t.
Webmasters, designers and site owners universally access the web through high-speed connections. Because of this, it is easy to forget roughly 40 percent of surfers use dial-up connections. While your site may appear to load quickly on your high-speed connection, have you tried loading it on a 56k connection? The results can be shocking.
Sites that appear to load quickly on a high-speed connection can take forever on 56k. It is not unheard of to find a “fast site” actually takes 30, 50 or 80 seconds to load on a 56k. Sometimes, the load time is so slow the browser will actually “time out” and fail to show anything. If your site has this problem, 40 percent of the hits are worthless. Worse, those frustrated surfers are unlikely to try to access your site in the future even if you fix the speed problems.
How fast should a page load on a 56k connection? As fast as possible, but no slower then 25 seconds. If you can get 56k load times below 10 seconds, you can turn a negative into a competitive advantage. Surfers come back to fast sites.
Determining Load Times
The best way to determine the load time for your site is to actually use a 56k connection. While this solution isn’t particularly technical, it will let you see exactly what your prospects are seeing when they visit the site. You will be able to see what loads quickly and what appears slowly. This should let you isolate particular elements in need of optimizing. 
Server statistics can also provide you with evidence of slow load times. Are users spending a lot of time on entry pages, but not visiting internal pages? Either you have poor content or a loading problem.
Finally, you can also use diagnostic programs to test load times. Typically, the programs will kick out estimated load times for dial-up, DSL and T1 connections. Make sure you test your home page and internal pages. Diagnostic programs are excellent tools, but don’t get lazy. Make sure you physically watch your site load on a dial-up connection. The experience will prove invaluable to improving your site and conversion rates.
Improving Performance
The steps needed to improve the performance of your site often depend on the nature of the site. A database driven site will have different issue than a graphic intense site. There are, however, universal factors that can be checked:
1. Graphics: Typically, browsers have to make a connection for each image on a page. The more you have, the longer the load time. Limiting the number and size of graphics can help.
2. Tables: If you use tables, try to break them up into smaller modules. Large tables can negatively impact load times.
3. Multimedia: If it flashes, explodes, spins or blinks, consider ditching it. Yes, it looks great, but is it worth 40% of your audience?
4. Size: Scrutinize the size of your pages. The bigger the page, the slower the load times. It shouldn’t be a problem if the page is comprised of text, but large pages with lots of code will load slowly.
Cheer up if you have a speed problem! Yes, you’ve lost a lot of business, but now you can fix it. Most of your competitors will never figure it out. That puts you ahead of the game.

How I Made A Fortune On Ebay Using Dropshippers... And Then Lost It All

How I Made A Fortune On Ebay Using Dropshippers... And Then Lost It All
Word Count:
1207
Summary:
My name is Kevin and I'm 24 years old. This is the true story of how during the summer of 2001, I made $40,000 selling dropshipped goods on ebay only to lose it all and end up with $4,000 of debt. Read my cautionary tale to prevent yourself from making the same mistakes that I made.
I first found out about dropshipping back in June of 2001 a little after I started a not-so-profitable business on eBay selling cell phone accessories and such. I saw dropshipping as an all pro...

Keywords:
wholesale,drop shipping,dropship,dropshipping,dropshipper,drop shippers,dropshippers,distributors

