Review: Three Wise Storefronts Offer Free Services
By Wayne Kawamoto
December 6, 2007
FastCommerce.com
The most traditional e-commerce service of the three, FastCommerce.com is a complete system that offers a free subscription with no setup, hosting or transaction fees. In a sense, the free portion of the service is based on the old shareware concept. Try the program out for free and if you like it, you may eventually sign on and pay for more sophisticated features.
The service includes a product catalog, shopping cart, shipping calculator and auto-e-mail responder. It also supports inventory and comes with order and contact management features. For no cost you're limited to 50 products and no tech support. But if you can live within these constraints, FastCommerce.com is a bargain.
FastCommerce serves a first-rate shopping experience to customers who can browse and add products to carts and register before they complete their purchases. After entering a zip code, the cart generates shipping rates for UPS and FedEx, and after the sale, customers receive confirmation e-mails. For now, the company only offers a single template with three color themes but promises more templates and color variations in the future.
Go Speed Racer: If you're selling less than 50 products, FastCommerce can get you up and running an online store for free.
(Click for larger image.)
There's support for all major credit cards, but you'll need a payment gateway and merchant account. You can purchase an optional SSL certificate to secure your Web store at $199 per year. A downside, FastCommerce currently lacks support for PayPal and Google Checkout, but again, the company promises these are coming soon.
The entry-level service is truly free. You only pay when you upgrade to the company's Growing or Enterprise plans, which offer the ability to list more products — "Growing" up to 2,000 products at $29.95 per month, "Enterprise" up to 10,000 products at $99.95 per month. With these pay plans you also get support via e-mail, instant messaging and actual humans. If you want support for the free Startup Plan, it's priced at $200 year.
To encourage you to sign up, the company says that its offer of free e-commerce service is for a limited time. But once you sign up, the company promises that it will be free as long as your usage stays within the quota. If you're selling less than 50 products, FastCommerce may be worth the look.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
New E-commerce Web Service Makes It Easy for Small Businesses to Move to the Web
New E-commerce Web Service Makes It Easy for Small Businesses to Move to the Web
Thu Nov 8, 2:01 AM ET
For small business owners, moving to e-commerce brings complexity and confusion. There is a steep learning curve, and e-commerce technology can be intimidating for the beginner. Not with FastCommerce.com: by simply signing up, the small business entrepreneur automatically generates a professional web-store. And the service is entirely free for the first fifty products.
San Mateo, California (PRWEB) November 9, 2007 -- The demand for small business e-commerce technology is rapidly increasing as small business owners move to the web to capture more business. With on-line sales growing at a tremendous pace, small business entrepreneurs need to adopt successful technologies that will enable them to quickly set up and operate an on-line e-commerce store. But this first step brings with it the challenge of finding the right solution. A new and growing e-commerce platform, FastCommerce.com, has been designed to automate these first steps into e-commerce.
Small business owners also run the risk of spending money on the wrong solution. Misspent funds can quickly add up to sizable sums before a business's website goes live. However, FastCommerce.com is a free e-commerce service. Full access to the service is free up to the first fifty products. It is free to start and free to use, making it even easier to get started with on-line sales.
The FastCommerce.com e-commerce web service has been designed to get small business owners up quickly with an on-line store to begin selling right away. A simple one-step registration automatically generates a complete and professional web-store. Users also gain access to their own web-based e-commerce management module or dashboard to process orders, manage accounts and select pre-set payment options such as PayPal, with Google check-out coming soon.
By signing up with the FastCommerce e-commerce service, small business owners have everything they need to run a complete on-line business. They simply enter their zip code, shipping rates for UPS and FedEx are automatically calculated in the shopping cart. Enter an email address and an email auto-responder for the customer order confirmation is automatically activated. Customers can create a product, go to their store front, add to cart: they can then register, complete the purchase, and go to their email box: a professionally formatted order confirmation email will be there waiting for them.
There are dozens of easy automation features built into the FastCommerce.com e-commerce application. For example, there a dozen reports, including a quick-link feature that gives a real time view of 10 top selling products and 10 most popular products by page views. The FastCommerce.com applications have been designed to be easy to use, with a very short learning curve. As Charles Han, CEO of FastCommerce.com states, "Our goal was to build a compelling small business e-commerce application, and then give it away. We have a lot of experience building web-based small-business applications, but here the aim was to simplify and automate the process. No one goes to YouTube.com looking for a set of instructions on how to use it."
FastCommerce.com is the latest in Web 2.0 web-services that are web-based, easy to use and low cost. By simply signing up small business owners have access to low cost e-commerce applications that are also feature-rich and well designed.
The feedback to the service, both the product and the small business pricing, has been tremendous. Additional features in the near-term will include a set of templates designed to give customers complete control over the branding of their website. FastCommerce.com is dedicated to building state of the art small business applications at small business prices.
About Fastcommerce:
Fastcommerce.com provides business management software to small businesses, delivered on demand as a service via the web on a free or paid monthly subscription basis. We provide small businesses with a complete fully integrated package that run their entire operations, from inventory control, sales, marketing, support, on-line catalog, e-commerce, back-end order processing and built-in UPS and FedEx shipping tools.
The only requirement to use our software is an Internet connection. Unlike a traditional software company, our small business customers do not need to buy and maintain expensive software and hardware.
###
FastCommerce.com
Gregory Peterson
650 235 6212
E-mail Information Trackback URL: http://prweb.com/pingpr.php/SGFsZi1FbXB0LVpldGEtWmV0YS1UaGlyLVplcm8=
Copyright © 2007 Yahoo All rights reserved.Copyright/IP Policy |Terms of Service |Help |Feedback
NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our» Privacy Policy
Thu Nov 8, 2:01 AM ET
For small business owners, moving to e-commerce brings complexity and confusion. There is a steep learning curve, and e-commerce technology can be intimidating for the beginner. Not with FastCommerce.com: by simply signing up, the small business entrepreneur automatically generates a professional web-store. And the service is entirely free for the first fifty products.
San Mateo, California (PRWEB) November 9, 2007 -- The demand for small business e-commerce technology is rapidly increasing as small business owners move to the web to capture more business. With on-line sales growing at a tremendous pace, small business entrepreneurs need to adopt successful technologies that will enable them to quickly set up and operate an on-line e-commerce store. But this first step brings with it the challenge of finding the right solution. A new and growing e-commerce platform, FastCommerce.com, has been designed to automate these first steps into e-commerce.
Small business owners also run the risk of spending money on the wrong solution. Misspent funds can quickly add up to sizable sums before a business's website goes live. However, FastCommerce.com is a free e-commerce service. Full access to the service is free up to the first fifty products. It is free to start and free to use, making it even easier to get started with on-line sales.
The FastCommerce.com e-commerce web service has been designed to get small business owners up quickly with an on-line store to begin selling right away. A simple one-step registration automatically generates a complete and professional web-store. Users also gain access to their own web-based e-commerce management module or dashboard to process orders, manage accounts and select pre-set payment options such as PayPal, with Google check-out coming soon.
By signing up with the FastCommerce e-commerce service, small business owners have everything they need to run a complete on-line business. They simply enter their zip code, shipping rates for UPS and FedEx are automatically calculated in the shopping cart. Enter an email address and an email auto-responder for the customer order confirmation is automatically activated. Customers can create a product, go to their store front, add to cart: they can then register, complete the purchase, and go to their email box: a professionally formatted order confirmation email will be there waiting for them.
There are dozens of easy automation features built into the FastCommerce.com e-commerce application. For example, there a dozen reports, including a quick-link feature that gives a real time view of 10 top selling products and 10 most popular products by page views. The FastCommerce.com applications have been designed to be easy to use, with a very short learning curve. As Charles Han, CEO of FastCommerce.com states, "Our goal was to build a compelling small business e-commerce application, and then give it away. We have a lot of experience building web-based small-business applications, but here the aim was to simplify and automate the process. No one goes to YouTube.com looking for a set of instructions on how to use it."
FastCommerce.com is the latest in Web 2.0 web-services that are web-based, easy to use and low cost. By simply signing up small business owners have access to low cost e-commerce applications that are also feature-rich and well designed.
The feedback to the service, both the product and the small business pricing, has been tremendous. Additional features in the near-term will include a set of templates designed to give customers complete control over the branding of their website. FastCommerce.com is dedicated to building state of the art small business applications at small business prices.
About Fastcommerce:
Fastcommerce.com provides business management software to small businesses, delivered on demand as a service via the web on a free or paid monthly subscription basis. We provide small businesses with a complete fully integrated package that run their entire operations, from inventory control, sales, marketing, support, on-line catalog, e-commerce, back-end order processing and built-in UPS and FedEx shipping tools.
The only requirement to use our software is an Internet connection. Unlike a traditional software company, our small business customers do not need to buy and maintain expensive software and hardware.
###
FastCommerce.com
Gregory Peterson
650 235 6212
E-mail Information Trackback URL: http://prweb.com/pingpr.php/SGFsZi1FbXB0LVpldGEtWmV0YS1UaGlyLVplcm8=
Copyright © 2007 Yahoo All rights reserved.Copyright/IP Policy |Terms of Service |Help |Feedback
NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our» Privacy Policy
Monday, November 12, 2007
Free E-commerce Webstore with Free Hosting
http://www.fastcommerce.com
New E-commerce Web Service Makes It Easy For Small Businesses to Move to the Web
For small business owners, moving to e-commerce brings complexity and confusion. There is a steep learning curve, and e-commerce technology can be intimidating for the beginner. Not with FastCommerce.com: by simply signing up, the small business entreprenuer automatically generates a professsional web-store. And the service is entirely free for the first fifty products.
San Mateo, California (PRWEB) November 8, 2007
The demand for small business e-commerce technology is rapidly increasing as small business owners move to the web to capture more business. With on-line sales growing at a tremendous pace, small business entrepreneurs need to adopt successful technologies that will enable them to quickly set up and operate an on-line e-commerce store. But this first step brings with it the challenge of finding the right solution. A new and growing e-commerce platform, FastCommerce.com, has been designed to automate these first steps into e-commerce.
Small business owners also run the risk of spending money on the wrong solution. Misspent funds can quickly add up to sizable sums before a business's website goes live. However, FastCommerce.com is a free e-commerce service. Full access to the service is free up to the first fifty products. It is free to start and free to use, making it even easier to get started with on-line sales.
The FastCommerce.com e-commerce web service has been designed to get small business owners up quickly with an on-line store to begin selling right away. A simple one-step registration automatically generates a complete and professional web-store. Users also gain access to their own web-based e-commerce management module or dashboard to process orders, manage accounts and select pre-set payment options such as PayPal, with Google check-out coming soon.
By signing up with the FastCommerce e-commerce service, small business owners have everything they need to run a complete on-line business. They simply enter their zip code, shipping rates for UPS and FedEx are automatically calculated in the shopping cart. Enter an email address and an email auto-responder for the customer order confirmation is automatically activated. Customers can create a product, go to their store front, add to cart: they can then register, complete the purchase, and go to their email box: a professionally formatted order confirmation email will be there waiting for them.
There are dozens of easy automation features built into the FastCommerce.com e-commerce application. For example, there a dozen reports, including a quick-link feature that gives a real time view of 10 top selling products and 10 most popular products by page views. The FastCommerce.com applications have been designed to be easy to use, with a very short learning curve. As Charles Han, CEO of FastCommerce.com states, "Our goal was to build a compelling small business e-commerce application, and then give it away. We have a lot of experience building web-based small-business applications, but here the aim was to simplify and automate the process. No one goes to YouTube.com looking for a set of instructions on how to use it."
FastCommerce.com is the latest in Web 2.0 web-services that are web-based, easy to use and low cost. By simply signing up small business owners have access to low cost e-commerce applications that are also feature-rich and well designed.
The feedback to the service, both the product and the small business pricing, has been tremendous. Additional features in the near-term will include a set of templates designed to give customers complete control over the branding of their website. FastCommerce.com is dedicated to building state of the art small business applications at small business prices.
About Fastcommerce
Fastcommerce.com provides business management software to small businesses, delivered on demand as a service via the web on a free or paid monthly subscription basis. We provide small businesses with a complete fully integrated package that run their entire operations, from inventory control, sales, marketing, support, online catalog, e-commerce, backend order processing and built-in UPS and Fedex shipping tools.
The only requirement to use our software is an internet connection. Unlike a traditional software company, our small business customers do not need to buy and maintain expensive software and hardware.
New E-commerce Web Service Makes It Easy For Small Businesses to Move to the Web
For small business owners, moving to e-commerce brings complexity and confusion. There is a steep learning curve, and e-commerce technology can be intimidating for the beginner. Not with FastCommerce.com: by simply signing up, the small business entreprenuer automatically generates a professsional web-store. And the service is entirely free for the first fifty products.
San Mateo, California (PRWEB) November 8, 2007
The demand for small business e-commerce technology is rapidly increasing as small business owners move to the web to capture more business. With on-line sales growing at a tremendous pace, small business entrepreneurs need to adopt successful technologies that will enable them to quickly set up and operate an on-line e-commerce store. But this first step brings with it the challenge of finding the right solution. A new and growing e-commerce platform, FastCommerce.com, has been designed to automate these first steps into e-commerce.
Small business owners also run the risk of spending money on the wrong solution. Misspent funds can quickly add up to sizable sums before a business's website goes live. However, FastCommerce.com is a free e-commerce service. Full access to the service is free up to the first fifty products. It is free to start and free to use, making it even easier to get started with on-line sales.
The FastCommerce.com e-commerce web service has been designed to get small business owners up quickly with an on-line store to begin selling right away. A simple one-step registration automatically generates a complete and professional web-store. Users also gain access to their own web-based e-commerce management module or dashboard to process orders, manage accounts and select pre-set payment options such as PayPal, with Google check-out coming soon.
By signing up with the FastCommerce e-commerce service, small business owners have everything they need to run a complete on-line business. They simply enter their zip code, shipping rates for UPS and FedEx are automatically calculated in the shopping cart. Enter an email address and an email auto-responder for the customer order confirmation is automatically activated. Customers can create a product, go to their store front, add to cart: they can then register, complete the purchase, and go to their email box: a professionally formatted order confirmation email will be there waiting for them.
There are dozens of easy automation features built into the FastCommerce.com e-commerce application. For example, there a dozen reports, including a quick-link feature that gives a real time view of 10 top selling products and 10 most popular products by page views. The FastCommerce.com applications have been designed to be easy to use, with a very short learning curve. As Charles Han, CEO of FastCommerce.com states, "Our goal was to build a compelling small business e-commerce application, and then give it away. We have a lot of experience building web-based small-business applications, but here the aim was to simplify and automate the process. No one goes to YouTube.com looking for a set of instructions on how to use it."
FastCommerce.com is the latest in Web 2.0 web-services that are web-based, easy to use and low cost. By simply signing up small business owners have access to low cost e-commerce applications that are also feature-rich and well designed.
The feedback to the service, both the product and the small business pricing, has been tremendous. Additional features in the near-term will include a set of templates designed to give customers complete control over the branding of their website. FastCommerce.com is dedicated to building state of the art small business applications at small business prices.
About Fastcommerce
Fastcommerce.com provides business management software to small businesses, delivered on demand as a service via the web on a free or paid monthly subscription basis. We provide small businesses with a complete fully integrated package that run their entire operations, from inventory control, sales, marketing, support, online catalog, e-commerce, backend order processing and built-in UPS and Fedex shipping tools.
The only requirement to use our software is an internet connection. Unlike a traditional software company, our small business customers do not need to buy and maintain expensive software and hardware.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE With PayPal
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE
FastCommerce.com Now
Offers PAYPAL as a
Payment Option
Paypal is now live on FastCommerce.com
PayPal as a payment option is now live on the FastCommerce.com site. If you have already signed up for a FastCommerce.com web-store account, then simply sign in and to the "set-up" tab on the back end store management module. Then click the "Payment" tab: you will see the sign-up steps to your PayPal payment option.
