• Own or manage an existing business that is not yet traveling on the information superhighway?
  
  
• Think an online presence might well increase your sales?
  
  
• Wonder how to achieve this without selling your soul to a web designer?
  
  
• Want a simple solution that wouldn't require a full-time employee to manage it?

If so, the following ecommerce business overview may well help you decide just what's right for you.

First you need to determine whether your business needs a Presence or a Catalog or Full-Fledged E-commerce Website.

Presence:

A presence introduces you to potential customers via the web, much the same as any other advertising, but it does reach a different market and potentially a much larger market than your local newspaper or circulars.

Want More Information: Contact Stephanie at websites@successjourney.com or call 916-487-4081

Catalog or Full-Fledged E-commerce Website:

A catalog lists from few to many products and permits you to sell them online. While some businesses can benefit from either or both, when you are just starting out online, you probably want to invest in the one that will bring the most immediate display of value, namely increased sales of your particular services or products.

I've been playing on the web and designing websites for about 7 years now, and I can tell you that, though fun, creating a working site is a lot of hard work. But…I recently came across a truly innovative company that sells and hosts websites. Sorry, you can't get one without the other. and you probably wouldn't want to.

The website comes with the hosting and the hosting comes with reams of other goodies.

• The first and most basic is a simple tool for creating and maintaining your website.
• Then, there are the ecommerce tools that help you to plan and organize all product or service information upfront, before you start your web project, including accepting payments through your existing credit card processor, shopping cart check-out options, tax rules, shipping methods, special sales and discounts, inventorying, and other related information.
• There is an administration tool to let you manage all aspects of your website and hosting account.

An Overview of the Features

	Professional Layout and Design	Since the basic templates already exist and are totally customizable to your business, the cost is far less than hiring a professional designer (like me) to create it for you.
	Live Technical Support	Believe me: If you've ever had to deal with getting tech support via email, you know that live tech support is the only way to go.
	E-Commerce Tools
	Ultra-Secure Server Facility with Dual-Layer Firewall Protection	If real estate's mantra is Location, Location, Location, e-commerce's mantra needs to be Security! Security! Security!
	Customizable Product Catalog	A must if you want to sell products online.
	Multiple Billing Options	Lets you customize your billing to your customer's needs.
	Contact Management Tool	Goes without explaining
	Site Promotion Tool	If you are going to get the most out of your e-commerce business, site promotion is a must -- and it costs a lot if you buy it elsewhere!
	Chat Room Application using Advanced ChatLink Technology	Now "chat room" may have a tacky reputation in the media, but it is a wonderful tool for communicating directly with customers. Has the "write your question" advantage of email without depending on the vagaries of email delivery.
	Domain Name Registration	You can now find and order your domain name directly through us.
	E-mail Aliases	Emails for your staff
	Integrated Map and Driving Directions	Help your customers find your store or office
	500 Megabytes of Storage Space	Decent storage unless you are massive and then you'd have your own IT staff
	No Bandwidth Charges	Major savings when your site gets popular
	Unlimited Hits	Ditto
	WYSIWYG Website Editing Tools
	Image Editing and Graphic Design Tools
	Thumbnail Creator
	Image Libraries
	Site Translation Tool
	Flash Editing Tools