Article Body:
My name is Kevin and I'm 24 years old. This is the true story of how during the summer of 2001, I made $40,000 selling dropshipped goods on ebay only to lose it all and end up with $4,000 of debt. Read my cautionary tale to prevent yourself from making the same mistakes that I made.
I first found out about dropshipping back in June of 2001 a little after I started a not-so-profitable business on eBay selling cell phone accessories and such. I saw dropshipping as an all profit method of business. You don't pay for shipping. You don't pay for inventory. You basically just advertise the product on auction websites such as eBay, take orders, collect the money, and pay the set amount for each item to the dropshipper keeping the remaining amounts for yourself as profits. I now realize that it is only that easy when you're dealing with the right person.
I first started dropshipping with a guy named Chris. I was selling Nike Air Jordans on eBay. I saw that Jordans are real popular on eBay and people pay huge amounts for them. I've seen some pairs go for $1,000+. Chris only charged me $67 a pair. So, I basically just doubled the price and sold them on eBay for $134 a pair. I sold about 20 pairs of shoes within a week giving me a profit of $1,340. I suddenly became happy with the success I had because obtaining over $1,000 in a week at the age of 19 is pretty rare. So, I wanted to start putting up way more auctions so that I could make way more money. Unfortunately, this is when Chris became unreliable. He never returned any of my e-mails and never got back online. Plus, he only had shipped half of the 20 orders I had. So, I decided that I needed a replacement quick before I started to have some unhappy customers on my hands.
This now brought me to dropshipper #2. I talked to the guy about the situation and he said that he would be able to handle it. I paid him for the remaining 10 orders I had left and he shipped the shoes off to my customers. I respected the fact that he picked up right where my previous dropshipper had left off at and took care of business. So, I assumed that this guy was all about business and was a very reliable and legitimate dropshipper. So, I started to put up more buy it now auctions and these shoes were selling faster than I could put them up for auction. This is the unbelievable part. I had sold 250 pairs of shoes in a matter of 4 days. I collected over $40,000 in 4 days. That's $10,000 a day! This came as an amazement to me especially since I was only 19 at the time. I've made some people's yearly salaries in a matter of only 4 days. Little did I know though that I was in over my head. I got a little too greedy and started to splurge on money that wasn't even mine yet; buying clothes, shoes, and even put a $1,000 down payment on a new car. My dropshipper shipped my first 30 orders only to find out that he had shipped off nothing but all wrong sizes and wrong colors. So, I had a lot of complaining customers. Some even went straight to PayPal to complain causing PayPal to limit access to my account. So, now I had over $40,000 sitting in my PayPal account that I had absolutely no access to and over 200 orders that need to be shipped off. So, my only option was to refund everyone their money back to get my PayPal account back to regular standing, which brought me to my next dilemma...
I spent almost $4,000 of the $40,000 I thought would be mine to keep. So now, my Paypal balance was negative $4,000 and I needed to come up with that $4,000 quick before PayPal took legal action to get that money. I thought the only way to get me out of this mess was by the same way that got me into this mess. This is what brought me to dropshipper #3.
I stumbled upon a guy named Jarell. I found him through a legitimate business website so I decided to sell enough pairs of Jordans to make up the $4,000 and then I'd call it quits because this was too much for someone so young. Everything went smooth and I was able to make the $4,000 using my girlfriend's PayPal account. Unfortunately, PayPal then limited access to her account also finding out that she was linked to me. This then aggravated me because now I had 15 orders that I in no way could pay my supplier. If I had shipped to my customers it would bring more complaints and negative feedback which was very bad for business. That was then, this is now.
After reviewing my whole experience with dropshipping in hindsight, I realized all of the mistakes that I had made. For anyone who is looking into working with dropshippers, please pay close attention.
1. Before going into business with someone who is going to be dropshipping merchandise for you, be sure to get to know the person really well. Don't go by instinct. Have a few converstations with the person before you start anything. Collect all methods of contact of the dropshipper for emergency contact.
2. I suggest that you do not start off having the dropshipper ship the merchandise to your customers. Order some of the merchandise for yourself and examine it thoroughly before you go into business. I started to recieve e-mails from angry customers stating that the Jordans were of terrible quality when I was told by my dropshipper that they were of authentic quality.
3. Don't bite off more than you can chew. As stated previously, I sold 250 pairs of shoes in 4 days. Within those 4 days, I had to deal with about 600-700 e-mails which is almost impossible for only one person to deal with that also has school to worry about. Patience is the key to success.
These were a few of the mistakes that I made dealing with dropshipping. I had a price to pay for my mistakes. I owed $4,000 to PayPal and I had a $2,000 eBay bill that I ended up working during the summer to pay off. My purpose in writing this is for everyone considering going into business with a dropshipper to take precautions and use the tips I provided. I would also like to say that even though I had a bad experience dealing with dropshipping, that is not always the case. I know there are some people who have become successful and wealthy off of dropshipping.
Five years have passed since I began my journey in this industry. I finally did pay off all of my debts that summer and have made it my mission to educate and inform people of the scammers out there waiting to ambush the inexperienced and naive. I wrote this article because I don't want anyone else to go through the experience that I did. There were times where I felt hopeless and bitter for falling into a trap that left me feeling depressed. Needless to say, I have learned from my soul-crushing mistakes and now make a decent living selling on ebay.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Hostgator Reseller hosting for beginner

Hostgator Reseller hosting for beginner
Word Count:
318
Summary:
Starting a web hosting company is very difficult, and requires lots of technical skill and management skill.