The PayPal integration on FastCommerce.com is first-class. Once you sign-up for the free version of PayPal's "business" account, and then install your passwords onto your FastCommerce.com account, the PayPal tab will automatically populate all of your product pages. It is fast, simple, and cheap.
The PayPal payment option on FastCommerce.com lets your custotmers spend the majority of the purchase process on your own website: when an order is complete the customer views an order confirmation page on your FastCommerce.com store. Even better, the customer and order information is automatically stored in your account and order management module on FastCommerce.com. From there you can process the order and have a live record of the account and the order stored on the system.
FastCommerce.com is an eCommerce web-service that offers an easy to use self-service web-store at low or no cost. It is the latest in Web 2.0 services that offers a low-cost way to start and ecommerce company. And you can do it on a well-designed and complete ecommerce system.
If you haven't signed up for a free FastCommerce.com web-store, simply go to the home page and sign-up and sign in to your FastCommerce.com account. You will instantly have your own webstore and management module that delivers all the tools you need to run your online business.
About Fastcommerce
Fastcommerce.com provides business management software to small businesses, delivered on demand as a service via the web on a free or paid monthly subscription basis. We provide small businesses with a complete fully integrated package that run their entire operations, from inventory control, sales, marketing, support, online catalog, e-commerce, backend order processing and built-in UPS and Fedex shipping tools.
The only requirement to use our software is an internet connection. Unlike a traditional software company, our small business customers do not need to buy and maintain expensive software and hardware.
FastCommerce.com Now
Offers PAYPAL as a
Payment Option
Paypal is now live on FastCommerce.com
PayPal as a payment option is now live on the FastCommerce.com site. If you have already signed up for a FastCommerce.com web-store account, then simply sign in and to the "set-up" tab on the back end store management module. Then click the "Payment" tab: you will see the sign-up steps to your PayPal payment option.
The PayPal integration on FastCommerce.com is first-class. Once you sign-up for the free version of PayPal's "business" account, and then install your passwords onto your FastCommerce.com account, the PayPal tab will automatically populate all of your product pages. It is fast, simple, and cheap.
The PayPal payment option on FastCommerce.com lets your custotmers spend the majority of the purchase process on your own website: when an order is complete the customer views an order confirmation page on your FastCommerce.com store. Even better, the customer and order information is automatically stored in your account and order management module on FastCommerce.com. From there you can process the order and have a live record of the account and the order stored on the system.
FastCommerce.com is an eCommerce web-service that offers an easy to use self-service web-store at low or no cost. It is the latest in Web 2.0 services that offers a low-cost way to start and ecommerce company. And you can do it on a well-designed and complete ecommerce system.
If you haven't signed up for a free FastCommerce.com web-store, simply go to the home page and sign-up and sign in to your FastCommerce.com account. You will instantly have your own webstore and management module that delivers all the tools you need to run your online business.
About Fastcommerce
Fastcommerce.com provides business management software to small businesses, delivered on demand as a service via the web on a free or paid monthly subscription basis. We provide small businesses with a complete fully integrated package that run their entire operations, from inventory control, sales, marketing, support, online catalog, e-commerce, backend order processing and built-in UPS and Fedex shipping tools.
The only requirement to use our software is an internet connection. Unlike a traditional software company, our small business customers do not need to buy and maintain expensive software and hardware.
Friday, October 26, 2007
FastCommerce on E-Commerce Times
By Andrew K. Burger
E-Commerce Times
10/23/07 4:00 AM PT
"Businesspeople have precious little time to learn complex systems and then to use them so it needs to be easy and accessible. Whenever possible I try to use the following guide when designing the systems: You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to use it -- it should be self-evident," said Daniel Vidoni, e-commerce software consultant and proprietor of Vidoniweb.com and Storefinder.com.
Tealeaf provides visibility, insight, and answers for companies doing business online, letting you see why your customers succeed or fail in their transactions. We are committed to helping companies make sure that every customer can complete every transaction, every time. Learn how.
There's a wealth of opportunities available for aspiring and small to medium-sized business (SMB) e-tailers looking for shopping cart technology, as Part 1 of this series points out.
While this makes it easier than ever to find this important piece of the e-tailing puzzle, it also means startup and SMB e-tailers face greater challenges when it comes to choosing shopping cart software and putting it to good use.
Ongoing rapid growth in e-commerce, the emergence of standardized Web 2.0 technology and open source software packages, shopping cart and e-tail e-commerce tools have become cheaper, more powerful, standardized and chock-full of all kinds of interactive, multichannel and multimedia features. However, perceptions of just how easy they are to use -- and how easy and cheap it is to get online and start an e-tail business -- often outrun the reality.
"There is such an enormous amount to consider when creating these systems that in my view it should be left to professionals. If not, a merchant can become disillusioned with Internet technology and determine -- incorrectly -- that it doesn't work and that it's all hype," Daniel Vidoni, e-commerce software consultant and proprietor of Australia's Vidoni.com and Storefinder.com, told the E-Commerce Times.
The Front End
There are essentially two sides to shopping cart sites, Vidoni continued: "The merchant's administration area (the back end), which allows them to manage the products, pricing and freight and things like that; and the Web site front end where visitors can see and read about the products, place orders and make payments."
Getting the front-end user interfaces right is one key to creating a satisfying customer experience. They need to be intuitive and facilitate a smooth workflow, Vidoni elaborated.
"From a sales perspective, it is vitally important that we help make the purchase experience a good one -- and good means easy, pleasant and enjoyable -- the opposite of frustrating. Remember the phrase 'it's been a pleasure doing business with you?' That should be your target," he said.
As important as it is, the shopping cart is just a part of an e-tail site; it needs to be part of a fully integrated e-tail platform, pointed out Charles Han, CEO of FastCommerce.com.
"Most shopping carts today have the basic function of managing products, calculating shipping and tax, and checking out with credit cards. Most U.S.-based shopping carts also support alternative payment methods such as Paypal and Google Checkout. That's about what you will get from 99 percent of the shopping carts in the marketplace," Han told the E-Commerce Times.
As competitive as the e-tail and software markets are and with so many good SMB shopping cart platforms on offer at small business prices, the shopping cart in and of itself doesn't really add any significant value to an e-tailer's business, he said.
"Like in a brick and mortar store, you are not going be successful if all you have is steel shopping carts and some check out registers. You are expected to have a fully integrated retail system to manage your merchandising assortment, inventory, promotion, marketing, customers, product returns and financials. Nobody expects to see a shopping cart and POS (point of sale) not being of a complete retail system," Han added.
The Back End
Equally important to e-tailing success as getting a shopping cart site's front-end user interface and navigation features right, the back end also needs to come together.
"The back end of the Web site is much more important and complex than many people realize," Vidoni commented. "One would think that it is where products are managed and photographs of items uploaded. However, there is a great deal more that the administration area can and does do."
Typically, sophisticated databases are used. "A lot of time is spent on getting the data architecture right. This flows from the needs of the business. Every business is different, therefore every database structure is different," Vidoni continued.
Like the shopping cart's front end, the back end administration area should be well-designed and easy to use.
"Businesspeople have precious little time to learn complex systems and then to use them so it needs to be easy and accessible," he said. "Whenever possible I try to use the following guide when designing the systems: You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to use it -- it should be self-evident."
Ideally, databases should be able to be exported and connected to and from accounting software packages, which allows data such as stock levels and orders and sales information to be exported into accounting software packages for processing and reconciliation, something that is frequently overlooked, Vidoni noted.
"As with many things, you get what you pay for; there are no shortcuts to quality design and implementation and the extra time and effort you invest is returned many fold over the years during which your Web site operates profitably," he commented.
Open Source Options
As in a growing number of software market segments, open source software solutions are making their market in e-tail and shopping cart software.
"There are many decent -- and free -- e-commerce solutions, such as osCommerce, on the market. These products allow very rapid development and are a great way for beginners to get into Web development. When these products are used by professional developers, the results can be sensational," Vidoni related.
Professional, well-designed templates can be incorporated within a solid e-tail system's architecture and provide very cost-effective, good quality solutions, he continued. Beautifully designed professional template's can mesh together with the solid architecture of these well-designed products to yield very cost-effective quality solutions. In addition, Vidoni noted, "Because the software is in the public domain it is constantly under peer review and if necessary can be modified by the Web developer to produce more customized solutions.
"I have been involved in the development of similar shareware products in the past which were developed by the global programming community and the results were incredible. Everybody contributes small fragments and everyone ends up benefiting. The open architecture is beautiful to work with and there are so many forums where questions can be asked and answered sometimes within minutes that it's just incredible."
Making the Investment
For e-tail startups and SMBs to compete successfully in the increasingly competitive, fast-moving e-tail market means having the willingness and means to invest the necessary capital -- and the capital required isn't insignificant or shrinking.
"For small businesses that are just launching an online store or expect online sales to be under (US)$2 million, we usually recommend a shared revenue platform like Yahoo Merchant Solutions," Sandra Fathi, president of Affect Strategies, told the E-Commerce Times. "There are quite a few companies that will provide their hosting services and e-commerce platforms for between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of sales revenue."
Going with an established third-party e-commerce platform hosting provider offers startups and SMBs -- particularly those with limited technology expertise -- a number of advantages.
"This approach also provides merchants with peace of mind that tech support and maintenance of the platform are included in their agreement. Often, these platforms are well established and fully integrated with complementary services that the business may want to leverage as well," Fathi explained.
Aspiring e-tailers can expect to invest $50,000 and upwards for a custom developed e-commerce platform while making use of an off-the-shelf offering may run as little as a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year, according to Fathi.
"Many small businesses just don't have the cash to layout upfront. Having a fixed percentage on top of their cost of goods sold allows them to have better cash flow and less volatility in operating costs if something should go wrong with a proprietary platform," she noted.
BabyRide.com, one of Affect's SMB e-tail clients, generates annual sales of more than $3 million yet still chooses to stay on the Yahoo Merchant Solutions platform, Fathi related.
"Although they are paying about 0.75 percent of each sale (or $22,500 annually), BabyRide.com has been able to avoid hiring a full time Web developer or technology expert to maintain and update the site. Having an e-commerce platform that is maintained, supported and operating 365 days a year is worth much more to the company," she said.
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 1
Next Article in E-Commerce: New 3-D Tech Makes Online Shopping More Like Being There
Back to Online Version E-Mail Article Digg It Reprints More by Andrew K. Burger Talkback
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Creating Synergy With Online and Offline Marketing
Financing Your Startup: Some Essential Tips
Motorola Profits Slide, Investors Cheer Nonetheless
Microsoft Goes Cheek to Cheek With Facebook
Tech Heavies Form IT Security Phalanx With SAFECode Forum
Nintendo Half-Year Profits Double on Demand for Wii
Second Life Becomes First Job for Adventurous Few
BEA Hits on 17, Hopes for 21
RIM Puts Facebook in Motion
VPNs and Small Business, Part 2: Solutions and Alternatives
TechNewsWorld
When a Man Loves the Internet
Russian Firm Files Patent for Password Cracker
Web 2.0: Spreading Vital Info Amid Calif. Firestorms
The E-Learning Adventure
DNA Pioneer Watson Resigns Amid Cloud of Scandal
CRM Buyer
Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 2
Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 1
Revealing the Secrets to Effective Supply Chain Management
Getting Specific
Microsoft Slashes CRM Live Pricing for Partners
LinuxInsider
Virtualization: Do Your Homework
Mozilla Flies High on Google's Coattails
Enterprise Web App Platform Maker UnCurls Code
Parents Face Real Bills for Virtual Real Estate
Twine: Stringing Together the Semantic Web
MacNewsWorld
iPod, This Is Your Life
Gearing Up for the Leap to Leopard
Apple's Leopard Is Spot-On
Fake Steve Jobs' Book Has Kernels of Real Insight
Apple COO: Users Unlock 1 in 6 iPhones Sold
Sponsored Links
Marketing A.M.M.O. for 2008
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Section Snapshot
Business
Strong Camera, LCD Sales Boost Sony to Record Q2
Amazon Shares Slide Despite Stellar Q3
MySpace Pens Formal Agreement for Casual Games
Communications
Feeding the Cash Cow: Beefing Up Mobile Business Services
IBM Developing Wicked-Fast Wireless Data Transfer Chip
AT&T Teams With Napster on 2-Buck Song Downloads
Critical Issues
Citrix Unwraps New Virtualization Strategy
Alliances and Intrigue in the Virtualization World
Poison Apple? Greenpeace Slams Apple for 'Toxic' iPhone
E-Commerce
Google Draws Nielsen Into Its Advertising Web
Music Piracy Police Cut Off Feeding at Oink's Trough
America the Haunted?
E-Marketing
Report: Cheery Outlook for Holiday E-Shopping Season
MySpace TV to Air Bite-Sized Serial Drama
EU Postpones Google-DoubleClick Day of Reckoning
ECT News Exclusives
Digital River's Jim Wehmann: Building a Better E-Commerce Site
GNU GPL Creator Richard Stallman on the Meaning of 'Free'
BlueRoads CEO Shinya Akamine: Out With PRM, In With POM
Enterprise IT
IBM Offers New Ways to Store Ginormous Amounts of Data
A Plethora of One-Stop Shops for Small Biz Tech
Microsoft Eyes Enterprise With New Mobile Server
Hot Topics
Comcast Confirms Fiddling With Net Traffic
Leopard vs. Vista, Brazil vs. Cisco, True Security Horror Story, Product of the Week
The Difference Between Vista and Leopard: Fear
Law
AT&T Puts Vonage Back on Litigation Merry-Go-Round
Microsoft Ends Resistance to EU Antitrust Ruling
Four States Reverse Stance on Microsoft Oversight
Must Read
GPL v3: Was It Worth the Effort?
RIAA's Next Target: Usenet
VPNs and Small Business, Part 1: The SMB Case
SMB
Apple and SMBs, Part 2: The Case for the Xserve
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 2
Apple and SMBs, Part 1: The Case for the All-Mac Shop
Security
Overzealous Ticket Bots Choke Rockies' Online Sales
Call Center Agent Charged With Stealing Customer IDs
Virtual Browsers: Disposable Security
Spotlight Features
The Bandwidth Shortage That Stole Christmas
RFID: Thinking Outside the Box, Part 2
Free Software for the SMB
Trends
MySpace: A Place for Developers
Murdoch 'Never Imagined' Scale of MySpace Success
Virtual Meetings: Bridging the Distance Gap
Wall Street
Lexmark Smudges Q4 Expectations
Mac Sales Power Apple to Record Quarter
AT&T Rides BellSouth Buy, iPhone to $3.1B Profit
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| October 26, 2007 09:55:40 AME-Commerce Times > E-Commerce | Read Next Article in E-Commerce
Please note that this material is copyright protected. It is illegal to display or reproduce this article without permission for any commercial purpose, including use as marketing or public relations literature. To obtain reprints of this article for authorized use, please call a sales representative at (818) 461-9700 or visit http://www.ectnews.com/about/reprints/.
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 2
Back to Online Version
E-Mail Article
Digg It
Reprints
By Andrew K. Burger
E-Commerce Times
10/23/07 4:00 AM PT
"Businesspeople have precious little time to learn complex systems and then to use them so it needs to be easy and accessible. Whenever possible I try to use the following guide when designing the systems: You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to use it -- it should be self-evident," said Daniel Vidoni, e-commerce software consultant and proprietor of Vidoniweb.com and Storefinder.com.
Tealeaf provides visibility, insight, and answers for companies doing business online, letting you see why your customers succeed or fail in their transactions. We are committed to helping companies make sure that every customer can complete every transaction, every time. Learn how.
There's a wealth of opportunities available for aspiring and small to medium-sized business (SMB) e-tailers looking for shopping cart technology, as Part 1 of this series points out.
While this makes it easier than ever to find this important piece of the e-tailing puzzle, it also means startup and SMB e-tailers face greater challenges when it comes to choosing shopping cart software and putting it to good use.
