ECOMMERCE WEBSITES
Sell Your Products Online With a Proper Ecommerce Website
An online shop needs to do more than display a few attractive product photographs. It needs to help customers find products, place orders, pay securely and understand what happens next.
WebCoZa builds ecommerce websites for South African businesses using WordPress and WooCommerce, with the store structured around your products, customers and day-to-day order process.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW
Ecommerce Is Not Included in the Free Five-Page Website Offer
The WebCoZa R0 website design offer is intended for a straightforward five-page business website.
An ecommerce website involves additional functionality such as products, checkout, payments, shipping and order processing, so online shops are quoted separately.
We’ll establish what your store actually needs before quoting rather than pretending every online shop is exactly the same.
Why Ecommerce Is Different
- Products need to be configured
- Prices and variations need to work correctly
- Payment methods need to be connected
- Delivery or collection rules need to be defined
- Orders need to reach the business correctly
- The checkout process needs proper testing
MORE THAN A PRODUCT GALLERY
What Goes Into an Ecommerce Website?
A useful online store connects several pieces together. Customers should be able to browse, choose, pay and complete an order without needing a treasure map.
Product Catalogue
Products organised into a logical structure with descriptions, prices, photographs and relevant purchasing information.
Categories & Navigation
A growing product range needs sensible categories and navigation so customers can find what they came to buy.
Product Options
Where required, products can include options such as sizes, colours or other variations.
Shopping Cart
Customers can add products, review their order and make changes before proceeding to checkout.
Secure Checkout
A clear checkout process collects the information required to process the customer’s order.
Order Management
Orders can be viewed and managed from the WooCommerce administration area after customers complete checkout.
WORDPRESS + WOOCOMMERCE
A Store You Can Actually Manage
WebCoZa uses WooCommerce for appropriate WordPress ecommerce projects.
WooCommerce gives the website a structured system for products, orders, customers, payments and other ecommerce functions while keeping the store within WordPress.
That also means your shop can sit alongside normal business pages, articles, guides and other website content rather than existing as a completely separate island.
Typical Store Management
- Add or edit products
- Change product pricing
- Update stock information
- Review incoming orders
- Manage order status
- Create product categories
- Add product images and descriptions
GETTING PAID
Online Payment Integration
Your ecommerce website can be connected to an appropriate payment gateway so customers can pay for their orders online.
Payment Gateway
We can help configure a compatible payment gateway for the WooCommerce store once the business has the required account with its chosen payment provider.
Secure Transactions
Payment card information is handled through the selected payment provider rather than expecting your WordPress website to become a homemade banking system.
Provider Fees
Payment gateway transaction fees, merchant charges and other provider costs are separate from WebCoZa’s website design and hosting charges.
DELIVERY & COLLECTION
How Will the Customer Receive Their Order?
Shipping is one of the areas that needs to be discussed before building the store.
A business delivering small parcels nationally has very different requirements from a local shop offering collection, and both are different again from somebody shipping large or unusually heavy products.
We structure the checkout around the delivery options that make sense for your business.
We May Need to Consider:
- Local collection
- Local delivery
- National courier delivery
- Flat-rate shipping
- Order-value shipping rules
- Product weight or size
- Areas you do or do not deliver to
WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU
Your Products Are the Raw Material
The better the product information we start with, the better the finished shop can be.
Product Information
Product names, descriptions, pricing, variations, stock information and other details customers need before buying.
Product Images
Clear, consistent product photographs make a substantial difference to how professional an online store looks.
Business Rules
We need to understand delivery, collection, returns, payment arrangements and other practical parts of how you sell.
HOW IT WORKS
From Product List to Working Online Shop
Ecommerce projects start with understanding how the business actually sells its products.
Understand the Store
We discuss your products, customers, payments, fulfilment and what you need the shop to do.
Plan the Catalogue
Products, categories, variations and the overall store structure are planned before the build gets out of hand.
Build & Configure
The storefront, WooCommerce settings, checkout and required ecommerce functionality are configured.
Test & Launch
Important shopping and order processes are checked before the store is opened to customers.
WHAT DOES AN ONLINE SHOP COST?
Ecommerce Websites Are Quoted According to the Project
A shop with twenty straightforward products is not the same project as a store with hundreds of products, complex variations and specialised delivery rules.
Instead of publishing a pretend one-price-fits-everything package, we’ll first understand what you need and quote accordingly.
The Quote May Depend On:
- Number of products
- Product variations
- Amount of product data supplied
- Payment requirements
- Shipping requirements
- Additional integrations
- Content and design requirements
AFTER THE STORE IS BUILT
Getting the Shop Online Is Only Part of the Job
Once the store exists, customers still need to discover it. That is where useful product information, SEO and ongoing content can become important.
A technically functioning shop hidden on page 17 of Google is perhaps taking the word “online” a little too literally.
Related WebCoZa Services
ECOMMERCE QUESTIONS
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an ecommerce website included in the free website offer?
No. The R0 design offer is for a standard five-page business website. Ecommerce websites require additional functionality and are quoted separately.
What platform does WebCoZa use for online shops?
For suitable WordPress ecommerce projects, WebCoZa uses WooCommerce to provide product, cart, checkout and order management functionality.
Can customers pay online?
Yes. A compatible payment gateway can be integrated with the store. The business will normally need its own account with the selected payment provider, and the provider’s own fees apply separately.
Can I offer delivery and collection?
Yes, where appropriate. The available options depend on how your business fulfils orders and the shipping or collection rules that need to be configured.
Can I add products myself later?
WooCommerce allows authorised website administrators to add and edit products. We can discuss how product management will work as part of the project.
How much does an ecommerce website cost?
Ecommerce projects are quoted according to their requirements. Product quantity, variations, payments, delivery rules, content and any additional functionality all affect the scope of the project.
Can you redesign my existing online shop?
Potentially. We first review the existing website, ecommerce platform and current setup before recommending whether improving or rebuilding it is the better option.
READY TO SELL ONLINE?
Tell Us About the Store You Want to Build
Tell us what you sell, roughly how many products you have and how you currently handle payments and delivery. We’ll work out what your ecommerce website actually needs.