Keywords:
web hosting, hostgator, reseller hosting, hostgator reseller

Article Body:
With proper web hosting reseller plan, you will only require just a little knowledge in maintaining user accounts, and focus on marketing work to sell more hosting account and generate good revenue from it.
When talk about reseller hosting, we always consider the profit margin. Its always the biggest concern, and we always asked ourselves how much should we earn to have good income. Frankly speaking, having 10 customers will not give you good income. This is real world business and I really mean serious business.
Aim for 10 sign up on the first week running your web hosting reselling. And aim to hit the 100 accounts in less than two months time. You can create multiple hosting package to choose from, at least two package. And allow customer to upgrade their account if they want to. And you can earn more this way.
To promote your hosting plan, you can setup a nice website and offering user to sign up online and paid through credit cards. Don’t worry about billing gateway thing, hostgator provides the reseller account with billing software included as well. And you can receive payment directly and the account will automatically setup after they sign up. Its simple, and require very little efforts. This is one of the best reseller hosting I ever come across, and more details found here http://www.hostgatorreview.org/hostgator/hostgator-reseller/ about hostgator reseller plan.
Alternative marketing strategy is to invite friends or business partner to use your hosting plan, offering web design services and hosting services, join web hosting forums and promote your hosting plan, put advertisement through google adwords or other PPC network. And there is lots more marketing strategy that you can think of.
When your hosting company is new, focus on generate revenue. The more revenue you got, the faster you can grow. Once you are ready, upgrade your reseller plan and you can sell even more.

Hostgator Domain Not an ordinary domain name

Hostgator Domain Not an ordinary domain name
Word Count:
259
Summary:
Domain name registration is getting cheaper and cheaper and some registrar is offering at wholesale price of $6.50 or lower. Some registrar is selling at $15 or more. If you think it’s the same, think again.

Keywords:
web hosting, hostgator, domain name, hostgator domain

Article Body:
Same as you, I always search for cheaper domain name registration and try to do as much saving as I could. I search through the web, and found five to six domain registrars and compare each of them for the best deal and finally only sign up to them.
If you are a budget domain owner, go ahead and keep doing that. As I getting deeper into the fact behind domain registration, I start to realized that there is different between them. And now I will compare the features and then the price.
Domain name that is selling cheap usually are using single domain nameserver. Even they are giving you two nameserver for the domain. The primary nameserver and the secondary nameserver. And the two server are probably located in the same datacenter, and that’s it. Selling few hundreds domain name, and everyone is pointed to these two servers. Could you imagine the load when you are having 500,000 domain names on them?
When quality become the main concern, you will need to look for domain registration with multiple dns at different location. Yes, there is such solution. For example hostgator domain name is selling at $15 per year, and they are using multiple DNS servers group and redundantly located in few locations. http://www.hostgatorreview.org/hostgator/hostgator-domain/ . Its like having remote backup for your domain name as well.
When you are having redundant backup facilities like this one, your downtime will become minimum. And easily goes beyond industry standard. Now, think again when you look for $1 domain name.

Host Your Business Website with Ecommerce Hosting

Host Your Business Website with Ecommerce Hosting
Word Count:
754
Summary:
Ecommerce hosting can help you to connect with customers and potential customers. You can make online transactions secure and easy for your clients. Increase sales for your company by taking your business online!