Ongoing rapid growth in e-commerce, the emergence of standardized Web 2.0 technology and open source software packages, shopping cart and e-tail e-commerce tools have become cheaper, more powerful, standardized and chock-full of all kinds of interactive, multichannel and multimedia features. However, perceptions of just how easy they are to use -- and how easy and cheap it is to get online and start an e-tail business -- often outrun the reality.
"There is such an enormous amount to consider when creating these systems that in my view it should be left to professionals. If not, a merchant can become disillusioned with Internet technology and determine -- incorrectly -- that it doesn't work and that it's all hype," Daniel Vidoni, e-commerce software consultant and proprietor of Australia's Vidoni.com and Storefinder.com, told the E-Commerce Times.
The Front End
There are essentially two sides to shopping cart sites, Vidoni continued: "The merchant's administration area (the back end), which allows them to manage the products, pricing and freight and things like that; and the Web site front end where visitors can see and read about the products, place orders and make payments."
Getting the front-end user interfaces right is one key to creating a satisfying customer experience. They need to be intuitive and facilitate a smooth workflow, Vidoni elaborated.
"From a sales perspective, it is vitally important that we help make the purchase experience a good one -- and good means easy, pleasant and enjoyable -- the opposite of frustrating. Remember the phrase 'it's been a pleasure doing business with you?' That should be your target," he said.
As important as it is, the shopping cart is just a part of an e-tail site; it needs to be part of a fully integrated e-tail platform, pointed out Charles Han, CEO of FastCommerce.com.
"Most shopping carts today have the basic function of managing products, calculating shipping and tax, and checking out with credit cards. Most U.S.-based shopping carts also support alternative payment methods such as Paypal and Google Checkout. That's about what you will get from 99 percent of the shopping carts in the marketplace," Han told the E-Commerce Times.
As competitive as the e-tail and software markets are and with so many good SMB shopping cart platforms on offer at small business prices, the shopping cart in and of itself doesn't really add any significant value to an e-tailer's business, he said.
"Like in a brick and mortar store, you are not going be successful if all you have is steel shopping carts and some check out registers. You are expected to have a fully integrated retail system to manage your merchandising assortment, inventory, promotion, marketing, customers, product returns and financials. Nobody expects to see a shopping cart and POS (point of sale) not being of a complete retail system," Han added.
The Back End
Equally important to e-tailing success as getting a shopping cart site's front-end user interface and navigation features right, the back end also needs to come together.
"The back end of the Web site is much more important and complex than many people realize," Vidoni commented. "One would think that it is where products are managed and photographs of items uploaded. However, there is a great deal more that the administration area can and does do."
Typically, sophisticated databases are used. "A lot of time is spent on getting the data architecture right. This flows from the needs of the business. Every business is different, therefore every database structure is different," Vidoni continued.
Like the shopping cart's front end, the back end administration area should be well-designed and easy to use.
"Businesspeople have precious little time to learn complex systems and then to use them so it needs to be easy and accessible," he said. "Whenever possible I try to use the following guide when designing the systems: You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to use it -- it should be self-evident."
Ideally, databases should be able to be exported and connected to and from accounting software packages, which allows data such as stock levels and orders and sales information to be exported into accounting software packages for processing and reconciliation, something that is frequently overlooked, Vidoni noted.
"As with many things, you get what you pay for; there are no shortcuts to quality design and implementation and the extra time and effort you invest is returned many fold over the years during which your Web site operates profitably," he commented.
Open Source Options
As in a growing number of software market segments, open source software solutions are making their market in e-tail and shopping cart software.
"There are many decent -- and free -- e-commerce solutions, such as osCommerce, on the market. These products allow very rapid development and are a great way for beginners to get into Web development. When these products are used by professional developers, the results can be sensational," Vidoni related.
Professional, well-designed templates can be incorporated within a solid e-tail system's architecture and provide very cost-effective, good quality solutions, he continued. Beautifully designed professional template's can mesh together with the solid architecture of these well-designed products to yield very cost-effective quality solutions. In addition, Vidoni noted, "Because the software is in the public domain it is constantly under peer review and if necessary can be modified by the Web developer to produce more customized solutions.
"I have been involved in the development of similar shareware products in the past which were developed by the global programming community and the results were incredible. Everybody contributes small fragments and everyone ends up benefiting. The open architecture is beautiful to work with and there are so many forums where questions can be asked and answered sometimes within minutes that it's just incredible."
Making the Investment
For e-tail startups and SMBs to compete successfully in the increasingly competitive, fast-moving e-tail market means having the willingness and means to invest the necessary capital -- and the capital required isn't insignificant or shrinking.
"For small businesses that are just launching an online store or expect online sales to be under (US)$2 million, we usually recommend a shared revenue platform like Yahoo Merchant Solutions," Sandra Fathi, president of Affect Strategies, told the E-Commerce Times. "There are quite a few companies that will provide their hosting services and e-commerce platforms for between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of sales revenue."
Going with an established third-party e-commerce platform hosting provider offers startups and SMBs -- particularly those with limited technology expertise -- a number of advantages.
"This approach also provides merchants with peace of mind that tech support and maintenance of the platform are included in their agreement. Often, these platforms are well established and fully integrated with complementary services that the business may want to leverage as well," Fathi explained.
Aspiring e-tailers can expect to invest $50,000 and upwards for a custom developed e-commerce platform while making use of an off-the-shelf offering may run as little as a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year, according to Fathi.
"Many small businesses just don't have the cash to layout upfront. Having a fixed percentage on top of their cost of goods sold allows them to have better cash flow and less volatility in operating costs if something should go wrong with a proprietary platform," she noted.
BabyRide.com, one of Affect's SMB e-tail clients, generates annual sales of more than $3 million yet still chooses to stay on the Yahoo Merchant Solutions platform, Fathi related.
"Although they are paying about 0.75 percent of each sale (or $22,500 annually), BabyRide.com has been able to avoid hiring a full time Web developer or technology expert to maintain and update the site. Having an e-commerce platform that is maintained, supported and operating 365 days a year is worth much more to the company," she said.
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 1
Next Article in E-Commerce: New 3-D Tech Makes Online Shopping More Like Being There
Back to Online Version E-Mail Article Digg It Reprints More by Andrew K. Burger Talkback
Related Stories
New 3-D Tech Makes Online Shopping More Like Being There (22-Oct-07)
The Scramble for Sticky Online Banking Customers (28-Sep-07)
Online Billing, Part 2: Problems and Possibilities (18-Sep-07)
Related Resources
Successful Offshore Outsourcing for Small to Mid-size Businesses
Sales Outsourcing, Lead Generation, and Sales Consulting
Sourcing Strategies for your HR-IT - A Webinar by Forrester
State of IT Outsourcing
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Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 2 (26-Oct-07)
Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 1 (25-Oct-07)
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 1 (22-Oct-07)
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Register for this Free Webinar: Alternative Marketing Methods and Options
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Thousands of businesses rely on BuyDomains.com to secure great premium domains.
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Boost online sales with VeriSign EV SSL, read our white paper.
Free White Paper
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Poison Apple? Greenpeace Slams Apple for 'Toxic' iPhone
E-Commerce
Google Draws Nielsen Into Its Advertising Web
Music Piracy Police Cut Off Feeding at Oink's Trough
America the Haunted?
E-Marketing
Report: Cheery Outlook for Holiday E-Shopping Season
MySpace TV to Air Bite-Sized Serial Drama
EU Postpones Google-DoubleClick Day of Reckoning
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Apple and SMBs, Part 2: The Case for the Xserve
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 2
Apple and SMBs, Part 1: The Case for the All-Mac Shop
Security
Overzealous Ticket Bots Choke Rockies' Online Sales
Call Center Agent Charged With Stealing Customer IDs
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E-Commerce Times
10/23/07 4:00 AM PT
"Businesspeople have precious little time to learn complex systems and then to use them so it needs to be easy and accessible. Whenever possible I try to use the following guide when designing the systems: You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to use it -- it should be self-evident," said Daniel Vidoni, e-commerce software consultant and proprietor of Vidoniweb.com and Storefinder.com.
Tealeaf provides visibility, insight, and answers for companies doing business online, letting you see why your customers succeed or fail in their transactions. We are committed to helping companies make sure that every customer can complete every transaction, every time. Learn how.
There's a wealth of opportunities available for aspiring and small to medium-sized business (SMB) e-tailers looking for shopping cart technology, as Part 1 of this series points out.
While this makes it easier than ever to find this important piece of the e-tailing puzzle, it also means startup and SMB e-tailers face greater challenges when it comes to choosing shopping cart software and putting it to good use.
Ongoing rapid growth in e-commerce, the emergence of standardized Web 2.0 technology and open source software packages, shopping cart and e-tail e-commerce tools have become cheaper, more powerful, standardized and chock-full of all kinds of interactive, multichannel and multimedia features. However, perceptions of just how easy they are to use -- and how easy and cheap it is to get online and start an e-tail business -- often outrun the reality.
"There is such an enormous amount to consider when creating these systems that in my view it should be left to professionals. If not, a merchant can become disillusioned with Internet technology and determine -- incorrectly -- that it doesn't work and that it's all hype," Daniel Vidoni, e-commerce software consultant and proprietor of Australia's Vidoni.com and Storefinder.com, told the E-Commerce Times.
The Front End
There are essentially two sides to shopping cart sites, Vidoni continued: "The merchant's administration area (the back end), which allows them to manage the products, pricing and freight and things like that; and the Web site front end where visitors can see and read about the products, place orders and make payments."
Getting the front-end user interfaces right is one key to creating a satisfying customer experience. They need to be intuitive and facilitate a smooth workflow, Vidoni elaborated.
"From a sales perspective, it is vitally important that we help make the purchase experience a good one -- and good means easy, pleasant and enjoyable -- the opposite of frustrating. Remember the phrase 'it's been a pleasure doing business with you?' That should be your target," he said.
As important as it is, the shopping cart is just a part of an e-tail site; it needs to be part of a fully integrated e-tail platform, pointed out Charles Han, CEO of FastCommerce.com.
"Most shopping carts today have the basic function of managing products, calculating shipping and tax, and checking out with credit cards. Most U.S.-based shopping carts also support alternative payment methods such as Paypal and Google Checkout. That's about what you will get from 99 percent of the shopping carts in the marketplace," Han told the E-Commerce Times.
As competitive as the e-tail and software markets are and with so many good SMB shopping cart platforms on offer at small business prices, the shopping cart in and of itself doesn't really add any significant value to an e-tailer's business, he said.
"Like in a brick and mortar store, you are not going be successful if all you have is steel shopping carts and some check out registers. You are expected to have a fully integrated retail system to manage your merchandising assortment, inventory, promotion, marketing, customers, product returns and financials. Nobody expects to see a shopping cart and POS (point of sale) not being of a complete retail system," Han added.
The Back End
Equally important to e-tailing success as getting a shopping cart site's front-end user interface and navigation features right, the back end also needs to come together.
"The back end of the Web site is much more important and complex than many people realize," Vidoni commented. "One would think that it is where products are managed and photographs of items uploaded. However, there is a great deal more that the administration area can and does do."
Typically, sophisticated databases are used. "A lot of time is spent on getting the data architecture right. This flows from the needs of the business. Every business is different, therefore every database structure is different," Vidoni continued.
Like the shopping cart's front end, the back end administration area should be well-designed and easy to use.
"Businesspeople have precious little time to learn complex systems and then to use them so it needs to be easy and accessible," he said. "Whenever possible I try to use the following guide when designing the systems: You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to use it -- it should be self-evident."
Ideally, databases should be able to be exported and connected to and from accounting software packages, which allows data such as stock levels and orders and sales information to be exported into accounting software packages for processing and reconciliation, something that is frequently overlooked, Vidoni noted.
"As with many things, you get what you pay for; there are no shortcuts to quality design and implementation and the extra time and effort you invest is returned many fold over the years during which your Web site operates profitably," he commented.
Open Source Options
As in a growing number of software market segments, open source software solutions are making their market in e-tail and shopping cart software.
"There are many decent -- and free -- e-commerce solutions, such as osCommerce, on the market. These products allow very rapid development and are a great way for beginners to get into Web development. When these products are used by professional developers, the results can be sensational," Vidoni related.
Professional, well-designed templates can be incorporated within a solid e-tail system's architecture and provide very cost-effective, good quality solutions, he continued. Beautifully designed professional template's can mesh together with the solid architecture of these well-designed products to yield very cost-effective quality solutions. In addition, Vidoni noted, "Because the software is in the public domain it is constantly under peer review and if necessary can be modified by the Web developer to produce more customized solutions.
"I have been involved in the development of similar shareware products in the past which were developed by the global programming community and the results were incredible. Everybody contributes small fragments and everyone ends up benefiting. The open architecture is beautiful to work with and there are so many forums where questions can be asked and answered sometimes within minutes that it's just incredible."
Making the Investment
For e-tail startups and SMBs to compete successfully in the increasingly competitive, fast-moving e-tail market means having the willingness and means to invest the necessary capital -- and the capital required isn't insignificant or shrinking.
"For small businesses that are just launching an online store or expect online sales to be under (US)$2 million, we usually recommend a shared revenue platform like Yahoo Merchant Solutions," Sandra Fathi, president of Affect Strategies, told the E-Commerce Times. "There are quite a few companies that will provide their hosting services and e-commerce platforms for between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of sales revenue."
Going with an established third-party e-commerce platform hosting provider offers startups and SMBs -- particularly those with limited technology expertise -- a number of advantages.
"This approach also provides merchants with peace of mind that tech support and maintenance of the platform are included in their agreement. Often, these platforms are well established and fully integrated with complementary services that the business may want to leverage as well," Fathi explained.
Aspiring e-tailers can expect to invest $50,000 and upwards for a custom developed e-commerce platform while making use of an off-the-shelf offering may run as little as a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year, according to Fathi.
"Many small businesses just don't have the cash to layout upfront. Having a fixed percentage on top of their cost of goods sold allows them to have better cash flow and less volatility in operating costs if something should go wrong with a proprietary platform," she noted.
BabyRide.com, one of Affect's SMB e-tail clients, generates annual sales of more than $3 million yet still chooses to stay on the Yahoo Merchant Solutions platform, Fathi related.
"Although they are paying about 0.75 percent of each sale (or $22,500 annually), BabyRide.com has been able to avoid hiring a full time Web developer or technology expert to maintain and update the site. Having an e-commerce platform that is maintained, supported and operating 365 days a year is worth much more to the company," she said.
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 1
Next Article in E-Commerce: New 3-D Tech Makes Online Shopping More Like Being There
Back to Online Version E-Mail Article Digg It Reprints More by Andrew K. Burger Talkback
Related Stories
New 3-D Tech Makes Online Shopping More Like Being There (22-Oct-07)
The Scramble for Sticky Online Banking Customers (28-Sep-07)
Online Billing, Part 2: Problems and Possibilities (18-Sep-07)
Related Resources
Successful Offshore Outsourcing for Small to Mid-size Businesses
Sales Outsourcing, Lead Generation, and Sales Consulting
Sourcing Strategies for your HR-IT - A Webinar by Forrester
State of IT Outsourcing
Don't miss a story -- sign up for our FREE e-mail newsletters and view the latest headlines at a glance.
Tech News Flash [ View Sample ]
E-Commerce Minute [ View Sample ]
ECT News Network Weekly Newsletter [ View Sample ]
More Stories by Andrew K. Burger
Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 2 (26-Oct-07)
Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 1 (25-Oct-07)
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 1 (22-Oct-07)
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Feeding the Cash Cow: Beefing Up Mobile Business Services
IBM Developing Wicked-Fast Wireless Data Transfer Chip
AT&T Teams With Napster on 2-Buck Song Downloads
Critical Issues
Citrix Unwraps New Virtualization Strategy
Alliances and Intrigue in the Virtualization World
Poison Apple? Greenpeace Slams Apple for 'Toxic' iPhone
E-Commerce
Google Draws Nielsen Into Its Advertising Web
Music Piracy Police Cut Off Feeding at Oink's Trough
America the Haunted?
