the good and bad of low cost web stores

The Good and Bad of Low Cost Web Stores

Rodney Resella – Web ProductionAugust 1st 2011

@Vendio

Agenda

Introductions

What To Look For In A Web Store

Store Design Options

Custom Design Option

Hiring A Designer

Closing Thoughts

Questions?

Introduction

Leading On-demand eCommerce platform for small and medium sized merchants (SMM)– 90,000 merchants selling over $1.5 Billion of goods annuallyIncorporated in 1999, headquartered in Silicon ValleyMulti-channel eCommerce Platform offering – Customizable fully-hosted online store– Inventory, channel & business management solutions– Reporting & analyticsDealio.com – coupons and deals website Acquired by Alibaba.com in July of 2010Acquired SingleFeed in June 2011 – CSE data feed management company

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About Me – Rodney Resella

Director of Web Production at Vendio

16 Years of Design Experience

13 Years of Ecommerce Experience

11 Years at Vendio

Web Design, Graphic Design, Web Development, Visual Design, UI Design

What To Look For In a Web Store?

Store CentricProviders

Different Types of Store Providers

DomaineersMulti-Channel

Providers

LowestMonthly Fee Transaction Fee Storage Bandwidth SKUs

$ - 0% 500 MB Unlimited Unlimited

$ 24.99 2% Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited

$ 29.95 0.5% 5 GB 50 GB 250

~1K ? ? ? ?

$ 39.95 1.5% Unlimited Unlimited 50,000(max)

$ 29.95 0% 1 GB 5 GB 25

$ 49.95 0% Not published 10 GB Unlimited

$ 29.00 2% 100 MB Unlimited 100

$ 19.00 0% Not published 1 GB 100

Feature Comparison

Other Store Features To Consider

Small Medium LargePricing Free $ $$

Ad Supported Yes None None

Support Help Documentation

Help Documentation, Email Support

Help Documentation, Email Support, Phone Support, Chat, Personal Account Assistance

Importing & Setup Time 1-3 Min 5-15 Min 1-2 Hours

Scalability Fast Performance

Fast – Moderate Performance

Moderate to SlowPerformance

Store Design Options“You get what you pay for”

Low Cost Store Design Options

Option Pro Con

Upload a logo and adjust colors

-Free-Very little work

-Very plain look for store-Do you have a logo?

Use Predesigned Templates from Web Store Host

-Free-Easy to Use -Tested

-Looks Like Other Stores

Design and Build it Yourself - No need to hire anyone - A long time to learn and do the work

So You Think You Can Build A Website?

http://vitamintalent.com/vitabites/post.htm?id=70e9a612-1dbd-4da4-bbe8-3385a4f306fa

Medium Cost Store Design Options

Some tweaks

Option Pro Con

Copy a Predesigned Template and make some adjustments to it.

-Free to start-Slightly different than other stores

-Might still look similar to other stores-Easy to break if you don’t know what you are doing-Need to retest-May need to hire a freelancer to make changes

Purchase a Premium Template from an online Template provider

-Relatively cheap options-Design and code is already done

-May need to hire a freelancer to tweak and integrate the template into webstore-Template may not fit all store layouts-Test template

High Cost Store Design Options

Option Pro Con

Unique Store Design created by an agency

-Different than any other store. -The way you like it-Built Specifically for your audience-Your own

-Will Cost Time and Money. Could take months and thousands of dollars.- Agencies and great freelancers aren’t cheap

Types of Designers

Freelancer vs. Agency

Generalist - Web Designer vs. Specialist - Web Developer, User Experience Designer, Visual Designer

Contract or Fulltime.

Offsite vs. Onsite

Where to Look for Designers?

Ask Friends, Family and Peers First

Ask Store Owners on Your Web Store Platform

Freelance Marketplaces: Elance, Krop, Dribble

Agency & Freelancer Directories

Job Boards: LinkedIn, Craigslist

Interviewing Designers

First Learn The Basics and The Lingo

Ask Lots of Questions

Design Process Details

Years Designing

Staying Up To Date

Examples of Great Store Designs

Other Projects

Familiarity with Web Store Platforms

Choosing the Designer

Review Designer’s Portfolio, Stores and Sites

Check References

Get Quotes from at least 3 designers

Detailed Written Contract

Empathy, Passion and Communication

Future Opportunities?

Get Feedback

Leverage Friends, Family and Peers– Usertesting.com

Ask Your Customers What They Think– Free Survey (Poll Daddy, Survey Monkey)– Embed Google Survey link on website– Email, Social – ask your customers, they will help you!

Conclusion

Size Matters

You Get What You Pay For

Store Designs - Build Vs. Buy

Find The Right Designer

Get Feedback

Questions?

Rodney Resellarresella@corp.vendio.com

Twitter: @vendio