Blog Entries tagged 'ecommerce'

Help - my website is being copied! What can I do?

sales@oscworks.com.au — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Just like major clothing brands are often subject to cheap manufacturers producing look-alike copies of their products complete with logos, there are a number of people who are determined to copy the most successful businesses online without any respect for their intellectual property.

Don't let this put you off opening an online shop. You have plenty of options when it comes to dealing with competitors trying to steal your products, website content and images. Here are just some o [...]

Happy 50th birthday credit cards

sales@oscworks.com.au — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

This week, the credit card turned 50 years old. Credit cards are an invaluable part of everyday life and for many owners of online shops, essential.

The worldwide credit card network was started by American Express in 1958. Bank of America followed quickly with their BankAmericard. The Bank launched the card in a novel way, sending out 60,000 cards to consumers in the area. At first, few had any idea what to do with the cards but they learned the benefits of credit cards quickly a [...]

How to have a free shopping cart with Osc Works

sales@oscworks.com.au — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Want to turn a paid shopping cart into a free one?

Osc Works offer shopping cart software packages from between $26.95 to $109.95 per month, but with some smart lateral thinking, you could have an ozCart shopping cart website for free. So can you get your own free shopping cart website?

The answer is to take advantage of the Osc Works affiliate programme, that all ozCart and Information Website customers are entitled to join. Just purchase an ecommerce website from us and put a [...]

The best shopping cart for your business

sales@oscworks.com.au — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

How do you find the best shopping cart for your business?

Shopping cart providers sometimes overwhelm potential cutomers with jargon about ecommerce, payment gateways, layered navigation, merchant accounts, localisation, 128 bit SSL, PCI DSS compliance, the list goes on. With so many terms to get your head around, it would be easy for a business owner to be deterred from starting a shop. It need not be so difficult. There are a number of ways that at Osc Works we would like to help you c [...]

Ecommerce Setup Costs: Don't pay too much

sales@oscworks.com.au — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

When shopping for ecommerce software to start your own online shop, features and the monthly costs are important factors to consider. But even if the monthly payments are affordable for your business, what about the setup cost? Small businesses need every cent they can save when they set up given the costs of business registrations, phone and Internet connections, business cards, stationery, suppliers and buying stock. So why spend too much for your ecommerce store setup?

What [...]

Ecommerce for Dummies: Helping you get started

sales@oscworks.com.au — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Expanding your business to open an online shop or starting an online store from scratch need not be a difficult, confusing or overwhelming process. There is a lot more help at hand than you may think to get you through the considerable ecommerce jargon.

At Osc Works, our shopping cart packages are designed to be as easy to undertand as possible, and help you through ecommerce jargon. We both have the same objective: get your online store up and running as quickly as possible.

He [...]

Websites: Eye Candy vs Features

sales@oscworks.com.au — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

When you are creating a new website, which is more important: a beautiful design or many powerful features? The answer to this question is that both are important and getting the balance right can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful online shopping website.

Finding balance is important, as you will probably have seen many sites that are either too far in one direction of the other: sites either overloaded with flashy graphics or cluttered with hard-to-read or confu [...]

Looking for lower setup prices? Try our low setup special

sales@oscworks.com.au — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Osc Works understands the costs of setting up a new business, so for a limited time only we are offering a special discount on the setup price of ozCart. Buy any ozCart ecommerce package before 18 October 2008, and you'll pay no more than $149 setup cost no matter what package you buy.

On the Platinum package this means you'll save hundreds of dollars on the setup cost of the package.

This offer can't last and won't be extended so get in quick. After this date our [...]

What are the costs of setting up an online store?-

sales@oscworks.com.au — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

What costs do you need to consider when opening an online store? What should a shopping cart website cost? We often get asked this question, so here is a quick guide.

Determining the overall cost: hosting yourself or a hosted solution

When you are setting up an online store you will usually have to balance up-front costs, the ongoing costs and most importantly the costs of your time. Plus your regular business expenses.

One factor that will significantly influence what your o [...]

How to make money from affiliate programmes

sales@oscworks.com.au — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Running your own affiliate programme can gain you qualified customers by taking advantage of one of the most powerful forms of marketing: referrals.

Affiliate programmes work by paying out commissions to registered affiliates who place banners on their websites that generate click-throughs to your website and subsequent sales. They are an easy way for both you and your affiliates to make money.

These programmes are big business, and there are a number of well-known affiliate prov [...]