E-Marketing
Report: Cheery Outlook for Holiday E-Shopping Season
MySpace TV to Air Bite-Sized Serial Drama
EU Postpones Google-DoubleClick Day of Reckoning
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Digital River's Jim Wehmann: Building a Better E-Commerce Site
GNU GPL Creator Richard Stallman on the Meaning of 'Free'
BlueRoads CEO Shinya Akamine: Out With PRM, In With POM
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IBM Offers New Ways to Store Ginormous Amounts of Data
A Plethora of One-Stop Shops for Small Biz Tech
Microsoft Eyes Enterprise With New Mobile Server
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The Difference Between Vista and Leopard: Fear
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Microsoft Ends Resistance to EU Antitrust Ruling
Four States Reverse Stance on Microsoft Oversight
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GPL v3: Was It Worth the Effort?
RIAA's Next Target: Usenet
VPNs and Small Business, Part 1: The SMB Case
SMB
Apple and SMBs, Part 2: The Case for the Xserve
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 2
Apple and SMBs, Part 1: The Case for the All-Mac Shop
Security
Overzealous Ticket Bots Choke Rockies' Online Sales
Call Center Agent Charged With Stealing Customer IDs
Virtual Browsers: Disposable Security
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The Bandwidth Shortage That Stole Christmas
RFID: Thinking Outside the Box, Part 2
Free Software for the SMB
Trends
MySpace: A Place for Developers
Murdoch 'Never Imagined' Scale of MySpace Success
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Lexmark Smudges Q4 Expectations
Mac Sales Power Apple to Record Quarter
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| October 26, 2007 09:55:40 AME-Commerce Times > E-Commerce | Read Next Article in E-Commerce
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Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 2
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By Andrew K. Burger
E-Commerce Times
10/23/07 4:00 AM PT
"Businesspeople have precious little time to learn complex systems and then to use them so it needs to be easy and accessible. Whenever possible I try to use the following guide when designing the systems: You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to use it -- it should be self-evident," said Daniel Vidoni, e-commerce software consultant and proprietor of Vidoniweb.com and Storefinder.com.
Tealeaf provides visibility, insight, and answers for companies doing business online, letting you see why your customers succeed or fail in their transactions. We are committed to helping companies make sure that every customer can complete every transaction, every time. Learn how.
There's a wealth of opportunities available for aspiring and small to medium-sized business (SMB) e-tailers looking for shopping cart technology, as Part 1 of this series points out.
While this makes it easier than ever to find this important piece of the e-tailing puzzle, it also means startup and SMB e-tailers face greater challenges when it comes to choosing shopping cart software and putting it to good use.
Ongoing rapid growth in e-commerce, the emergence of standardized Web 2.0 technology and open source software packages, shopping cart and e-tail e-commerce tools have become cheaper, more powerful, standardized and chock-full of all kinds of interactive, multichannel and multimedia features. However, perceptions of just how easy they are to use -- and how easy and cheap it is to get online and start an e-tail business -- often outrun the reality.
"There is such an enormous amount to consider when creating these systems that in my view it should be left to professionals. If not, a merchant can become disillusioned with Internet technology and determine -- incorrectly -- that it doesn't work and that it's all hype," Daniel Vidoni, e-commerce software consultant and proprietor of Australia's Vidoni.com and Storefinder.com, told the E-Commerce Times.
The Front End
There are essentially two sides to shopping cart sites, Vidoni continued: "The merchant's administration area (the back end), which allows them to manage the products, pricing and freight and things like that; and the Web site front end where visitors can see and read about the products, place orders and make payments."
Getting the front-end user interfaces right is one key to creating a satisfying customer experience. They need to be intuitive and facilitate a smooth workflow, Vidoni elaborated.
"From a sales perspective, it is vitally important that we help make the purchase experience a good one -- and good means easy, pleasant and enjoyable -- the opposite of frustrating. Remember the phrase 'it's been a pleasure doing business with you?' That should be your target," he said.
As important as it is, the shopping cart is just a part of an e-tail site; it needs to be part of a fully integrated e-tail platform, pointed out Charles Han, CEO of FastCommerce.com.
"Most shopping carts today have the basic function of managing products, calculating shipping and tax, and checking out with credit cards. Most U.S.-based shopping carts also support alternative payment methods such as Paypal and Google Checkout. That's about what you will get from 99 percent of the shopping carts in the marketplace," Han told the E-Commerce Times.
As competitive as the e-tail and software markets are and with so many good SMB shopping cart platforms on offer at small business prices, the shopping cart in and of itself doesn't really add any significant value to an e-tailer's business, he said.
"Like in a brick and mortar store, you are not going be successful if all you have is steel shopping carts and some check out registers. You are expected to have a fully integrated retail system to manage your merchandising assortment, inventory, promotion, marketing, customers, product returns and financials. Nobody expects to see a shopping cart and POS (point of sale) not being of a complete retail system," Han added.
The Back End
Equally important to e-tailing success as getting a shopping cart site's front-end user interface and navigation features right, the back end also needs to come together.
"The back end of the Web site is much more important and complex than many people realize," Vidoni commented. "One would think that it is where products are managed and photographs of items uploaded. However, there is a great deal more that the administration area can and does do."
Typically, sophisticated databases are used. "A lot of time is spent on getting the data architecture right. This flows from the needs of the business. Every business is different, therefore every database structure is different," Vidoni continued.
Like the shopping cart's front end, the back end administration area should be well-designed and easy to use.
"Businesspeople have precious little time to learn complex systems and then to use them so it needs to be easy and accessible," he said. "Whenever possible I try to use the following guide when designing the systems: You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to use it -- it should be self-evident."
Ideally, databases should be able to be exported and connected to and from accounting software packages, which allows data such as stock levels and orders and sales information to be exported into accounting software packages for processing and reconciliation, something that is frequently overlooked, Vidoni noted.
"As with many things, you get what you pay for; there are no shortcuts to quality design and implementation and the extra time and effort you invest is returned many fold over the years during which your Web site operates profitably," he commented.
Open Source Options
As in a growing number of software market segments, open source software solutions are making their market in e-tail and shopping cart software.
"There are many decent -- and free -- e-commerce solutions, such as osCommerce, on the market. These products allow very rapid development and are a great way for beginners to get into Web development. When these products are used by professional developers, the results can be sensational," Vidoni related.
Professional, well-designed templates can be incorporated within a solid e-tail system's architecture and provide very cost-effective, good quality solutions, he continued. Beautifully designed professional template's can mesh together with the solid architecture of these well-designed products to yield very cost-effective quality solutions. In addition, Vidoni noted, "Because the software is in the public domain it is constantly under peer review and if necessary can be modified by the Web developer to produce more customized solutions.
"I have been involved in the development of similar shareware products in the past which were developed by the global programming community and the results were incredible. Everybody contributes small fragments and everyone ends up benefiting. The open architecture is beautiful to work with and there are so many forums where questions can be asked and answered sometimes within minutes that it's just incredible."
Making the Investment
For e-tail startups and SMBs to compete successfully in the increasingly competitive, fast-moving e-tail market means having the willingness and means to invest the necessary capital -- and the capital required isn't insignificant or shrinking.
"For small businesses that are just launching an online store or expect online sales to be under (US)$2 million, we usually recommend a shared revenue platform like Yahoo Merchant Solutions," Sandra Fathi, president of Affect Strategies, told the E-Commerce Times. "There are quite a few companies that will provide their hosting services and e-commerce platforms for between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of sales revenue."
Going with an established third-party e-commerce platform hosting provider offers startups and SMBs -- particularly those with limited technology expertise -- a number of advantages.
"This approach also provides merchants with peace of mind that tech support and maintenance of the platform are included in their agreement. Often, these platforms are well established and fully integrated with complementary services that the business may want to leverage as well," Fathi explained.
Aspiring e-tailers can expect to invest $50,000 and upwards for a custom developed e-commerce platform while making use of an off-the-shelf offering may run as little as a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a year, according to Fathi.
"Many small businesses just don't have the cash to layout upfront. Having a fixed percentage on top of their cost of goods sold allows them to have better cash flow and less volatility in operating costs if something should go wrong with a proprietary platform," she noted.
BabyRide.com, one of Affect's SMB e-tail clients, generates annual sales of more than $3 million yet still chooses to stay on the Yahoo Merchant Solutions platform, Fathi related.
"Although they are paying about 0.75 percent of each sale (or $22,500 annually), BabyRide.com has been able to avoid hiring a full time Web developer or technology expert to maintain and update the site. Having an e-commerce platform that is maintained, supported and operating 365 days a year is worth much more to the company," she said.
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 1
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Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 1 (22-Oct-07)
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What Makes a Great SaaS Startup?
Using E-Mail Marketing to the Max
Free Software for the SMB
Rules for E-Commerce Startups to Live By, Part 2: What Not to Do
Mistakes Made on Kodak's Road to Innovation
E-Commerce Times
Creating Synergy With Online and Offline Marketing
Financing Your Startup: Some Essential Tips
Motorola Profits Slide, Investors Cheer Nonetheless
Microsoft Goes Cheek to Cheek With Facebook
Tech Heavies Form IT Security Phalanx With SAFECode Forum
Nintendo Half-Year Profits Double on Demand for Wii
Second Life Becomes First Job for Adventurous Few
BEA Hits on 17, Hopes for 21
RIM Puts Facebook in Motion
VPNs and Small Business, Part 2: Solutions and Alternatives
TechNewsWorld
When a Man Loves the Internet
Russian Firm Files Patent for Password Cracker
Web 2.0: Spreading Vital Info Amid Calif. Firestorms
The E-Learning Adventure
DNA Pioneer Watson Resigns Amid Cloud of Scandal
CRM Buyer
Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 2
Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 1
Revealing the Secrets to Effective Supply Chain Management
Getting Specific
Microsoft Slashes CRM Live Pricing for Partners
LinuxInsider
Virtualization: Do Your Homework
Mozilla Flies High on Google's Coattails
Enterprise Web App Platform Maker UnCurls Code
Parents Face Real Bills for Virtual Real Estate
Twine: Stringing Together the Semantic Web
MacNewsWorld
iPod, This Is Your Life
Gearing Up for the Leap to Leopard
Apple's Leopard Is Spot-On
Fake Steve Jobs' Book Has Kernels of Real Insight
Apple COO: Users Unlock 1 in 6 iPhones Sold
Sponsored Links
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A powerful server from HP
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Section Snapshot
Business
Strong Camera, LCD Sales Boost Sony to Record Q2
Amazon Shares Slide Despite Stellar Q3
MySpace Pens Formal Agreement for Casual Games
Communications
Feeding the Cash Cow: Beefing Up Mobile Business Services
IBM Developing Wicked-Fast Wireless Data Transfer Chip
AT&T Teams With Napster on 2-Buck Song Downloads
Critical Issues
Citrix Unwraps New Virtualization Strategy
Alliances and Intrigue in the Virtualization World
Poison Apple? Greenpeace Slams Apple for 'Toxic' iPhone
E-Commerce
Google Draws Nielsen Into Its Advertising Web
Music Piracy Police Cut Off Feeding at Oink's Trough
America the Haunted?
E-Marketing
Report: Cheery Outlook for Holiday E-Shopping Season
MySpace TV to Air Bite-Sized Serial Drama
EU Postpones Google-DoubleClick Day of Reckoning
ECT News Exclusives
Digital River's Jim Wehmann: Building a Better E-Commerce Site
GNU GPL Creator Richard Stallman on the Meaning of 'Free'
BlueRoads CEO Shinya Akamine: Out With PRM, In With POM
Enterprise IT
IBM Offers New Ways to Store Ginormous Amounts of Data
A Plethora of One-Stop Shops for Small Biz Tech
Microsoft Eyes Enterprise With New Mobile Server
Hot Topics
Comcast Confirms Fiddling With Net Traffic
Leopard vs. Vista, Brazil vs. Cisco, True Security Horror Story, Product of the Week
The Difference Between Vista and Leopard: Fear
Law
AT&T Puts Vonage Back on Litigation Merry-Go-Round
Microsoft Ends Resistance to EU Antitrust Ruling
Four States Reverse Stance on Microsoft Oversight
Must Read
GPL v3: Was It Worth the Effort?
RIAA's Next Target: Usenet
VPNs and Small Business, Part 1: The SMB Case
SMB
Apple and SMBs, Part 2: The Case for the Xserve
Shopping Cart Options for SMBs, Part 2
Apple and SMBs, Part 1: The Case for the All-Mac Shop
Security
Overzealous Ticket Bots Choke Rockies' Online Sales
Call Center Agent Charged With Stealing Customer IDs
Virtual Browsers: Disposable Security
Spotlight Features
The Bandwidth Shortage That Stole Christmas
RFID: Thinking Outside the Box, Part 2
Free Software for the SMB
Trends
MySpace: A Place for Developers
Murdoch 'Never Imagined' Scale of MySpace Success
Virtual Meetings: Bridging the Distance Gap
Wall Street
Lexmark Smudges Q4 Expectations
Mac Sales Power Apple to Record Quarter
AT&T Rides BellSouth Buy, iPhone to $3.1B Profit
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Tuesday, October 2, 2007
WEB 2.0 ECOMMERCE (free)
Free Web 2.0 Ecommerce Website and Shopping Cart For Small Business (free)
Sign-up and sign-in and start building your free online ecommerce website and webstore in minutes. The FastCommerce.com ecommerce service has everthing a small business or individual needs to run a successful online business.
September 17, 2007; 12:42 AM
San Mateo, CA (FastCommerce.com) September, 15, 2007. Building their own online stores, hundred of small businesses and individuals continue to sign up for the FastCommerce.com online store builder and free ecommerce website. Designed to be easy to set up and use, the FastCommerce.com service is a web-base, Web 2.0 free shopping cart software with free hosting. It has the advantage of enabling small business start ups and individuals to set up and grow their online businesses with a state of the art webstore and back-office management capability for order capture, account management, shipping and tax calcaulation: everything needed to run a business online. It has the singular advantage of being inexpensive (free, or practically free) while running on a proven Web 2.0 technology platform for speed and performance. The feedback to the free service and the ecommerce shopping cart tools has been tremendous.
Looking to build an online store? Just starting out? The FastCommerce.com ecommerce software is easy to use, easy to set up, and it is free to start. Free, not a free trial. What do we mean by easy to use? Our shopping cart software was designed especially for simplicity and ease of use. You will be impressed by the elegant design and the coherent layout of the management console. You will also be impressed by a level of speed and performance unmatched by the majority of shopping cart software solutions available on the web. And it is free! How cool is that?
The FastCommerce online store management tools let you quickly create new products, create complex and deep product category trees in minutes: it is well designed to let you create and modify to best suit your needs as they evolve. It is remarkably easy to build an online store with our FastCommerce.com ecommerce management tools. And after a short learning curve, our easy to set up, easy to use ecommerce solution becomes a remarkable productivity tool. You move quickly over the face of these ecommerce tools to manage, adapt and fine tune your online store to meet the evolving challenges of Internet ecommerce retail. And because of our Web 2.0 technology, we will be able to make enhancements and add new products without any disruption to your current ecommerce store. Our Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart software will meet and exceed your growing expectations as you continue to compete and succeed in Internet retail ecommerce.
Even better, once you set up your FastCommerce.com free online store, you will find that the other tools make complete sense at first sight. Order capture, order processing along with inventory management, account management and shipping: all the ecommerce online business applications on the FastCommerce solution are state of the art productivity tools designed by some of the industry's top user interface designers. New features and functions will easily integrate with the existing set of applications: the final result will be one of the best ecommerce solutions available. And it is available to small business for free. How cool is that? Additional, third party fees are offered as options.