Keywords:
Ecommerce Hosting

Article Body:
When you sell products or services on the Internet, you are taking part in the world of ecommerce. Ecommerce hosting can help you to connect with customers and potential customers. You can make online transactions secure and easy for your clients. Increase sales for your company by taking your business online!
If you are going to host an ecommerce website, it is especially important to carefully select a web hosting provider. Find a hosting provider that offers 24/7 customer support if at all possible. Anytime you are experiencing difficulties with the hosting of your website, you could potentially be losing customers or sales. If a problem ever would arise and your site would be offline or not functioning well, you want assistance as soon as possible. You should also search for a host offering a 99% uptime or better. Again, when your website is offline, you can lose customers.
Many web hosting providers offer ecommerce options. Often, a small to medium sized business can find a highly affordable shared hosting package which includes ecommerce features. There are even hosting providers that offer you the ability to create a customized ecommerce hosting plans. This can help you to increase the productivity and success of your website. Select the features that you do need and leave out those that you do not.
Some ecommerce hosting packages will allow you to set up a store front. You can place your store online. Or you can organize your products and services easily into an "online store." This will make it fun and easy for your customers to shop and to browse all that your business has to offer. You can easily conduct business with your customers. In doing so, your website can be a greater success and you can obtain satisfied customers.
Your website can even include an online shopping cart. There are various carts with different features for your customers. Find a shopping cart that is easy to use while still offering customers many fun options. Shopping carts make it a snap for customers to add the items they wish to purchase to their cart. They are then able to continue shopping and browsing your website.
In addition, if a customer changes their mind about a particular product or service, they can easily remove that item from their shopping cart. Most shopping carts will allow customers to see how much money they are going to spend. As they add items to their cart, they can see the total adding up and can even estimate the shipping costs for their purchases.
Accept payments online from your customers. From your website you can accept payments in various forms depending upon the payment processing systems that you use. In fact, you can have the ability to accept credit card payments and e-checks online. You can make every transaction safe and secure for your customers. Utilize an SSL certificate for your site. In doing so, you can product all the information that your customers must provide to you when completing a transaction.
The ecommerce packages offered by a hosting company should be secure and easy to use. You will want an ordering process that takes little time and is very understandable for your customers. In addition, you will want your site and all the ecommerce features to be easy for your customers and online visitors to navigate. The more function your website offers to your visitors and clients, the more likely they are to return to your website and to make future purchases.
Look for ecommerce hosting solutions that include marketing features. Many packages include search engine submission services, keyword tools, sometimes credit towards and advertising program and more. These features can help you to promote your website and your business. Hopefully, these features will bring more customers to your website and help to make your business website popular and profitable.
If you want to offer products and services online, search for ecommerce hosting solutions. Many shared web hosts offer ecommerce friendly hosting packages at an affordable cost. Some of these plans could be $20 or even less and are still highly effective hosting services for your business website.
Take your time to explore various ecommerce solutions and hosting options. Do your research on each hosting company that you are considering for the hosting of your business website. Evaluate how reliable the hosting services are as well as the stability of the company. Selecting a great host will allow you to spend your time running your business and not worrying about your hosting services.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Historical Development of Electronic Commerce

Historical Development of Electronic Commerce
Word Count:
291
Summary:
The meaning of the term "electronic commerce" has changed over time.

Keywords:
ECommerce, advertising, marketing, online business, promotion

Article Body:
The meaning of the term "electronic commerce" has changed over time. Originally, "electronic commerce" meant the facilitation of commercial transactions electronically, usually using technology like Electronic Data Interchange (EDI, introduced in the late 1970s) to send commercial documents like purchase orders or invoices electronically.
Later it came to include activities more precisely termed "Web commerce" -- the purchase of goods and services over the World Wide Web via secure servers (note HTTPS, a special server protocol which encrypts confidential ordering data for customer protection) with e-shopping carts and with electronic pay services, like credit card payment authorizations.
When the Web first became well-known among the general public in 1994, many journalists and pundits forecast that e-commerce would soon become a major economic sector. However, it took about four years for security protocols (like HTTPS) to become sufficiently developed and widely deployed (during the browser wars of this period). Subsequently, between 1998 and 2000, a substantial number of businesses in the United States and Western Europe developed rudimentary Web sites.
Although a large number of "pure e-commerce" companies disappeared during the dot-com collapse in 2000 and 2001, many "brick-and-mortar" retailers recognized that such companies had identified valuable niche markets and began to add e-commerce capabilities to their Web sites. For example, after the collapse of online grocer Webvan, two traditional supermarket chains, Albertsons and Safeway, both started e-commerce subsidiaries through which consumers could order groceries online.
As of 2005, e-commerce has become well-established in major cities across much of North America, Western Europe, and certain East Asian countries like South Korea. However, e-commerce is still emerging slowly in some industrialized countries, and is practically nonexistent in many Third World countries.
Electronic commerce has unlimited potential for both developed and developing nations, offering lucrative profits in a highly unregulated environment.