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22 Feb 2001, India

Dear Dr.Ecommerce,

I am working for a small web development company.I am now supposed to develop an e-commerce site for one of my clients. Kindly tell me what are the necessary things I have to consider and how do I go about developing the site?

Thanking You,

Soni

 

Dear Soni:

There are many kinds of e-commerce sites for many different kinds of business. An e-commerce site for an on-line bookshop will be very different to an e-commerce site for a company manufacturing machine tools for other companies. An e-commerce site can be selling only, buying only or buying and selling. It can have fixed prices, dynamic prices or might be based on auctions.

What you should do is find other e-commerce sites for businesses similar to your client's. And don't just look at Indian sites. Look at sites for companies all over the world. As you visit each site, imagine you are a customer and determine what you like and what you do not about each site. Make a few orders, being sure to cancel before you actually buy anything (although if you can buy something, this will be even better). Ask a few friends to do the same. As you do this, make a list of...

  • everything that is essential to this kind of e-commerce

  • features that are not essential but which you think improve the web site and the shopping experience

  • features that are detrimental to the web site and the shopping experience (in other words, features you want to avoid).

When you are finished, you will not only know how to develop a good e-commerce web site for your client, but you will be well placed to discuss with your client different features and how the will benefit or harm her business.

Good luck,

Dr. Ecommerce

 


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