E–Commerce
We can incorporate almost any feature you require into your online shop, including:
- An unlimited number of products, organised into an unlimited range of categories;
- Secure credit card processing with major payment service providers;
- An unlimited range of delivery options;
- Prices and payment in any currency;
- Search functions;
- Automatic stock control;
- Automatic and secure order processing;
- Automatic generation of invoices, stock reports, etc.;
- Integration with Sage Line 50 and Quick Books accounting software;
- A variety of discounts and special offers;
- A variety of tax rates;
- Accounts for regular customers;
- And, as with all Lab 99 websites, an attractive, functional design.
Also in this Section:
3 Advantages
of an online shop over a bricks–and–mortar shop:
- it is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year;
- anyone, anywhere in the world, can visit;
- the setting–up and running costs are minimal.
Paypal
If you have only a small number of products to sell, we recommend using a system such as Paypal’s Buy–Now buttons.
Advantages
- Customers can pay by credit card — they don’t need a Paypal account;
- Cost — adding a handful of Buy–Now buttons would add almost nothing to the basic cost of the website;
- Speed — it’s quicker to set up Buy–Now buttons than a shopping cart system.
Disadvantages
- The Buy–Now system was designed for a limited range of products, and has a limited range of features;
- Changing prices is cumbersome and time–consuming, and requires some technical knowledge;
- Visitors tend not to receive as professional an experience from this type of website as they do from a website using a proper shopping cart system.
More Information
Details are available on Paypal’s website (which isn’t as well organised as a Lab 99 website, so you may have to use their search function).
Shopping Carts
All serious e–commerce websites need the versatility and extra features of specialised shopping cart software.
Advantages
- Plenty of features — see above;
- Very flexible — can cope with large numbers of products and complex departmental structures;
- Easy to change products and prices without technical knowledge;
- A professional check–out process gives customers confidence that their financial details are secure.
Disadvantages
- More expensive than the Paypal system;
- Unnecessarily complex for websites with small numbers of products.
Our Software
To create your online shop, we use Trading Eye software. The Trading Eye database is the engine of your online shop; we design and build the website around it.
To find out about the particular accessibility benefits of Trading Eye software, please see our Accessibility section.
What Do I Do Next?
Some of the practicalities of running an online shop are explained on our E–Commerce Advice page.
Feel free to contact us to discuss your precise requirements!
You should check out other web designers too — and ask them a few questions.