Shopping carts with wish lists: what are the benefits?

sales@oscworks.com.au — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Offering your customers wish lists as part of your shopping cart is a fantastic way of building loyalty and increasing turnover through your online store. And just in time for Christmas, Osc Works has added wish lists as a standard feature in all ozCart ecommerce packages purchased from 1 September 2008 onwards. Existing customers can also purchase this facility through our add-ons shop.

So what are wish lists and why are they so useful?

Sometimes it is really hard to know [...]

Google Chrome Review: This new web browser is fast

sales@oscworks.com.au — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

If you have a need for speed, the new Chrome web browser from Google is definitely worth downloading.

Performance

From the very first time we used it, Chrome delivered blistering speed when viewing HTML pages, using sites with Javascript, watching streaming videos and moving through PDF files. Even viewing our own business website at OscWorks.com.au showcased Chrome as providing superior speed compared to both Firefox and Internet Explorer 7.

User inter [...]

How to start an online store: What is possible with an ecommerce cart?

sales@oscworks.com.au — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

In this second part in our introduction to ecommerce overview, we answer some common questions about what is possible with an ecommerce shopping cart.

How many products can I sell online?

While auction websites charge you for every product you list, an ecommerce website is your own - you can list as many products as your shopping cart software allows. Most ecommerce providers put limits on the number of products you can list. OzCart from Osc Works offers unlimited product [...]

How to start an online shop: answers to basic ecommerce questions

sales@oscworks.com.au — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0100

No matter how experienced you are in business, a step into online business brings new terminology and ecommerce jargon that you will need to be familiar with. If you are not already familiar with shopping carts, ecommerce, payment gateways, merchants and secure checkouts, here is the place you can find out.

In a two part series we will answer the basic questions about Ecommerce that we get asked by new customers.

The three parts are:

Basic Ecommerce FAQs
What can you do w [...]

Half price listing fees? How about no listing fees!

sales@oscworks.com.au — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Reduced listing fees on auction sites may seem enticing, but imagine a world with no listing fees at all and more flexibility for your store. It is possible - just open your own online store.

Sales promotions are a great way of boosting traffic and many auction websites frequently run offers on listing prices or success fees to entice more people to use their service. While these promotions can benefit a seller who takes advantage of them, an overall stumbling block for auction sites s [...]

Choosing your website colours

sales@oscworks.com.au — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Choosing an appropriate colour scheme for your website is a crucial part of personalising the site for your business. Even more importantly, an appropriate colour scheme can help you attract customers, keep them on your website longer, and buy more products and services from you.

How do you go about choosing the colours for your website? The place to start is to put yourself in the minds of your target customers. If you were them wh [...]

Welcome to the ozCart E-commerce Revolution

sales@oscworks.com.au — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

ozCart is the start of the next shopping cart revolution.

For shopping cart web design that is sophisticated and features that are revolutionary, look no further than ozCart. Osc Works has released the new version of ozCart and it is pumped up with the powerful features that people starting a business are asking for.

Like:

Web Designs that are customised to your business. We will change the colours of your website, insert your logo and update the images to s [...]

Easier Dropshipping

sales@oscworks.com.au — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

While dropshipping is an extremely popular method of shipping in the United States, many small businesses in Australia have been deterred because of a lack of available wholesalers and difficulty automating parts of the stock ordering process.

Part of the ozCart revolution is our new optional dropship centre which helps dropshippers manage their stock and create order emails - available only on the Platinum package.

Visit our Platinum Privileges page or see our shopping cart dem [...]

Do I really need ecommerce?

sales@oscworks.com.au — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Yes you need ecommerce. Why? Ask yourself this: If ecommerce wasn't profitable, why are so many ecommerce e-tailers appearing?

A lot of local businesses such as market sellers, arts and crafts shops, clothing shops and corner stores believe that they don't need ecommerce and simply rely on the physical traffic they receive at local markets. If the business is content on limited sales and limited growth potential, then that's fine. But those are the types of businesses who [...]

Making money from ecommerce

sales@oscworks.com.au — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100

How do you make money from an ecommerce website? What kind of e-commerce solution do you need?

Why are so many businesses adding ecommerce to their website? New ecommerce websites are appearing every day and turning retailers into etailers. What's more, many existing businesses are realising that they need to have an ecommerce website to stay ahead of their competition.

Luckily it's not too late to get online and there is tremendous potential for any business to grow and [...]