E-Commerce
With numerous sites advertising e-commerce as a free add-on to their basic web package, you might wonder why you need an expert in online selling. To quote an old phrase, "the devil is in the details."
At 1969, we have experience handling those details. We understand the layers that comprise an e-commerce solution, where the pitfalls lurk, and what is necessary to be successful in both business and technical perspectives.
For example, we know that implementing a "shopping cart" product is, by far, the simplest part of migrating to selling online. But even a simple shopping cart has lots of details to understand and manage. There are simple issues, such as the ability to adapt the cart's look and feel to match your branding. There are product-related issues, such as the ability to handle complex rules (e.g., can you sell shirts in four colors and four sizes, but make only red shirts available in extra-large without having to create a separate product for each possible combination?) And there are feature-related issues, such as the ability to sell non-physical products, create coupons, offer affiliate programs, allow user reviews, etc.
Beyond the shopping cart, there are many supporting systems for online sales. What kind of payment processor will you use? How will you fulfill orders? How will you integrate with your existing inventory, customer management, and other business intelligence systems?
These questions barely scratch the surface of the requirements for a successful e-commerce system. You need expert help, when you build your e-commerce site.
At 1969, we are e-commerce experts. We understand the details of e-commerce implementation. We have worked with a variety of products including Miva Merchant, X-Cart, Zen-Cart, osCommerce, and Magento, as well as custom solutions built from the ground up in Ruby on Rails or Java. We understand the details of complex back-end functionality. We have integrated e-commerce sites with proprietary legacy inventory systems. We have implemented payment gateways for new e-commerce systems, and helped customers migrate from one payment processor to another without downtime. We have built e-commerce subscription and membership systems that handle recurring payments. We have audited and re-mediated open-source products for security issues.
We also understand the less technical problems presented by e-commerce. We can help you with designing the customer experience, promoting the site, and documenting store policies. By assessing the needs specific to your products and your business, we can build the optimal solution for you.