Large and small businesses are now able to expand their customer base with help of the Internet. Even businesses with low capital and those who already have a presence in real world can explore immense possibilities of ecommerce in the virtual world.

An online presence enables you to display your full range of products, latest arrivals and other promotional info to your target customers at their convenience, 24 / 7. To help with your ecommerce solution planning, here are some useful tips to guide you.

1. It is crucial to choose services or products that you intend to sell through your online store. Focus on selling niche products or services. This helps to minimize competition. Such products also offer better profit margins. In short, it is desirable to have sound knowledge about what you are selling online.

2. Slow and steady wins the race, so start modestly with basic infrastructure. As your business starts growing, reinvest portions of your profit for expansion and advertisement. For growth of your online business, it is desirable to offer a mix of related products to your target group. When you are starting online store it may not be viable to sell single product. If you are primarily selling fashion jewelry, then consider selling precious stones and accessories like handbags for your target clients.

3. Try to find an appropriate and attractive name for the online shop. The name is also used to serve as the address or URL of the shop. You need to seek out a vendor for hosting the online store, so make sure that the service from the host is reliable, secured and fast enough to support an advanced ecommerce solution.

4. Develop and design a landing page that is attractive to hold attention of your target clients. It is recommended that you hire professionally qualified web designers for this job. The page should provide information about products, services, discount offers, prices and other details to your prospective customers. In addition, a product gallery of your site should be easily accessible by visitors.

5. Shopping cart software is integral part of ecommerce business. This allows your online clients to select different products from gallery before placing order. It provides information about prices, including taxes, delivery and other charges whenever applicable. Make sure that the software is user friendly and can be upgraded.

Tips of the Trade

- While upgrading software for your cart, make sure that it is easily able to handle major companies that process credit cards. If your business involves dealing with partners or others, then find the software providing facilities to track down orders made by them as well.

- Look for software that is reasonably priced while upgrading your cart. Hint: it is great to have a trial run before settling, so look for companies that offer free trials. Such an offer helps to verify if the cart software is compatible with your business module.

- Some retailers sell products from various companies through online stores. Upgraded software should be equipped with features that allow products from different companies to be accommodated in one order.

- Reliability of a company should be ensured before upgrading software for your cart. Look for an experienced company that can provide necessary support, for starters. Search different websites, read reviews and look for testimonials before making your final decision.