So go build an online store with FastCommerce.com. It's fast, simple and cheap; that is, it's a free ecommerce solution. Free to set up and free to use. You only pay when you want additional tools. And even then, our set of new and powerful options might be almost as inexpensive as the free service. Building an online store with FastCommerce lets you focus on your business, not on your budget. And with our state of the art Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, the days of having to run both an online store while supporting complex software and hardware are rapidly receding into the early days of online ecommerce.
A second release has been scheduled for early October to include Paypal, drop-down menus for product variables, five new templates that are professional, attractive, and have remarkable branding capabilities for non-technical marketing people, and more. FastCommerce.com will continue to develop products with a focus on offering low cost, state of the art small business applications for ecommerce and back-office business utilities.
FastCommerce.com is a free Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart software and business application for small businesses, start-ups, and individuals looking to grow their business with online sales.
Sign-up and sign-in and start building your free online ecommerce website and webstore in minutes. The FastCommerce.com ecommerce service has everthing a small business or individual needs to run a successful online business.
September 17, 2007; 12:42 AM
San Mateo, CA (FastCommerce.com) September, 15, 2007. Building their own online stores, hundred of small businesses and individuals continue to sign up for the FastCommerce.com online store builder and free ecommerce website. Designed to be easy to set up and use, the FastCommerce.com service is a web-base, Web 2.0 free shopping cart software with free hosting. It has the advantage of enabling small business start ups and individuals to set up and grow their online businesses with a state of the art webstore and back-office management capability for order capture, account management, shipping and tax calcaulation: everything needed to run a business online. It has the singular advantage of being inexpensive (free, or practically free) while running on a proven Web 2.0 technology platform for speed and performance. The feedback to the free service and the ecommerce shopping cart tools has been tremendous.
Looking to build an online store? Just starting out? The FastCommerce.com ecommerce software is easy to use, easy to set up, and it is free to start. Free, not a free trial. What do we mean by easy to use? Our shopping cart software was designed especially for simplicity and ease of use. You will be impressed by the elegant design and the coherent layout of the management console. You will also be impressed by a level of speed and performance unmatched by the majority of shopping cart software solutions available on the web. And it is free! How cool is that?
The FastCommerce online store management tools let you quickly create new products, create complex and deep product category trees in minutes: it is well designed to let you create and modify to best suit your needs as they evolve. It is remarkably easy to build an online store with our FastCommerce.com ecommerce management tools. And after a short learning curve, our easy to set up, easy to use ecommerce solution becomes a remarkable productivity tool. You move quickly over the face of these ecommerce tools to manage, adapt and fine tune your online store to meet the evolving challenges of Internet ecommerce retail. And because of our Web 2.0 technology, we will be able to make enhancements and add new products without any disruption to your current ecommerce store. Our Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart software will meet and exceed your growing expectations as you continue to compete and succeed in Internet retail ecommerce.
Even better, once you set up your FastCommerce.com free online store, you will find that the other tools make complete sense at first sight. Order capture, order processing along with inventory management, account management and shipping: all the ecommerce online business applications on the FastCommerce solution are state of the art productivity tools designed by some of the industry's top user interface designers. New features and functions will easily integrate with the existing set of applications: the final result will be one of the best ecommerce solutions available. And it is available to small business for free. How cool is that? Additional, third party fees are offered as options.
So go build an online store with FastCommerce.com. It's fast, simple and cheap; that is, it's a free ecommerce solution. Free to set up and free to use. You only pay when you want additional tools. And even then, our set of new and powerful options might be almost as inexpensive as the free service. Building an online store with FastCommerce lets you focus on your business, not on your budget. And with our state of the art Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, the days of having to run both an online store while supporting complex software and hardware are rapidly receding into the early days of online ecommerce.
A second release has been scheduled for early October to include Paypal, drop-down menus for product variables, five new templates that are professional, attractive, and have remarkable branding capabilities for non-technical marketing people, and more. FastCommerce.com will continue to develop products with a focus on offering low cost, state of the art small business applications for ecommerce and back-office business utilities.
FastCommerce.com is a free Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart software and business application for small businesses, start-ups, and individuals looking to grow their business with online sales.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Free Ecommerce Website with Great Features
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE
We have been fielding phone calls, doing customer training online: it is a very impressive single system ecommerce and shopping cart ecommerce package. And it is practically free, at no or low cost. And a business entrepreneur can set it up quickly. The learning curve is very short.
New templates on the way. Paypal also. It is pure web 2.0 and beautifully designed software.
Fastcommerce Startup plan is an ideal e-commerce solution for small businesses just starting out online. It's easy to set up and easy to upgrade as your business grows! It's based on the same super fast Web 2.0 technology platform that is standard on Fastcommerce Enterprise version.
Pricing: Free Setup and Hosting
Website Hosting and Set Up
Website hosting with 200MB storage space
Use your existing domain name or add an online store to your existing website
1 GB/month data transfer
Online Catalog
Easy to use product management
Built-in image manager
Multiple sets of images per product
Unlimited cross and up selling
Support for List, Regular, Sales prices with automatic discount calculation
Customizable detailed product description tabs
Customizable shipping messages with free shipping option
Customizable inventory availability messages
Track inventory quantity at the product level
Keyword search
Search by brand name
Payment and Order Management
Built-in shopping cart
Guest and registered customer check out
Real-time credit card payment processing with optional Authiorize.net payment gateway
Real time FedEx and UPS shipping rates lookup based on weight and zip code
Upload and share your product, order and customer information with QuickBooks
Order management system allowing you to approve, cancel and back orders.
Multiple states tax rates
Reports
Sales reports
Product reports
Marketing reports
Customer reports
Building a free online store, Complete Webstore Free, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, Free ecommerce, Free online webstore, Inc.com, SHOPPING CART, Sales and Marketing, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, business management, e-commerce, e-commerce seminar, e-commerce training, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, ecommerce training, entrepreneurship, free e-commerce, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, free shopping cart, free store front, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, online store builder, sales online, sell online, shopping cart software, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, web design, website builder, website design, webstore, zencart | Tagged: business management, Complete Webstore Free, e-commerce, e-commerce seminar, e-commerce training, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, ecommerce training, entrepreneurship, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, free e-commerce, Free ecommerce, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, Free online webstore, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, free shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, free store front, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, Inc.com, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, online store builder, Sales and Marketing, sales online, sell online, SHOPPING CART, shopping cart software, uilding a free online store, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, web 2.0 | Tagged: Building a free online store, web design, website builder, website design | Tagged: business management, webstore, zencar
We have been fielding phone calls, doing customer training online: it is a very impressive single system ecommerce and shopping cart ecommerce package. And it is practically free, at no or low cost. And a business entrepreneur can set it up quickly. The learning curve is very short.
New templates on the way. Paypal also. It is pure web 2.0 and beautifully designed software.
Fastcommerce Startup plan is an ideal e-commerce solution for small businesses just starting out online. It's easy to set up and easy to upgrade as your business grows! It's based on the same super fast Web 2.0 technology platform that is standard on Fastcommerce Enterprise version.
Pricing: Free Setup and Hosting
Website Hosting and Set Up
Website hosting with 200MB storage space
Use your existing domain name or add an online store to your existing website
1 GB/month data transfer
Online Catalog
Easy to use product management
Built-in image manager
Multiple sets of images per product
Unlimited cross and up selling
Support for List, Regular, Sales prices with automatic discount calculation
Customizable detailed product description tabs
Customizable shipping messages with free shipping option
Customizable inventory availability messages
Track inventory quantity at the product level
Keyword search
Search by brand name
Payment and Order Management
Built-in shopping cart
Guest and registered customer check out
Real-time credit card payment processing with optional Authiorize.net payment gateway
Real time FedEx and UPS shipping rates lookup based on weight and zip code
Upload and share your product, order and customer information with QuickBooks
Order management system allowing you to approve, cancel and back orders.
Multiple states tax rates
Reports
Sales reports
Product reports
Marketing reports
Customer reports
Building a free online store, Complete Webstore Free, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, Free ecommerce, Free online webstore, Inc.com, SHOPPING CART, Sales and Marketing, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, business management, e-commerce, e-commerce seminar, e-commerce training, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, ecommerce training, entrepreneurship, free e-commerce, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, free shopping cart, free store front, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, online store builder, sales online, sell online, shopping cart software, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, web design, website builder, website design, webstore, zencart | Tagged: business management, Complete Webstore Free, e-commerce, e-commerce seminar, e-commerce training, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, ecommerce training, entrepreneurship, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, free e-commerce, Free ecommerce, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, Free online webstore, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, free shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, free store front, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, Inc.com, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, online store builder, Sales and Marketing, sales online, sell online, SHOPPING CART, shopping cart software, uilding a free online store, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, web 2.0 | Tagged: Building a free online store, web design, website builder, website design | Tagged: business management, webstore, zencar
Thursday, September 27, 2007
FastCommerce.com: More Business for Website Designers
http://www.pr.com/press-release/52427
Web Design Firms Can Now Offer Free eCommerce by FastCommerce.com as an Additional Service to Increase Revenue
Small website design firms can now offer the e-commerce system by FastCommerce.com as an additional service to drive revenue from new and existing clients. FastCommerce is a complete e-commerce that is offered at no or low cost. At virtually no risk, design firms can offer to set-up web storefronts for small business entrepreneurs looking to sell online.
San Mateo, CA, September 27, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Web design firms have emerged as a fast growing client base for the free e-commerce applications offered by FastCommerce.com. The FastCommerce e-commerce system is easy to set-up, easy to use, and is offered at no or low cost. There is no risk to start, and in return web design firms get a state of the art, high performance ecommerce system to use as an additional product offering to boost revenue.
Small business design firms have been quick to sense a new and potentially lucrative business opportunity. Traditionally, web design has been only a part of a total ecommerce operation, a small part of the total software needs of the small business entrepreneur looking to sell online. Small business online retailers have traditionally used a number of diverse software programs to successfully run an ecommerce company. As e-commerce applications move to the web small business online retailers have greater access to single-system e-commerce services. FastCommerce.com is a powerful, low-cost Web 2.0 version of this new model.
FastCommerce.com has all the tools a small business needs to sell online. By simply signing up, online retailers have access to a full suite of tools that include an online store, online product catalogue, shopping cart, auto-email responder for order and shipping confirmation, as well as back office tools for order capture and processing, account maintenance in addition to automatic shipping calculations for USPS, USP and FedEx. Paypal will soon be offered as a payment option, and credit card transactions can be set up on the site through authorise.net.
But the FastCommerce.com ecommerce tools are free up to 250 products. By simply signing up, web design firms can quickly master the tools of setting up a complete online store, and then offer it to their clients as a service or product. Small business online retail continues to grow at an astonishing pace, and the FastCommerce.com ecommerce webstore has all the tools that small online retailers need to be successful.
The FastCommerce.com represents a new tool for website designers to offer to their established client base looking to extend their e-commerce capabilities. "We are finding the website designers have lots of clients require updates to their ecommerce systems" says Charles Han, FastCommerce.com CEO, "By simply learning the FastCommerce.com system, they can revisit their clients with a powerful and inexpensive ecommerce solution. For lack of time, many online retailers will be looking to third-party providers to set it up. And because it is easy to set up, and low cost, it's a win-win."
FastCommerce.com is also offering free additional training to all web designers looking to utilize the free e-commerce service to expand their business. Topics will include how to set up the store, and how to go live, setting up the store as a sub-domain of the existing website, etc. And since the FastCommerce.com e-commerce system is easy to use, website designers will find it easy to train their clients on the system to get them up and running quickly.
The response to the FastCommerce.com ecommerce system for small online retailers has been impressive. Small business retailers have been tremendously excited by having access to high caliber e-commerce software at little or no cost.
Fastcommerce.com provides business management software to small businesses, delivered on demand as a service via the web on a free or paid monthly subscription basis. We provide small businesses with a complete, fully integrated package that helps run their entire operations, including inventory control, sales and marketing, support, online catalogs, e-commerce, backend order processing, and built-in UPS and Fedex shipping tools.
The only requirement to use our software is an internet connection. Unlike a traditional software company, our small business customers do not need to buy and maintain expensive software and hardware.
###
Contact Information
FastCommerce.com
Gregory Peterson
650.235.6212
gregory@fastcommerce.com
www.fastcommerce.com
Web Design Firms Can Now Offer Free eCommerce by FastCommerce.com as an Additional Service to Increase Revenue
Small website design firms can now offer the e-commerce system by FastCommerce.com as an additional service to drive revenue from new and existing clients. FastCommerce is a complete e-commerce that is offered at no or low cost. At virtually no risk, design firms can offer to set-up web storefronts for small business entrepreneurs looking to sell online.
San Mateo, CA, September 27, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Web design firms have emerged as a fast growing client base for the free e-commerce applications offered by FastCommerce.com. The FastCommerce e-commerce system is easy to set-up, easy to use, and is offered at no or low cost. There is no risk to start, and in return web design firms get a state of the art, high performance ecommerce system to use as an additional product offering to boost revenue.
Small business design firms have been quick to sense a new and potentially lucrative business opportunity. Traditionally, web design has been only a part of a total ecommerce operation, a small part of the total software needs of the small business entrepreneur looking to sell online. Small business online retailers have traditionally used a number of diverse software programs to successfully run an ecommerce company. As e-commerce applications move to the web small business online retailers have greater access to single-system e-commerce services. FastCommerce.com is a powerful, low-cost Web 2.0 version of this new model.
FastCommerce.com has all the tools a small business needs to sell online. By simply signing up, online retailers have access to a full suite of tools that include an online store, online product catalogue, shopping cart, auto-email responder for order and shipping confirmation, as well as back office tools for order capture and processing, account maintenance in addition to automatic shipping calculations for USPS, USP and FedEx. Paypal will soon be offered as a payment option, and credit card transactions can be set up on the site through authorise.net.
But the FastCommerce.com ecommerce tools are free up to 250 products. By simply signing up, web design firms can quickly master the tools of setting up a complete online store, and then offer it to their clients as a service or product. Small business online retail continues to grow at an astonishing pace, and the FastCommerce.com ecommerce webstore has all the tools that small online retailers need to be successful.
The FastCommerce.com represents a new tool for website designers to offer to their established client base looking to extend their e-commerce capabilities. "We are finding the website designers have lots of clients require updates to their ecommerce systems" says Charles Han, FastCommerce.com CEO, "By simply learning the FastCommerce.com system, they can revisit their clients with a powerful and inexpensive ecommerce solution. For lack of time, many online retailers will be looking to third-party providers to set it up. And because it is easy to set up, and low cost, it's a win-win."
FastCommerce.com is also offering free additional training to all web designers looking to utilize the free e-commerce service to expand their business. Topics will include how to set up the store, and how to go live, setting up the store as a sub-domain of the existing website, etc. And since the FastCommerce.com e-commerce system is easy to use, website designers will find it easy to train their clients on the system to get them up and running quickly.
The response to the FastCommerce.com ecommerce system for small online retailers has been impressive. Small business retailers have been tremendously excited by having access to high caliber e-commerce software at little or no cost.
Fastcommerce.com provides business management software to small businesses, delivered on demand as a service via the web on a free or paid monthly subscription basis. We provide small businesses with a complete, fully integrated package that helps run their entire operations, including inventory control, sales and marketing, support, online catalogs, e-commerce, backend order processing, and built-in UPS and Fedex shipping tools.
The only requirement to use our software is an internet connection. Unlike a traditional software company, our small business customers do not need to buy and maintain expensive software and hardware.
###
Contact Information
FastCommerce.com
Gregory Peterson
650.235.6212
gregory@fastcommerce.com
www.fastcommerce.com
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
New York Times now has a Small Business Section
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE
Strategies to Succeed Online
By DAVID STROM
PUTTING a small business online used to be a relatively simple matter: buy the domain names that matched your company’s identity, set up a Web server and send out a press release and a few e-mail messages. No more.
