Storefront Development Options

Depending on your online objectives, your products and services, and your budget, you might have to develop an electronic storefront for your business. 

An electronic storefront is the interface that a customer sees when purchasing goods on a Web site. The need for an electronic storefront varies with the level of e-business that your company chooses to implement. The various levels of e-business are discussed in more detail later in this chapter. When developing a storefront for your business, you have three options available. You can

• Use the ASP (Application Service Provider) model
• Purchase storefront development software
• Program and develop your own storefront.

Each option has its strengths and weaknesses, and some are more appropriate than others, depending on your business’s budget and online marketing objectives. In determining how to develop an electronic storefront for your business, you should evaluate the following options and select the one that is most appropriate for your business.

ASP Storefront Model

ASP stands for Application Service Provider. The ASP owns the storefront software and operates its own e-commerce server. An ASP licenses out the use of its software and e-commerce hosting services to clients that desire to sell products and services online. The software is hosted on the ASP’s server, and as the client you pay the ASP to use its software and server. This option is often much cheaper than purchasing your own storefront software package. When using the ASP’s storefront solution, a client can be quite confident in the fact that the system will always be up to date. The ASP’s server handles all system updates, back-ups, and technical support on a regular basis. There is no need for a business to purchase any extra on-site equipment or software, and the installation process is fast, straightforward, and affordable. The ASP’s storefront solution can be integrated with your existing Web site. The portion of the storefront that is hosted on the ASP’s server can be customized to duplicate the appearance of your site. This adds to the level of professionalism and maintains a sense of consistency across all pages of your site and the purchase process.

The ASP’s storefront model is known for its high reliability, as well as an unfailing online selling security system. A great benefit of using an ASP’s server is that business owners are able to access their data from any place, at any time. The only equipment needed is an Internet connection as well as your ASP server ID and password.

Each client is given a unique user name and password to allow for easy management of its account. The information hosted on the ASP’s server can be modified at any time—you can add or remove products at your convenience, alter the layout, and so on. This solution is ideal for those businesses that are looking to maintain their own site but do not want to be responsible for configuring and maintaining the technical aspects of the e-commerce system. The ASP model is easy to configure for those individuals with limited HTML knowledge and can be set up and running in a very short timeframe.

Storefront Software Packages

There are a variety of storefront software development packages available that enable you to develop your online storefront for your business. If you choose to use this approach, more technical knowledge of computers will be required and you will have to find an Internet service provider to host your electronic storefront.

Storefront software is commonly installed on the same server as your site. This can be a more involved process, and in some cases it may be necessary to hire a person with the appropriate technical knowledge to set up and maintain your storefront. Many medium-sized to large businesses have their own inhouse team to manage their e-business operations, so this is not an issue for them. Do some research on features needed and select the storefront option that best fits your business requirements.

Program and Develop Your Own Storefront

If you have a broad product line, a complex system with different prices for different customers, or volume discount levels, or if you want a high level of integration with your accounting, inventory, and sales systems, you may want to consider developing your own storefront. This requires in-depth technical knowledge and programming capabilities. If you don’t have the technical capability in-house, you can outsource this activity to a firm capable of developing such a program for your business or hire an employee or team to handle the storefront development.

If you decide to develop your own storefront software, you should ensure that everything is running smoothly before you launch the storefront into cyberspace. Every aspect of the storefront selection and purchasing procedure