Ecommerce Web Design Blog

As shopping cart software providers we see a large number of online businesses start up. If you're thinking of starting an online business and want something you can get started quickly, here are some great ideas to get you started.

We haven't written anything about these and they are in no particular order, so you will have to go on to Google to decide how competitive they are, how hard they would be for you to start, and if they are right for you. These are just ideas we have seen or have had. Judge these ecommerce ideas for yourself.

1. Computer Parts
   
2. Kitchen equipment
   
3. Children's clothing
   
4. Health food supplements
   
5. Maternity products
   
6. Baby products e.g. nappies
   
7. Personalised wine bottles
   
8. Downloadable fonts
   
9. Downloadable ebooks
   
10. Downloadable mobile phone ringtones
    
11. Women's clothing
12. Aromatherapy products
    
13. Auto parts
    
14. Art supplies
    
15. Mobile Phone Accessories
    
16. Batteries for Digital Cameras/Phones
    
17. Hand made jewellery
    
18. Children's toys
    
19. Building supplies
    
20. Manchester and homeware products
21. Fast food local deliveries
    
22. Gift Hampers
    
23. DVDs
    
24. Furniture
25. Scrapbooking Supplies
    

How you can find out other ideas

One of the best ways to think about what is selling online is to take a look at what people are buying online. Go to auction websites like eBay to see what is selling and what is not, look in the portfolios of shopping cart software sites (although cart sellers rarely post more than a small selection of the sites they have on their books) and into their ecommerce demos.

As we move into 2009, one of your new year's resolutions may have been to start the online business you have been planning for some time.  One of the key questions you will face as you start an online whop is what shopping cart software to use.  Many of the carts available in Australia tout many seemingly powerful and useful features, so how do you decide what ecommerce features will be right for your business?

Our advice to you is to try them out.  Get a piece of paper and visit the websites of your competitors. Shop around their categories and get a feel for how their pages are presented and whether as a customer you would find it easy to use their site.  How does their website design look? Would you put products in your cart? If you do put products in the cart is it easy to do? Try a few of your competitor's sites and then shop online at your favourite online shops to see how things are done in other industries. Make sure you write down the things that you particualarly like and don't. This will help you compile your list.

Once you have reviewed other shopping cart sites, try to compile a list of the 5 most important features for you.  With so many features to choose from, it will be hard to choose only 5, but this will help you compile your shortlist of websites to look at in more detail.  To help you further with your list, here is a list of some of the most commonly requested features by our customers:

• Customised web designs
• The ability to add zoomed in or enlarged product images
• Your own affiliate programme
• Wish lists
• A range of product payment methods like bank transfer, gateways (like eWay or ANZ eGate)
• A secure payment environment that meets Visa and MasterCard's PCI DSS compliance security standards