These days, a Web site may not even be the best place to start promoting your products or services. Instead, you can consider setting up a blog, participating in social-networking communities like Facebook and creating a storefront in virtual worlds like Second Life to get the buzz going.
“We launched our company in May 2006 with a blog, not a Web site,” said Jody DeVere, the president of AskPatty.com, an advice site that helps women find car showrooms and repair shops that are friendly to them. “Our blog has been the driving force of our branding effort and become the way we find our readers and our customers.”
Earlier this year, AskPatty created a virtual coffee shop at the online community site Second Life, where people can swap tips and stories. That move turned out to be a gold mine for the company. “The women in Second Life are the ultimate power Internet users, and are very comfortable doing business online,” Ms. DeVere said. “Plus, it is a very cost-effective way to reach lots of people.”
The good news is that there are many sites that act as hosts for individual and corporate blogs at no cost. The three largest and most popular are WordPress, Google’s Blogger.com and Six Apart’s Typepad.com.
Any of these services is fine for most small businesses’ needs, said John Patrick, a former I.B.M. vice president for Internet technology, who is a consultant and a member of several Internet companies’ boards.
The important thing is to develop a lively and attractive Web presence, Mr. Patrick said, and to update it often. “You want to have an active and ongoing online discussion with your customers and suppliers,” he said. Pick topics that can be informative, and don’t shy away from controversy, but address it head-on, he continued, adding, “You want to give customers a recommended course of action and make them feel like they have a direct channel to your company.”
An active blog helps draw visitors to a corporate Web site and can improve a company’s search rankings, said Tristan Louis, an Internet consultant who is a blogger himself and an expert on Web technology. “Blogging isn’t just about promoting you or your business,” he said. Instead, he recommended that corporate blogs focus on a niche or industry segment and become an authority by publishing advice and commentary on it.
Once the blog is up and running, its reach can be extended by using so-called syndication tools — provided by the blogging sites — that generate “feeds,” to which customers can subscribe. Feeds are notifications that tell you when new content has been added, like comments and posts. Given the work involved, many businesses now have staff members whose responsibilities include maintaining Internet activities like blogs and online storefronts.
“The old ways of hiring a public relations firm and putting out press releases just don’t cut it anymore,” Mr. Patrick said. “Today’s businesses have to be more hands-on, grass roots, interactive and maintain this flow of continuous communications.”
Besides having a person responsible for online communities and communications, businesses must strive to develop a more conversational approach that includes everyone from the chief executive to the mailroom clerk. More than merely participating in social networks like Facebook and MySpace, that means answering e-mail, too.
In addition, corporations should make use of e-mail distribution lists (also called Listservs or groups) to stay in touch regularly with their customers, employees and suppliers. Running such lists used to require software that was sophisticated, expensive and quirky. Now there are popular services sponsored by Yahoo (groups.yahoo.com), Microsoft (groups.msn.com) and Google (google.com/groups) that offer free distribution-list programs.
What a company should not be doing is spending lots of money on dot-com speculators, buying specialized software or even paying for the services of Web developers.
As Ms. DeVere said: “A new business doesn’t have the money to build a brand and pay for advertising. The biggest investment is your time, and these tools require a lot of that, but they can really pay off.”
Filed under: Building a free online store, Complete Webstore Free, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, Free ecommerce, Free online webstore, Inc.com, SHOPPING CART, Sales and Marketing, business management, e-commerce, e-commerce seminar, e-commerce training, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, ecommerce training, entrepreneurship, free e-commerce, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, free shopping cart, free store front, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, online store builder, sales online, sell online, shopping cart software, volusion, web 2.0 | Tagged: Building a free online store, business management, Complete Webstore Free, e-commerce, e-commerce seminar, e-commerce training, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, ecommerce training, entrepreneurship, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, free e-commerce, Free ecommerce, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, Free online webstore, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, free shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, free store front, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, Inc.com, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, Sales and Marketing, sales online, sell online, SHOPPING CART, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, web design, website builder, website design | Tagged: business management, webstore, zencart | No Comments »
Strategies to Succeed Online
By DAVID STROM
PUTTING a small business online used to be a relatively simple matter: buy the domain names that matched your company’s identity, set up a Web server and send out a press release and a few e-mail messages. No more.
These days, a Web site may not even be the best place to start promoting your products or services. Instead, you can consider setting up a blog, participating in social-networking communities like Facebook and creating a storefront in virtual worlds like Second Life to get the buzz going.
“We launched our company in May 2006 with a blog, not a Web site,” said Jody DeVere, the president of AskPatty.com, an advice site that helps women find car showrooms and repair shops that are friendly to them. “Our blog has been the driving force of our branding effort and become the way we find our readers and our customers.”
Earlier this year, AskPatty created a virtual coffee shop at the online community site Second Life, where people can swap tips and stories. That move turned out to be a gold mine for the company. “The women in Second Life are the ultimate power Internet users, and are very comfortable doing business online,” Ms. DeVere said. “Plus, it is a very cost-effective way to reach lots of people.”
The good news is that there are many sites that act as hosts for individual and corporate blogs at no cost. The three largest and most popular are WordPress, Google’s Blogger.com and Six Apart’s Typepad.com.
Any of these services is fine for most small businesses’ needs, said John Patrick, a former I.B.M. vice president for Internet technology, who is a consultant and a member of several Internet companies’ boards.
The important thing is to develop a lively and attractive Web presence, Mr. Patrick said, and to update it often. “You want to have an active and ongoing online discussion with your customers and suppliers,” he said. Pick topics that can be informative, and don’t shy away from controversy, but address it head-on, he continued, adding, “You want to give customers a recommended course of action and make them feel like they have a direct channel to your company.”
An active blog helps draw visitors to a corporate Web site and can improve a company’s search rankings, said Tristan Louis, an Internet consultant who is a blogger himself and an expert on Web technology. “Blogging isn’t just about promoting you or your business,” he said. Instead, he recommended that corporate blogs focus on a niche or industry segment and become an authority by publishing advice and commentary on it.
Once the blog is up and running, its reach can be extended by using so-called syndication tools — provided by the blogging sites — that generate “feeds,” to which customers can subscribe. Feeds are notifications that tell you when new content has been added, like comments and posts. Given the work involved, many businesses now have staff members whose responsibilities include maintaining Internet activities like blogs and online storefronts.
“The old ways of hiring a public relations firm and putting out press releases just don’t cut it anymore,” Mr. Patrick said. “Today’s businesses have to be more hands-on, grass roots, interactive and maintain this flow of continuous communications.”
Besides having a person responsible for online communities and communications, businesses must strive to develop a more conversational approach that includes everyone from the chief executive to the mailroom clerk. More than merely participating in social networks like Facebook and MySpace, that means answering e-mail, too.
In addition, corporations should make use of e-mail distribution lists (also called Listservs or groups) to stay in touch regularly with their customers, employees and suppliers. Running such lists used to require software that was sophisticated, expensive and quirky. Now there are popular services sponsored by Yahoo (groups.yahoo.com), Microsoft (groups.msn.com) and Google (google.com/groups) that offer free distribution-list programs.
What a company should not be doing is spending lots of money on dot-com speculators, buying specialized software or even paying for the services of Web developers.
As Ms. DeVere said: “A new business doesn’t have the money to build a brand and pay for advertising. The biggest investment is your time, and these tools require a lot of that, but they can really pay off.”
Filed under: Building a free online store, Complete Webstore Free, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, Free ecommerce, Free online webstore, Inc.com, SHOPPING CART, Sales and Marketing, business management, e-commerce, e-commerce seminar, e-commerce training, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, ecommerce training, entrepreneurship, free e-commerce, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, free shopping cart, free store front, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, online store builder, sales online, sell online, shopping cart software, volusion, web 2.0 | Tagged: Building a free online store, business management, Complete Webstore Free, e-commerce, e-commerce seminar, e-commerce training, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, ecommerce training, entrepreneurship, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, free e-commerce, Free ecommerce, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, Free online webstore, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, free shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, free store front, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, Inc.com, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, Sales and Marketing, sales online, sell online, SHOPPING CART, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, web design, website builder, website design | Tagged: business management, webstore, zencart | No Comments »
Website Designers Offer FastCommerce e-Commerce as Value-Added Service
Web design firms have emerged as a fast growing client base for the free e-commerce applications offered by FastCommerce.com. The FastCommerce e-commerce system is easy to set-up, easy to use, and is offered at no or low cost. There is no risk to start, and in return web design firms get a state of the art, high performance ecommerce system to use as an additional product offering to drive revenue.
Small business design firms have been quick to sense a new and potentially lucrative business opportunity. Traditionally, web design has been only a part of a total ecommerce operation, a small part of the total software needs of the small business entrepreneur looking to sell online. Small business online retailers have traditionally used a number of diverse software programs to successfully run an ecommerce company. As e-commerce applications move to the web small business online retailers have greater access to single-system e-commerce services. FastCommerce.com is a powerful, low-cost Web 2.0 version of this new model.
FastCommerce.com has all the tools a small business needs to sell online. By simply signing up, online retailers have access to a full suite of tools that include an online store, online product catalogue, shopping cart, auto-email responder for order and shipping confirmation, as well as back office tools for order capture and processing, account maintenance in addition to automatic shipping calculations for USPS, USP and FedEx. Paypal will soon be offered as a payment option, and credit card transactions can be set up on the site through authorise.net.
But the FastCommerce.com ecommerce tools are free up to 250 products. By simply signing up, web design firms can quickly master the tools of setting up a complete online store, and then offer it to their clients as a service or product. Small business online retail continues to grow at an astonishing pace, and the FastCommerce.com ecommerce webstore has all the tools that small online retailers need to be successful.
The FastCommerce.com represents a new tool for website designers to offer to their established client base looking to extend their e-commerce capabilities. ”We are finding the website designers have lots of clients require updates to their ecommerce systems” says Charles Han, FastCommerce.com CEO, ”By simply learning the FastCommerce.com system, they can revisit their clients with a powerful and inexpensive ecommerce solution. For lack of time, many online retailers will be looking to third-party providers to set it up. And because it is easy to set up, and low cost, it is win-win.”
Complete Webstore Free, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, Free ecommerce, Free online webstore, Inc.com, SHOPPING CART, Sales and Marketing, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, business management, e-commerce, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, entrepreneurship, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, free shopping cart, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, sales online, sell online, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, website builder, webstore, zencart | No Comments »
Small business design firms have been quick to sense a new and potentially lucrative business opportunity. Traditionally, web design has been only a part of a total ecommerce operation, a small part of the total software needs of the small business entrepreneur looking to sell online. Small business online retailers have traditionally used a number of diverse software programs to successfully run an ecommerce company. As e-commerce applications move to the web small business online retailers have greater access to single-system e-commerce services. FastCommerce.com is a powerful, low-cost Web 2.0 version of this new model.
FastCommerce.com has all the tools a small business needs to sell online. By simply signing up, online retailers have access to a full suite of tools that include an online store, online product catalogue, shopping cart, auto-email responder for order and shipping confirmation, as well as back office tools for order capture and processing, account maintenance in addition to automatic shipping calculations for USPS, USP and FedEx. Paypal will soon be offered as a payment option, and credit card transactions can be set up on the site through authorise.net.
But the FastCommerce.com ecommerce tools are free up to 250 products. By simply signing up, web design firms can quickly master the tools of setting up a complete online store, and then offer it to their clients as a service or product. Small business online retail continues to grow at an astonishing pace, and the FastCommerce.com ecommerce webstore has all the tools that small online retailers need to be successful.
The FastCommerce.com represents a new tool for website designers to offer to their established client base looking to extend their e-commerce capabilities. ”We are finding the website designers have lots of clients require updates to their ecommerce systems” says Charles Han, FastCommerce.com CEO, ”By simply learning the FastCommerce.com system, they can revisit their clients with a powerful and inexpensive ecommerce solution. For lack of time, many online retailers will be looking to third-party providers to set it up. And because it is easy to set up, and low cost, it is win-win.”
Complete Webstore Free, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, Free ecommerce, Free online webstore, Inc.com, SHOPPING CART, Sales and Marketing, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, business management, e-commerce, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, entrepreneurship, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, free shopping cart, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, sales online, sell online, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, website builder, webstore, zencart | No Comments »
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Free Seminar: "How to set-up a free online store"
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE
HTTP://WWW.FASTCOMMERCE.COM
FastCommerce offers a free, web-based e-commerce package that gives you your own
online store and back-office management tools at no or low cost.
In order to help you get the most out of our e-commerce website and shopping cart
service, we would like to invite you to sign up for and join our online seminar
entitled "How To Set-Up Your Own Free Online Store." Our next FastCommerce.com
seminar is scheduled for September 25, 2007 at 11AM PST.
https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/348754374
Topics will include an basic introduction to the package over all, how to set up a
store, add product, related products, assign categories, etc. The seminar will
conclude with an illustration of how to go live once your online store has been set
up. It is easy to set-up, and easy to use, and after this short seminar, you will be
able to easily get a start towards building your own online business with the
FastCommerce.com e-commerce applications.
FastCommerce.com is an exciting development in e-commerce and shopping cart
technology: at virtually no or low cost, it is now possible to run a state of the
art online store. Our e-commerce package has been designed specifically for small
business entrepreneurs. It is a Web 2.0 technology, and it has everything you need
to set up an online business and drive it to success.
Please feel free to join us online this Tuesday. After an overview of the set-up,
and the features, we will be taking questions.
We look forward to seeing you there, and we look forward to your excitement and your
questions around the topic, How to Set-up a free online store."
If you are not able to attend this web seminar, or have questions in the meantime,
please feel free to contact sales at 888.598.2211
Get started with your own online business with the Free E-commerce Website and
Shopping Cart from Fastcommerce.com
Title: "FASTCOMMERCE.COM Seminar: "How to set up a Free Online Store"
Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows(R) 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh(R)-based attendees
Required: Mac OS(R) X 10.3.9 (Panther(R)) or newer
Register now by clicking the link below:
https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/348754374
HTTP://WWW.FASTCOMMERCE.COM
FastCommerce offers a free, web-based e-commerce package that gives you your own
online store and back-office management tools at no or low cost.
In order to help you get the most out of our e-commerce website and shopping cart
service, we would like to invite you to sign up for and join our online seminar
entitled "How To Set-Up Your Own Free Online Store." Our next FastCommerce.com
seminar is scheduled for September 25, 2007 at 11AM PST.
https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/348754374
Topics will include an basic introduction to the package over all, how to set up a
store, add product, related products, assign categories, etc. The seminar will
conclude with an illustration of how to go live once your online store has been set
up. It is easy to set-up, and easy to use, and after this short seminar, you will be
able to easily get a start towards building your own online business with the
FastCommerce.com e-commerce applications.
FastCommerce.com is an exciting development in e-commerce and shopping cart
technology: at virtually no or low cost, it is now possible to run a state of the
art online store. Our e-commerce package has been designed specifically for small
business entrepreneurs. It is a Web 2.0 technology, and it has everything you need
to set up an online business and drive it to success.
Please feel free to join us online this Tuesday. After an overview of the set-up,
and the features, we will be taking questions.
We look forward to seeing you there, and we look forward to your excitement and your
questions around the topic, How to Set-up a free online store."
If you are not able to attend this web seminar, or have questions in the meantime,
please feel free to contact sales at 888.598.2211
Get started with your own online business with the Free E-commerce Website and
Shopping Cart from Fastcommerce.com
Title: "FASTCOMMERCE.COM Seminar: "How to set up a Free Online Store"
Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows(R) 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh(R)-based attendees
Required: Mac OS(R) X 10.3.9 (Panther(R)) or newer
Register now by clicking the link below:
https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/348754374
FastCommerce Announces New Online Seminar: "How to set up your own Free Online Store"
New FastCommerce Online Seminar: Setting up your FREE ONLINE STORE
FastCommerce.com is scheduling twice weekly basic training introductions to our free online store. The quick introduction of the FastCommerce easy to use software goes over how to set up the catalog tree, create products and related products, assign products to categories, and much more. Also including will be a quick overview of order capture, order processing, account management, online ordering, easy one step tax and shipping calculation, and more. The system has been designed to be easy to use. It has everything a small business needs to run an online store. And it is free, free to set up, and free to run, with certain low cost options. It is a great Web 2.0 software ecommerce tool and a great way to get started online, or to continue your to increase your online presence.
