Once upon a time, the budding entrepreneur was often stopped in their tracks due to the lack of financial resources needed to invest in the traditional brick and mortar store.  This no longer has to be the case as both the internet and e-commerce are in full swing, providing companies of all sizes with an opportunity to move up several notches on the competitive ladder.  However, finding the right e-commerce solution is never as easy as it sounds.  A countless number of companies claim to have exactly what you need, but the harsh truth is that you can never be certain until giving it a try for yourself.  Unfortunately, the trial and error approach can turn out to be very risky, especially if you are trying to establish a business online.  To help in your search efforts, we have a compiled a list of some features that must be present in order to make up a complete e-commerce solution.

Compatibility with Existing Systems - Launching an e-commerce site is a tremendous process.  Therefore, you should not make it even more complex by setting yourself up to encounter technical problems.  Whether it is a shopping cart or payment gateway, make sure any e-commerce component you plan to integrate is compatible with your existing hardware, operating system and applications.

Ability to Support Existing Data – An ideal e-commerce solution is one that allows you to easily import data from one location to another.  This becomes a must for large stores that maintain databases in environments where it could be complex and costly to manually transfer large amounts of data into a new system.  Keep in mind that this feature is usually included in high-end enterprise solutions but may not be included in cheaper, entry-level systems.

APIs with Linking Support – Integrating inventory management and finance systems is one of the most challenging aspects of e-commerce.  If this is something you wish to do, you may want to look for a solution that offers flexible APIs.  Short for application programming interfaces, these APIs enable developers to write code that will connect your legacy system to your e-commerce server.

Functional Shopping Cart - The shopping cart is the most obvious and important feature of any e-commerce solution.  You need to put special emphasis on this application as it will allow visitors to browse your store and purchase the items they want to purchase.

Diverse Payment Systems – Most consumers prefer to shop online with credit cards or third-party services such as PayPal.  On the other hand, a complete e-commerce solution goes that extra mile and supports additional payment options.  This will give you the opportunity to maximize your profits by catering to a broader range of customers.

The features listed in this article are just a few that must be obtained to form a complete e-commerce solution.  This means you need to keep your eyes peeled for several more qualities.  Despite how insignificant some of these features may seem, each is equally critical as they will determine the failure or success of your venture with e-commerce.

Having a fantastic web site available on the web will do nothing for one’s business if no one can find it.  Once built, an essential part of having a web site is optimizing it so that search engines can easily locate it.  This requires a bit of expertise with regard to keywords and phrases, good content copy that reflects the chosen keywords and even knowing which page URLs will work or not with search engine spidering.

Don’t do it yourself

Instead of attempting to do this on one’s own, it is prudent and recommended to seek out and hire an SEO consultant.  A professional SEO consultant will be able to determine which services are needed to make one’s business web site optimized for search engines and how to incorporate SEO marketing.

There are dozens of specific tasks and elements that go into good SEO and going the “do-it-yourself” route may end with one’s web site not showing at all in the major search engines.

Check their previous work

The first thing to ask for when looking for the perfect SEO expert is previous examples of SEO content as well as web sites they have helped optimize in the past.  Check the rankings of these web sites with the major search engines – Google and Yahoo are perfect examples – and use the Alexa web site to view overall rankings.  Alexa is a free web traffic metric analyzer that will give one a good overview of how well a web site or company is doing over time.

A good showing with increased rankings over time is an indication of how effective an SEO consultant can be.  Rankings that are dropping or maintaining an unchanged level would indicate locating another SEO expert would be in order.

Look at rates

Check the rates of the SEO consultants one is considering.  Very low rates can mean the person in question is just starting out and is trying to build up their portfolio.  Very high rates but with a less than stellar portfolio can also indicate a novice in the SEO field or one that isn’t terribly good at what they do.

Alternatively, as the world economy has taken a beating lately, many professionals have dropped their rates accordingly.  This is an important factor to keep in mind when researching rates.  Check to see if the SEO professional in question has recently dropped their hourly or project rates – one may get a bargain out of this.

Cheaper isn’t better

Don’t attempt to take the cheapest route.  While initially it may seem like a good idea and cost effective, a low rate SEO consultant can mean poor work produced for one’s business web site.  This, in turn, will mean ineffective search engine optimization, low rankings (if at all) within the major search engines and pretty much a loss of money overall.

Careful research should be done when looking to hire an SEO consultant.  Look at their previous results, experience and rates.  Remember that great search engine optimization can mean more customers and hiring a professional to do it correctly can only bring about a return on one’s investment.

The e-commerce software forms the foundation for any online store. It is this application that shapes every aspect of the customer’s experience from browsing the items they want to actually purchasing them. This is why it pays to find a solution that perfectly suits your business. There are several programs on the market, and this can make choosing one considerably difficult. The good thing is that you do not have to spend hours upon hours evaluating every product on the market. All you need to know is what features are the most critical to the success of your online store.

Easy Item and Category Management

It is important to know that e-commerce systems range from simple shopping carts to fully integrated solutions that can help you build an entire website. While the functionality you require all depends on individual needs, features like image resizing, comprehensive listings and the ability to copy those listings to multiple categories will make it much easier to get your storefront up and running. Another useful capability comes from integration features that allow you to import product listings from an existing store into your new setup. For example, you have some programs that let you import product listings from your current store, a spreadsheet or the location of your choosing.

Extensive Customization

The last thing you want is an online storefront that looks just like what everyone else has. This is when an e-commerce software package that offers customization comes in handy. There are some applications that allow to customize your store through a variety of pre-designed templates. Others allow you to use development technologies such as HTML, CSS and PHP to change the look and feel of your store. These programs generally require that you have a certain level of technical skills in order to make the modifications. In either scenario, an e-commerce solution that enables customization can help to ensure you have an online store that is uniquely your own.

Integrated Shipping Calculators

The ideal e-commerce software will not only calculate your order totals, but also accurately calculate the shipping and handling charges associated with those orders. To ensure flexibility, you may want to opt for something that gives you multiple ways to determine shipping. For example, you may choose to charge for shipping based on the total of the order, or do so based on the weight of the item. Another consideration that deserves attention is making commonly used shipping channels such as UPS, USPS and FedEx available to your customers.

Not all e-commerce software is created equal. Then again, neither is every storefront. Online stores differ greatly and so do the individual requirements of the merchants who maintain them. Regardless of how feature-rich and powerful it may be, there is no single program that makes the perfect solution for everyone. It is all about accessing your needs and understanding what it takes for your business to be successful. One of the best approaches you can take is evaluating a few products, determining their value, and then selecting one that best suits your requirements.