11 Checklist Steps To Create A Successful E-Commerce Website

To succeed in e-commerce, the following eleven steps are those that every business owner should tackle when developing their new online business. The Basic Online Business Development Checklist includes:

1. Determine your products or services
Know what products and services you will be offering and define the common thread that will tie all of your products and services together.

2. Research your products and services marketplace
Find out who your competitors are and the differences in the product offerings they deliver to their customers.

  Find out your competitors price points and value offerings. Find out who your customers are. Find out how many customers exist in your market and how you can reach them.

3. Establish your site goals
Determine how you are going to use your website in the quest to develop your customer base. Are you going to use it as a billboard on the Internet Super Highway? Or, are you going to use your site to develop long-term relationships with your customers? Or, do you intend that your site should provide everything necessary for an immediate, one-time transaction?

4. Plan your site layout
Understand how you are going to utilize your site to the fullest of its potential. Make a pre-determination as to the different sections of your site, which will be vital to meeting your goals.

5. Plan for growth of your site
Understand that your site will grow and change to meet with the challenges of the future. Anything that you can do now to simplify the transition into future design changes will increase your overall productivity in the maintenance of your online storefront.

6. Take a quick lesson in HTML
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/teachingtool/ HTML design software can help you build your website fast. Learning the basics of HTML firsthand can improve your effectiveness in modifying your website. If you ever need to make minor changes or troubleshoot display or formatting problems in a web page, you will have the basic understanding of the technology to work through those problems without outside assistance.

7. Build basic HTML template
Your HTML template should be thought of as your custom letterhead. Each page on your website will be demonstrated with a basic visual format to secure the cohesion of your website. It is this basic visual design or letterhead that you want your HTML template to represent.

8. Build e-commerce section
The payment area of a website is one of the most important elements of your entire design. Without an effective payment processing system, your customers will not be able to pay you for your products or services. Paypal or Paystack/Stripe.com are third-party payment processor that enables small businesses to provide secure payment options to their customers. Learn to take advantages of using the Payment Solutions on your website.

9. Build customer support section
While a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page can be a very useful tool in keeping support requests to a minimum, it cannot stand alone as your customer support system. Some people need one-on-one human contact to answer their sales and support questions. As a matter of trust, some folks simply will not do business with a company that does not offer some type of human contact point --- either by email or by telephone.

10. Build site content
Once you have developed the bulk of your site structure, the time will come to tackle building your content pages, which will include your sales pages. As you conclude building your page content, it may also be helpful to undertake an understanding of the use of Meta tags with your web pages. For a quick tutorial on the subject, visit: http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/meta.html

11. Begin Promoting
There are simply dozens of ways in which you can promote your website, both online and offline. We simply do not have enough space here to go into all of the methods available to a website owner for the purpose of promoting their website. Our primary goal is always to sell products or services through our business. Online or offline, it is important to remember that sales cannot happen where there is no traffic. To draw traffic to our business, we must promote our business. My hope for you is simple. I hope that you will be able to develop your own online business and you will be profitable in doing so. It is my hope that this checklist will serve to help you reach that end.

About the Author
Bill Platt owns The Phantom Writers, a company committed to helping people to establish an Internet presence & promote their businesses through the use of Free-Reprint Articles and Press Releases. Articles are distributed to 6,500+ publishers & webmasters as part of the package. http://thePhantomWriters.com

How To Confidently Face An Interview

Showing up for an interview without proper preparation is like waking up in the morning only to find out that the final exam is on your desk .

You will have no good way to do it, unless you are a genius. Whether it is because you have not studied or you are not psychologically prepared, you may a poor outcome.

 

There are two important things a student needs in order to pass a test.   

One is to know the scope of the syllabus.   

For example, if the class has covered four topics, a good student will predict that the quiz will come from those four topics.  

 Next, the good student will budget their time to be able to effectively study all the previous class assignments and textbook pages for those four areas.

For a job seeker, the advertised job requirement shows what job tools the CV and cover letter should be specifically written towards.   

He or she needs to know the scope of the job and then be prepared to talk about those job requirements in the CV and cover letter.

The most important thing to know before an interview is how to manage stress within one’s own self and how to impress the interviewer.  

 Practice how to answer interview questions by thinking up your own possible questions that the interviewer may have.  Do a mock interview with a friend or family member.   

One can also get probable interview questions on the internet.  Let your friend ask you the questions.  Then he or she can correct you in places, and this will equip you with confidence. 

If one has a mentor in the professional field they are applying for, then this is the right time to contact them and seek their advice. 

 It is also the right time to call or write your references to see if they can offer you some advice on how to answer interview questions.  Most likely, they will be glad to assist you.  

 Some of these people have been in the field a long while and know commonly asked interview questions.  Also, don’t be shy about asking your mentors, advisers, friends, and family for support and encouragement.

Remain calm and make sure you are ready for the interview.  Being confident will help you at the interview so that you are then fully able to articulate your points as you speak.   

Confidence is the first thing to build before the interview. 

 

Dressing appropriately is mandatory.  It speaks about what kind of a person you are. 

It communicates your character and your ability to look professional.   

If you are working towards an executive job, you must be dressed like a professional during the interview. 

 Dressing speaks about the public image of the person being interviewed, and the employer must get this image from the first sight of you.   

They want to know that you are the person who will be able to professionally represent their company. 

Make sure you communicate with clarity, both verbally and non-verbal.  Give precise answers to the questions asked of you.  Avoid giving vague answers or beating around the bush.

Your ability to support the content of your CV is crucial. 

 Make sure you have with you every document you mentioned in your CV, both the original and a copy.  The employer may ask you to leave them a copy. 

Know more about the company you are seeking employment with by researching and getting details of the company.  Find the organization’s profile, profit centers, and salary information. 

 Much of this can be found on the company website.  Also, you can do a general salary search on the internet to gain an idea of possible salaries. 

Being relevant when answering questions is very important.  

 If you have not heard the question properly, respectfully ask them to repeat the question for clarification.

Frame your answers precisely and in a logical manner.  Tell interviewers only what they specifically ask for.  

  Expound on your answers only if you are asked to.  Some interviewees think that by explaining more, the interviewer will be impressed.  This is wrong; just give the exact answers required

 If you don’t know the answer never tell lies, waste time, guess or try.  Just admit that you don’t know.

Keep your attitude and temper even during the interview.   When asked a sensitive question, stay calm.  Don’t react in an emotional manner.

 Maintain eye contact with the interviewer; this tells them that you are keen to details and you are not telling a lie.   

Dropping eyes down when answering a question may indicate that you are shy or that you are avoiding giving the answer.

Body posture speaks a lot about your character.  Make sure you have the right posture during the interview.  If invited for an interview, do not sit until you are prompted to.  

 Enter the room and remain standing and wait for instructions.

If you are offered a drink, avoid loud sipping – this could show that you have poor manners.

 Avoid bad mouthing former employers if you are asked why you left a job.  

 Tell what you would enjoy if given a job.  Mention how you would love the opportunity for further career development inside their organization.

Remain outstanding in your presentation and be organized.  Make sure you have all you need for the interview.   

Leave behind a lasting impression; and do not forget to thank the person for taking the time to interview you. 

All the best.