Also coming is a second release to include Paypal, five additional and beautiful templates with new branding and marketing capabilities, as well as complex product variables, and USPS shipping rate calculations.
Free, easy to use, easy to set up. FastCommerce is the future of web-based small business applications. FastCommerce.com basic training classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11AM PST. Contact sales at info@fastcommerce.com for details on signing up.
Filed under: Complete Webstore Free, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, Free ecommerce, Free online webstore, Inc.com, SHOPPING CART, Sales and Marketing, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, business management, e-commerce, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, entrepreneurship, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, free shopping cart, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, sales online, sell online, shopping cart software, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, website builder, webstore, zencart | No Comments »
FastCommerce.com is scheduling twice weekly basic training introductions to our free online store. The quick introduction of the FastCommerce easy to use software goes over how to set up the catalog tree, create products and related products, assign products to categories, and much more. Also including will be a quick overview of order capture, order processing, account management, online ordering, easy one step tax and shipping calculation, and more. The system has been designed to be easy to use. It has everything a small business needs to run an online store. And it is free, free to set up, and free to run, with certain low cost options. It is a great Web 2.0 software ecommerce tool and a great way to get started online, or to continue your to increase your online presence.
Also coming is a second release to include Paypal, five additional and beautiful templates with new branding and marketing capabilities, as well as complex product variables, and USPS shipping rate calculations.
Free, easy to use, easy to set up. FastCommerce is the future of web-based small business applications. FastCommerce.com basic training classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11AM PST. Contact sales at info@fastcommerce.com for details on signing up.
Filed under: Complete Webstore Free, Fast Commerce, FastCommerce, Free Online Webstore With shopping cart, Free Shopping cart software, Free ecommerce, Free online webstore, Inc.com, SHOPPING CART, Sales and Marketing, Web 2.0 ecommerce tools, business management, e-commerce, ecommerce, ecommerce business, ecommerce business management, ecommerce marketing, entrepreneurship, free ecommerce store, free ecommerce website, free merchant, free online retail, free online shop, free online store, free online stores, free shopping cart, free web 2.0 webstore, free webstore, marketing, monster commerce, online business, online sales, online shop, online store, sales online, sell online, shopping cart software, volusion, web 2.0, web 2.0 ecommerce, web 2.0 online shop, web 2.0 online store, website builder, webstore, zencart | No Comments »
Friday, September 14, 2007
FastCommerce Reports Continued Success with Free Ecommerce Software for Small Business
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWAREFree Ecommerce Webstore
HTTP://WWW.FASTCOMMERCE.COM
Building their own online stores, hundred of small businesses and individuals continue to sign up for the FastCommerce.com online store builder and free ecommerce website. Designed to be easy to set up and use, the FastCommerce.com service is a web-base, Web 2.0 free shopping cart software with free hosting. It has the advantage of enabling small business start ups and individuals to set up and grow their online businesses with a state of the art webstore and back-office management capability for order capture, account management, shipping and tax calcaulation: everything needed to run a business online. It has the singular advantage of being inexpensive (free, or practically free) while running on a proven Web 2.0 technology platform for speed and performance. The feedback to the free service and the ecommerce shopping cart tools has been tremendous.
Looking to build an online store? Just starting out? The FastCommerce.com ecommerce software is easy to use, easy to set up, and it is free to start. Free, not a free trial. What do we mean by easy to use? Our shopping cart software was designed especially for simplicity and ease of use. You will be impressed by the elegant design and the coherent layout of the management console. You will also be impressed by a level of speed and performance unmatched by the majority of shopping cart software solutions available on the web. And it is free! How cool is that?
The FastCommerce online store management tools let you quickly create new products, create complex and deep product category trees in minutes: it is well designed to let you create and modify to best suit your needs as they evolve. It is remarkably easy to build an online store with our FastCommerce.com ecommerce management tools. And after a short learning curve, our easy to set up, easy to use ecommerce solution becomes a remarkable productivity tool. You move quickly over the face of these ecommerce tools to manage, adapt and fine tune your online store to meet the evolving challenges of Internet ecommerce retail. And because of our Web 2.0 technology, we will be able to make enhancements and add new products without any disruption to your current ecommerce store. Our Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart software will meet and exceed your growing expectations as you continue to compete and succeed in Internet retail ecommerce.
Even better, once you set up your FastCommerce.com free online store, you will find that the other tools make complete sense at first sight. Order capture, order processing along with inventory management, account management and shipping: all the ecommerce online business applications on the FastCommerce solution are state of the art productivity tools designed by some of the industry's top user interface designers. New features and functions will easily integrate with the existing set of applications: the final result will be one of the best ecommerce solutions available. And it is available to small business for free. How cool is that? Additional, third party fees are offered as options.
So go build an online store with FastCommerce.com. It's fast, simple and cheap; that is, it's a free ecommerce solution. Free to set up and free to use. You only pay when you want additional tools. And even then, our set of new and powerful options might be almost as inexpensive as the free service. Building an online store with FastCommerce lets you focus on your business, not on your budget. And with our state of the art Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, the days of having to run both an online store while supporting complex software and hardware are rapidly receding into the early days of online ecommerce.
A second release has been scheduled for early October to include Paypal, drop-down menus for product variables, five new templates that are professional, attractive, and have remarkable branding capabilities for non-technical marketing people, and more. FastCommerce.com will continue to develop products with a focus on offering low cost, state of the art small business applications for ecommerce and back-office business utilities.
FastCommerce.com is a free Web 2.0 ecommerce shoppinng cart software and business application for small businesses, start-ups, and individuals looking to grow their business with online sales.
HTTP://WWW.FASTCOMMERCE.COM
Building their own online stores, hundred of small businesses and individuals continue to sign up for the FastCommerce.com online store builder and free ecommerce website. Designed to be easy to set up and use, the FastCommerce.com service is a web-base, Web 2.0 free shopping cart software with free hosting. It has the advantage of enabling small business start ups and individuals to set up and grow their online businesses with a state of the art webstore and back-office management capability for order capture, account management, shipping and tax calcaulation: everything needed to run a business online. It has the singular advantage of being inexpensive (free, or practically free) while running on a proven Web 2.0 technology platform for speed and performance. The feedback to the free service and the ecommerce shopping cart tools has been tremendous.
Looking to build an online store? Just starting out? The FastCommerce.com ecommerce software is easy to use, easy to set up, and it is free to start. Free, not a free trial. What do we mean by easy to use? Our shopping cart software was designed especially for simplicity and ease of use. You will be impressed by the elegant design and the coherent layout of the management console. You will also be impressed by a level of speed and performance unmatched by the majority of shopping cart software solutions available on the web. And it is free! How cool is that?
The FastCommerce online store management tools let you quickly create new products, create complex and deep product category trees in minutes: it is well designed to let you create and modify to best suit your needs as they evolve. It is remarkably easy to build an online store with our FastCommerce.com ecommerce management tools. And after a short learning curve, our easy to set up, easy to use ecommerce solution becomes a remarkable productivity tool. You move quickly over the face of these ecommerce tools to manage, adapt and fine tune your online store to meet the evolving challenges of Internet ecommerce retail. And because of our Web 2.0 technology, we will be able to make enhancements and add new products without any disruption to your current ecommerce store. Our Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart software will meet and exceed your growing expectations as you continue to compete and succeed in Internet retail ecommerce.
Even better, once you set up your FastCommerce.com free online store, you will find that the other tools make complete sense at first sight. Order capture, order processing along with inventory management, account management and shipping: all the ecommerce online business applications on the FastCommerce solution are state of the art productivity tools designed by some of the industry's top user interface designers. New features and functions will easily integrate with the existing set of applications: the final result will be one of the best ecommerce solutions available. And it is available to small business for free. How cool is that? Additional, third party fees are offered as options.
So go build an online store with FastCommerce.com. It's fast, simple and cheap; that is, it's a free ecommerce solution. Free to set up and free to use. You only pay when you want additional tools. And even then, our set of new and powerful options might be almost as inexpensive as the free service. Building an online store with FastCommerce lets you focus on your business, not on your budget. And with our state of the art Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, the days of having to run both an online store while supporting complex software and hardware are rapidly receding into the early days of online ecommerce.
A second release has been scheduled for early October to include Paypal, drop-down menus for product variables, five new templates that are professional, attractive, and have remarkable branding capabilities for non-technical marketing people, and more. FastCommerce.com will continue to develop products with a focus on offering low cost, state of the art small business applications for ecommerce and back-office business utilities.
FastCommerce.com is a free Web 2.0 ecommerce shoppinng cart software and business application for small businesses, start-ups, and individuals looking to grow their business with online sales.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE THAT IS WEB 2.0 (and free)
BUILD AN ONLINE STORE WITH FASTCOMMERCE.COM
Looking to build an online store? Just starting out. The FastCommerce.com ecommerce
software is easy to use, easy to set up, and it is free to start. Free, not a free
trial. What do we mean by easy to use? Our shopping cart software was designed
especially for simplicity and ease of use. You will be impressed by the elegant
design and the coherent layout of the management console. You will also be impressed
by a level of speed and performance unmatched by the majority of shopping cart
software solutions available on the web. And it is free! How cool is that?
The FastCommerce online store management tools let you quickly create new products,
create complex and deep product category trees in minutes: it is well designed to
let you create and modify to best suit your needs as they evolve. It is remarkably
easy to build an online store with our FastCommerce.com ecommerce management tools.
And after a short learning curve, our easy to set up, easy to use ecommerce solution
becomes a remarkable productivity tool. You move quickly over the face of these
ecommerce tools to manage, adapt and fine tune your online store to meet the
evolving challenges of Internet ecommerce retail. And because of our Web 2.0
technology, we will be able to make enhancements and add new products without any
disruption to your current ecommerce store. Our Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart
software will meet and exceed your growing expectations as you continue to compete
and succeed in Internet retail ecommerce.
Even better, once you set up your FastCommerce.com free online store, you will find
that the other tools make complete sense at first sight. Order capture, order
processing along with inventory management, account management and shipping: all the
ecommerce online business applications on the FastCommerce solution are state of the
art productivity tools designed by some of the industry’s top user interface
designers. New features and functions will easily integrate with the existing set of
applications: the final result will be one of the best ecommerce solutions
available. And it is available to small business for free. How cool is that?
So go build an online store with FastCommerce.com. It’s fast, simple and cheap; that
is, it’s a free ecommerce solution. Free to set up and free to use. You only pay
when you want additional tools. And even then, our set of new and powerful options
might be almost as inexpensive as the free service. Building an online store with
FastCommerce let’s you focus on your business, not on your budget. And with out
state of the art Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, the days of having to run both an
online store while supporting complex software and hardware are rapidly receding
into the early days of online ecommerce.
Looking to build an online store? Just starting out. The FastCommerce.com ecommerce
software is easy to use, easy to set up, and it is free to start. Free, not a free
trial. What do we mean by easy to use? Our shopping cart software was designed
especially for simplicity and ease of use. You will be impressed by the elegant
design and the coherent layout of the management console. You will also be impressed
by a level of speed and performance unmatched by the majority of shopping cart
software solutions available on the web. And it is free! How cool is that?
The FastCommerce online store management tools let you quickly create new products,
create complex and deep product category trees in minutes: it is well designed to
let you create and modify to best suit your needs as they evolve. It is remarkably
easy to build an online store with our FastCommerce.com ecommerce management tools.
And after a short learning curve, our easy to set up, easy to use ecommerce solution
becomes a remarkable productivity tool. You move quickly over the face of these
ecommerce tools to manage, adapt and fine tune your online store to meet the
evolving challenges of Internet ecommerce retail. And because of our Web 2.0
technology, we will be able to make enhancements and add new products without any
disruption to your current ecommerce store. Our Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart
software will meet and exceed your growing expectations as you continue to compete
and succeed in Internet retail ecommerce.
Even better, once you set up your FastCommerce.com free online store, you will find
that the other tools make complete sense at first sight. Order capture, order
processing along with inventory management, account management and shipping: all the
ecommerce online business applications on the FastCommerce solution are state of the
art productivity tools designed by some of the industry’s top user interface
designers. New features and functions will easily integrate with the existing set of
applications: the final result will be one of the best ecommerce solutions
available. And it is available to small business for free. How cool is that?
So go build an online store with FastCommerce.com. It’s fast, simple and cheap; that
is, it’s a free ecommerce solution. Free to set up and free to use. You only pay
when you want additional tools. And even then, our set of new and powerful options
might be almost as inexpensive as the free service. Building an online store with
FastCommerce let’s you focus on your business, not on your budget. And with out
state of the art Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, the days of having to run both an
online store while supporting complex software and hardware are rapidly receding
into the early days of online ecommerce.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software With Free Hosting
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE
Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software With Free Hosting
As business moves to the web, ecommerce solutions best suited to small business online stores are now being delivered as web-based subscriptions or SAAS (Software as a Service). Downloadable or open source ecommerce software requires an investment in hardware and customization, as well as the ongoing expense of maintaining the software and ensuring site performance and security. The demands of in-house ecommerce shopping cart solutions also distract online retailers from doing what they do best: selling and marketing online. In-house hosting increases the cost, hence the risk of starting an online business. All this is eliminated with the introduction of web-based ecommerce shopping cart software.
Of course, subscription based ecommerce solutions also involve monthly fees and incremental charges as a company grows. This is what makes the FastCommerce.com free shopping car sofware with free hosting such a good deal. Those retailers just getting started can build an online store and online business for next to nothing. With free ecommerce software and free hosting, there is no ongoing expense to running an online store. There are optional features and third pary expenses, but the basic and comprehensive online store is free. Again, as an online business grows, there will be additional options to enhance features and functions, but the basic service will be free. We want small businesses to use our ecommerce shopping cart software applications to grow their business. As their businesses grow, FastCommerce will be there with best in class small business tools to make your ecommerce business more agile and even more powerful.
So the essence of free hosting is that the FastCommerce.com online store is delivered as a web-based application no different than a very good web-based email program. You simply sign up and start using it. You build your online store, process orders, build a customer base, increase sales, while we deliver performance and develop more tools to help small business online retailers succeed. With no software or hardware to buy, you can get started with a great application that is easy to use, easy to afford, and which will continue to evolve beyond an ecommerce shopping cart software, to a whole set of business tools, including back-office ERP in future releases.
Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software With Free Hosting
As business moves to the web, ecommerce solutions best suited to small business online stores are now being delivered as web-based subscriptions or SAAS (Software as a Service). Downloadable or open source ecommerce software requires an investment in hardware and customization, as well as the ongoing expense of maintaining the software and ensuring site performance and security. The demands of in-house ecommerce shopping cart solutions also distract online retailers from doing what they do best: selling and marketing online. In-house hosting increases the cost, hence the risk of starting an online business. All this is eliminated with the introduction of web-based ecommerce shopping cart software.
Of course, subscription based ecommerce solutions also involve monthly fees and incremental charges as a company grows. This is what makes the FastCommerce.com free shopping car sofware with free hosting such a good deal. Those retailers just getting started can build an online store and online business for next to nothing. With free ecommerce software and free hosting, there is no ongoing expense to running an online store. There are optional features and third pary expenses, but the basic and comprehensive online store is free. Again, as an online business grows, there will be additional options to enhance features and functions, but the basic service will be free. We want small businesses to use our ecommerce shopping cart software applications to grow their business. As their businesses grow, FastCommerce will be there with best in class small business tools to make your ecommerce business more agile and even more powerful.
