ESTABLISHING AN E-COMMERCE SITE: INFRASTRUCTURE, INTEGRATION AND BUDGET GUIDE

ESTABLISHING AN E-COMMERCE SITE: INFRASTRUCTURE, INTEGRATION AND BUDGET GUIDE

Establishing an e-commerce site is more comprehensive than displaying products on one page. How the order will be taken, where the stock information will come from, and what information will be shown to the customer after the sale should be considered from the beginning. Choosing the infrastructure after defining these processes makes it easier to compare options.

First define your product and sales structure

List the number of products, variants such as color and size, price rules and the languages ​​in which you will sell.

Selling to individual customers and selling to dealers at special prices do not require the same user flow. Even if a single catalog is used, price visibility and order confirmation may be different.

Product photos, descriptions and category structure are also part of the project. Leaving the preparation of these contents to the last day may delay the publication even if the software is completed.

Ready infrastructure or custom software?

Businesses with standard sales processes can examine the features of ready-made infrastructures. If business-specific pricing, approval flows or system connections are involved, customization opportunities should be evaluated.

Custom software should also be considered together with analysis, testing and maintenance responsibilities. It's not automatically the best option for every business.

In the comparison, consider the initial setup fee as well as subscription, add-on, hosting, transaction fees, and future changes. Ask about the conditions for data export and migration to another system.

Plan integrations with the workflow

Which system will stock and price be kept in? At what stage will the order be transferred to accounting? How will the cargo status be displayed to the customer?

Unless these questions are answered, the statement "there is integration" does not explain the scope.

For example, stock can be kept in the store software, while online orders can come from the e-commerce site. Transfer frequency, cancellation situations and what to do when the connection is lost should be designed together. Technical suitability depends on the access provided by the systems to be used.

What should you check before going live?

• Accuracy of product and variant information.

• Product discovery and basket flow on mobile devices.

• Correct reflection of the payment result on the order.

• Cancellation and unsuccessful transaction scenarios.

• Notifications. and accuracy of cargo information.

• User authorizations in the management panel.

Is the cost of the e-commerce site one-time?

In addition to the installation, there may also be infrastructure and operating expenses. Ask for recurring items in the quote separately. Legal obligations and documents regarding sales processes should also be evaluated in accordance with your business.

Share your product structure and sales processes with Arra Media; Let's create an e-commerce scope that suits your needs together.