So the essence of free hosting is that the FastCommerce.com online store is delivered as a web-based application no different than a very good web-based email program. You simply sign up and start using it. You build your online store, process orders, build a customer base, increase sales, while we deliver performance and develop more tools to help small business online retailers succeed. With no software or hardware to buy, you can get started with a great application that is easy to use, easy to afford, and which will continue to evolve beyond an ecommerce shopping cart software, to a whole set of business tools, including back-office ERP in future releases.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
FREE ONLINE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE WEB 2.0
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE
FASTCOMMERCE.COM
Starting an Online Businesss?
Can you start an online business with a free ecommerce solution? You can if it is a free online store from FastCommerce.com. There are many things you need to start an online business, and with FastCommerce.com you get nearly everything: you get your own free website, a free webstore, free shopping cart, all on a single system in a secure, high performance environment. You also get back office tools: order processing, account management, inventory, shipping and retail tax calculation, along with reports. By simply signing up and going through a few simple steps, you can set uo shipping and tax calculations, and even go live with your very own free website; all this can be done in a few minutes.
Ecommerce software is moving to the web, and at FastCommerce its been designed to be easy to use while delivering all that you would expect from a high end package. And the free part is not a gimmick, there is no 'free trial,' no requirement to sell someone else's merchandise. Instead, we give you a system that let's you start an online business quickly and inexpensively, all built on an easy to use, rock-solid technology platform.
And as your company grows, so will your needs: FastCommerce.com will be there with an array of new products and features that will give your the flexibility and agility to expand your online business. In the short turn, you get an ecommerce solution to grow your online business without taking on additional costs.
Starting an online business? Do it for no or low costs at FastCommerce.com. Designed as a high performance Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, you get to start out with your own free online webstore. It doesn't get better than that, at least until we bring on ERP and accounting.
Again this is a free ecommerce solution with all the tools you need to run a business online. In the future additional features will be added as low cost options: you will choose those features that best enable your online business to compete in the larger world of online retail. With FastCommerce, you have a Web 2.0 software and design that will take you all the way to your success.
FASTCOMMERCE.COM
Starting an Online Businesss?
Can you start an online business with a free ecommerce solution? You can if it is a free online store from FastCommerce.com. There are many things you need to start an online business, and with FastCommerce.com you get nearly everything: you get your own free website, a free webstore, free shopping cart, all on a single system in a secure, high performance environment. You also get back office tools: order processing, account management, inventory, shipping and retail tax calculation, along with reports. By simply signing up and going through a few simple steps, you can set uo shipping and tax calculations, and even go live with your very own free website; all this can be done in a few minutes.
Ecommerce software is moving to the web, and at FastCommerce its been designed to be easy to use while delivering all that you would expect from a high end package. And the free part is not a gimmick, there is no 'free trial,' no requirement to sell someone else's merchandise. Instead, we give you a system that let's you start an online business quickly and inexpensively, all built on an easy to use, rock-solid technology platform.
And as your company grows, so will your needs: FastCommerce.com will be there with an array of new products and features that will give your the flexibility and agility to expand your online business. In the short turn, you get an ecommerce solution to grow your online business without taking on additional costs.
Starting an online business? Do it for no or low costs at FastCommerce.com. Designed as a high performance Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, you get to start out with your own free online webstore. It doesn't get better than that, at least until we bring on ERP and accounting.
Again this is a free ecommerce solution with all the tools you need to run a business online. In the future additional features will be added as low cost options: you will choose those features that best enable your online business to compete in the larger world of online retail. With FastCommerce, you have a Web 2.0 software and design that will take you all the way to your success.
FREE WEB 2.0 ECOMMERCE WEBSITE
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE
Build an Online Store With FastCommerce.com
FASTCOMMERCE.COM
Looking to build an online store? Just starting out. The FastCommerce.com ecommerce software is easy to use, easy to set up, and it is free to start. Free, not a free trial. What do we mean by easy to use? Our shopping cart software was designed especially for simplicity and ease of use. You will be impressed by the elegant design and the coherent layout of the management console. You will also be impressed by a level of speed and performance unmatched by the majority of shopping cart software solutions available on the web. And it is free! How cool is that?
The FastCommerce online store management tools let you quickly create new products, create complex and deep product category trees in minutes: it is well designed to let you create and modify to best suit your needs as they evolve. It is remarkably easy to build an online store with our FastCommerce.com ecommerce management tools. And after a short learning curve, our easy to set up, easy to use ecommerce solution becomes a remarkable productivity tool. You move quickly over the face of these ecommerce tools to manage, adapt and fine tune your online store to meet the evolving challenges of Internet ecommerce retail. And because of our Web 2.0 technology, we will be able to make enhancements and add new products without any disruption to your current ecommerce store. Our Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart software will meet and exceed your growing expectations as you continue to compete and succeed in Internet retail ecommerce.
Even better, once you set up your FastCommerce.com free online store, you will find that the other tools make complete sense at first sight. Order capture, order processing along with inventory management, account management and shipping: all the ecommerce online business applications on the FastCommerce solution are state of the art productivity tools designed by some of the industry's top user interface designers. New features and functions will easily integrate with the existing set of applications: the final result will be one of the best ecommerce solutions available. And it is available to small business for free. How cool is that?
So go build an online store with FastCommerce.com. It's fast, simple and cheap; that is, it's a free ecommerce solution. Free to set up and free to use. You only pay when you want additional tools. And even then, our set of new and powerful options might be almost as inexpensive as the free service. Building an online store with FastCommerce lets you focus on your business, not on your budget. And with our state of the art Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, the days of having to run both an online store while supporting complex software and hardware are rapidly receding into the early days of online ecommerce.
Build an Online Store With FastCommerce.com
FASTCOMMERCE.COM
Looking to build an online store? Just starting out. The FastCommerce.com ecommerce software is easy to use, easy to set up, and it is free to start. Free, not a free trial. What do we mean by easy to use? Our shopping cart software was designed especially for simplicity and ease of use. You will be impressed by the elegant design and the coherent layout of the management console. You will also be impressed by a level of speed and performance unmatched by the majority of shopping cart software solutions available on the web. And it is free! How cool is that?
The FastCommerce online store management tools let you quickly create new products, create complex and deep product category trees in minutes: it is well designed to let you create and modify to best suit your needs as they evolve. It is remarkably easy to build an online store with our FastCommerce.com ecommerce management tools. And after a short learning curve, our easy to set up, easy to use ecommerce solution becomes a remarkable productivity tool. You move quickly over the face of these ecommerce tools to manage, adapt and fine tune your online store to meet the evolving challenges of Internet ecommerce retail. And because of our Web 2.0 technology, we will be able to make enhancements and add new products without any disruption to your current ecommerce store. Our Web 2.0 ecommerce shopping cart software will meet and exceed your growing expectations as you continue to compete and succeed in Internet retail ecommerce.
Even better, once you set up your FastCommerce.com free online store, you will find that the other tools make complete sense at first sight. Order capture, order processing along with inventory management, account management and shipping: all the ecommerce online business applications on the FastCommerce solution are state of the art productivity tools designed by some of the industry's top user interface designers. New features and functions will easily integrate with the existing set of applications: the final result will be one of the best ecommerce solutions available. And it is available to small business for free. How cool is that?
So go build an online store with FastCommerce.com. It's fast, simple and cheap; that is, it's a free ecommerce solution. Free to set up and free to use. You only pay when you want additional tools. And even then, our set of new and powerful options might be almost as inexpensive as the free service. Building an online store with FastCommerce lets you focus on your business, not on your budget. And with our state of the art Web 2.0 ecommerce solution, the days of having to run both an online store while supporting complex software and hardware are rapidly receding into the early days of online ecommerce.
YOUR OWN ECOMMERCE WEBSITE FOR FREE
FREE ONLINE STORE SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE
FastCommerce.com is WEB 2.0 Ecommerce Software
Web 2.0 is simply software delivered over the web, via an Internet connection. But the big deal in Web 2.0 ecommerce solutions is that web-based ecommerce software now rivals in-house solutions in features and functions, and also in speed. A web-based application is great if it only does one thing like email, less great if it runs the whole of your business, right? Guess again.
Among the number of trends driving innovation in ecommerce software is the development of WEB 2.0 technologies that not only deliver low-cost ecommerce applications, but deliver speed and performance as well. Speed for the online store customer as they roam an ecommerce site, and speed for all the ecommerce utilities that drive the business end of the ecommerce software.
The ultimate goal of WEB 2.0 ecommerce software is to replace in-house and legacy systems with ecommerce web applications that offer the same features and functions, but at lower costs. Web applications can also be updated on an ongoing basis so that the Web 2.0 ecommerce application incorporates the best possible ecommerce web applications available at any time.
Google, and now Microsoft, are now offering many applications as web 2.0 applications. The FastCommerce.com ecommerce solution delivers ecommerce applications on this same model. We've developed an ecommerce software that enables small to medium sized business to have access to a single-system that can run the whole of their online store and online business are one application, delivered over the web, delivered at and no or low cost. FastCommerce.com's Web 2.0 ecommerce includes a website, online product catalog with related products, order capture and order processing, a shopping cart, contact and customer management, as well as shipping, inventory and more.
All the tools are there in a high performance and inexpensive ecommerce solution that will let small business grow their online stores while not having to worry about costly investments, or having an in-house IT department. With the FastCommerce.com Web 2.0 software, Internet retailers can focus on running an ecommerce business, on customer service, not on hardware and software support.
FastCommerce.com will being rapidly developing products and features to its main ecommerce software: the goal is not simply to be an ecommerce shopping cart provider, but a platform that gathers together all the features and functions (for example, ERP) that a small business need to run the whole of their business. FastCommerce.com is a small business ecommerce utility that is pure Internet Web 2.0 in easy of use, speed and performance, and at low or no cost for businesses large and small.
FastCommerce.com is WEB 2.0 Ecommerce Software
Web 2.0 is simply software delivered over the web, via an Internet connection. But the big deal in Web 2.0 ecommerce solutions is that web-based ecommerce software now rivals in-house solutions in features and functions, and also in speed. A web-based application is great if it only does one thing like email, less great if it runs the whole of your business, right? Guess again.
Among the number of trends driving innovation in ecommerce software is the development of WEB 2.0 technologies that not only deliver low-cost ecommerce applications, but deliver speed and performance as well. Speed for the online store customer as they roam an ecommerce site, and speed for all the ecommerce utilities that drive the business end of the ecommerce software.
The ultimate goal of WEB 2.0 ecommerce software is to replace in-house and legacy systems with ecommerce web applications that offer the same features and functions, but at lower costs. Web applications can also be updated on an ongoing basis so that the Web 2.0 ecommerce application incorporates the best possible ecommerce web applications available at any time.
Google, and now Microsoft, are now offering many applications as web 2.0 applications. The FastCommerce.com ecommerce solution delivers ecommerce applications on this same model. We've developed an ecommerce software that enables small to medium sized business to have access to a single-system that can run the whole of their online store and online business are one application, delivered over the web, delivered at and no or low cost. FastCommerce.com's Web 2.0 ecommerce includes a website, online product catalog with related products, order capture and order processing, a shopping cart, contact and customer management, as well as shipping, inventory and more.
All the tools are there in a high performance and inexpensive ecommerce solution that will let small business grow their online stores while not having to worry about costly investments, or having an in-house IT department. With the FastCommerce.com Web 2.0 software, Internet retailers can focus on running an ecommerce business, on customer service, not on hardware and software support.
FastCommerce.com will being rapidly developing products and features to its main ecommerce software: the goal is not simply to be an ecommerce shopping cart provider, but a platform that gathers together all the features and functions (for example, ERP) that a small business need to run the whole of their business. FastCommerce.com is a small business ecommerce utility that is pure Internet Web 2.0 in easy of use, speed and performance, and at low or no cost for businesses large and small.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
When It Comes To FREE ECOMMERCE WEBSITE, What Does Free Means?
What does FREE ONLINE STORE really mean? Web 2.0 ecommerce tools
Here at FastCommerce.com we’ve been taking phone inquiries, answering questions, and offering support to our growing list of small business entrepreneurs who are currently building their free online store with FastCommerce.com. The question always comes up, if it is free how do you make money? And if the FastCommerce.com ecommerce software is free, how good is it.
These are all good questions. Here at FastCommerce.com, out goal is to provide a really great ecommerce website for small business, and to do it at a low price. Our technology is first rate, and its been designed to handle thousands of customers. Our goal is to make having an ecommerce shopping cart no different than signing up for Yahoo or Hotmail email: with email applications you sign up and sign in and you have access to an application that is easy to use, has lots of tools, and does what you need it to do.
Here at FastCommerce.com, our goal is to provide web based ecommerce websites that will let small business owners run the whole of their online business from a single site. Our free online store is not a simple shopping cart, but a business application that let’s you sell online while also running the rest of your business with shipping, email notifications, processing orders, order and account management, and more. And there is much more to come.
So in offering a free online store, FastCommerce.com wants to earn your loyalty by offering you the best online business tools for ecommerce. We figure that if we make it easy to get started, and keep developing more tools, that we will not only earn your loyalty, but also be instrumental in your success.
We will be developing new product features, like coupons and gift certificates, and we will charge money for additional features. You will be able to choose from a list of options that will let you tailor your online store to your goals and needs. We will not bundle features together, but let you choose a highly targeted list of features so that you will spend the least amount of money to get exactly those tools you need to succeed with your online store.
Nevertheless, this is a free online store that will let you run the whole of your online business and to do if for free. The free part will not change. By signing up for our free ecommerce software solution, you are not skimping on the tools you need to run your online store. You can sign up with the security and confidence to know that your software is no or low cost, and it will give you the features you need to build a successful online store. As your needs grow, FastCommerce.com will be their will more great features to enhance both your online store and your back office business.
So sign up, and get to work building your online store. We will be adding PayPal and more templates in a few weeks. But you can start now, and when new templates arrive, at the click of a button, you will have a new store with a new look. http://www.fastcommerce.
Here at FastCommerce.com we’ve been taking phone inquiries, answering questions, and offering support to our growing list of small business entrepreneurs who are currently building their free online store with FastCommerce.com. The question always comes up, if it is free how do you make money? And if the FastCommerce.com ecommerce software is free, how good is it.
These are all good questions. Here at FastCommerce.com, out goal is to provide a really great ecommerce website for small business, and to do it at a low price. Our technology is first rate, and its been designed to handle thousands of customers. Our goal is to make having an ecommerce shopping cart no different than signing up for Yahoo or Hotmail email: with email applications you sign up and sign in and you have access to an application that is easy to use, has lots of tools, and does what you need it to do.
Here at FastCommerce.com, our goal is to provide web based ecommerce websites that will let small business owners run the whole of their online business from a single site. Our free online store is not a simple shopping cart, but a business application that let’s you sell online while also running the rest of your business with shipping, email notifications, processing orders, order and account management, and more. And there is much more to come.
So in offering a free online store, FastCommerce.com wants to earn your loyalty by offering you the best online business tools for ecommerce. We figure that if we make it easy to get started, and keep developing more tools, that we will not only earn your loyalty, but also be instrumental in your success.
We will be developing new product features, like coupons and gift certificates, and we will charge money for additional features. You will be able to choose from a list of options that will let you tailor your online store to your goals and needs. We will not bundle features together, but let you choose a highly targeted list of features so that you will spend the least amount of money to get exactly those tools you need to succeed with your online store.
Nevertheless, this is a free online store that will let you run the whole of your online business and to do if for free. The free part will not change. By signing up for our free ecommerce software solution, you are not skimping on the tools you need to run your online store. You can sign up with the security and confidence to know that your software is no or low cost, and it will give you the features you need to build a successful online store. As your needs grow, FastCommerce.com will be their will more great features to enhance both your online store and your back office business.
So sign up, and get to work building your online store. We will be adding PayPal and more templates in a few weeks. But you can start now, and when new templates arrive, at the click of a button, you will have a new store with a new look. http://www.fastcommerce.
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