The advent of in-car satellite navigation has led to a decline in map reading skills over the past few years as more of us rely on technology to select a route for us rather than finding our own way. This may also go some way to explaining why a greater number of low bridges are now being damaged by lorries following unsuitable routes.

When you embark on the journey of opening on online retail store you know the destination you are aiming for, but there are also many different routes you can choose to reach it. This article isn't the equivalent of sat nav, prescribing the route, but aims to give you the knowledge needed to assess the alternatives, helping you to take control and plot your route becoming a successful online retailer.

Few would argue that an ecommerce website is now a must-have sales channel if retailers are to compete in the rapidly changing retail landscape. Over 50% of all furniture purchases in the UK are now researched online, which means that if your products are not visible on the internet then, in many cases, you will not even be considered for the sale. In last week's article the concept of the agile retailer was introduced and it was highlighted that those who are able to adapt quickly to the changing demands of consumers will be the ones to
thrive over the coming few years. And nowhere is more agile than online.

Online retailing is still very much in its infancy but over the past 10-15 years we have seen huge progress as our understanding grows, technology develops and consumer behaviour evolves. As you embark on this project there is bound to be conflicting advice but this brief guide aims to highlight the key areas you
need to consider when starting to retail online.

Choosing your approach

There are broadly three different approaches that you can take to developing
your own website. You can employ in-house staff to do the job for you under
your direct control, you can contract with a web developer to build you a website
to your own specification, or you can take advantage of an existing online retail
system, known as an ‘ecommerce platform', and often provided as software-as-
a-service (SAAS).

If you are employing your own staff to build and maintain your website then you
will need to hire both web development and design skills. Ecommerce is a 24 hr
business and so you need to consider how you deal with out-of-hours technical
support, sickness and holidays etc. Together this can be very costly, and for the
vast majority of businesses it simply is not practical or desirable to choose this
route.

So, the chances are that you will be contracting with an outside company to
provide your website. In the early days of ecommerce, and before well-resolved,
cost effective ecommerce platforms existed, most web development companies
would build one-off ‘bespoke' ecommerce websites for their clients. This
approach still persists today, and one of the perceived advantages of this is that,
as the client, you can specify exactly how you want your website to work and
exactly the features that you want built in to it. The problem with this approach is
that you ‘don't know what you don't know', so it is often difficult for you to
confidently specify the features that you really do need. It is also important to
remember that, as the site is being built specifically for you, you will also be fully
responsible for the cost of any future changes that are required to keep pace
with changing technology and for any new features that you want to be added.

For these reasons it has become increasingly popular to use a pre-existing
ecommerce platform on which to build an online retail store. Many early
entrants to online retailing have migrated to these platforms and there are now a
number of good alternatives from which to choose. At their best they offer
feature-rich, reliable software supported by a development programme, giving
you a robust and up-to-date system with which to run your online business. By
taking this approach you are choosing a supplier who will manage the technical
side of your online business while you concentrate on the retailing aspects.

Whichever route you choose to take, it makes sense to review a shortlist of
potential suppliers and, as part of that process, ask to talk to some of their clients
so that you can understand how well their services work for them. It is important
to agree the features that are required within your website and formalise the
budget and timescale at the outset.

Ecommerce design

There are certain conventions that have now become established for the way
that ecommerce websites are expected to function. As more people are
shopping online, buyers expect to see particular features in particular places on
the page. For example, product should be featured on the home page, a
summary of the shopping basket should be visible at all times, navigation
should be clear, usually in a column on the left, with categories, styles and
brands etc clearly visible so that the customer can find their purchase quickly
and easily. And just as someone will search to find your website, they will also
search within it. A keyword search will be used by around 60% of people visiting
your website. Just as car design has evolved over the past 130 years so that
now the controls are positioned in familiar places, the same has been
happening with the design of ecommerce websites. By making the design and
layout familiar to the user, more people are likely shop on your website. Take a
look at the most successful ecommerce websites and you will see that product
information is laid out in similar ways. They look familiar, albeit retaining their
own unique identity.

Managing website content

The most successful ecommerce sites tend to be operated by people with retail
experience, who understand about product, pricing, and service. A good
ecommerce website is one that gives the retailer control of the features needed
to operate the store, without exposing them to the technology that lies behind.
This is achieved with a content management system (CMS). This is the
interface between your website and you, the retailer. It should allow you to have
full control over all of the content of the website; the products, images, pricing,
special offers, discount vouchers, stock control, and information pages. In
addition there should be an order management system. All orders received by
the website will be recorded here, and at best this will provide a comprehensive
system for handling communication with customers throughout the transaction
and beyond.

Content management systems are usually controlled via a web browser,
allowing you access to the controls of your website from any internet-connected
computer. It is important to see a comprehensive demonstration of your potential
supplier's CMS to satisfy yourself and your staff of its suitability before making a
decision to buy their system.

Payments and legal considerations

There are two specific pieces of legislation that need to be considered when
starting an online store. They are The EU Electronic Commerce Directive 2002
and the Distance Selling Regulations 2000. These both concern your
obligations to customers. You should take legal advice to draw up the terms and
conditions of sale for your website as some consumer rights can be limited
within these.

In respect to taking payments online, you need to be aware of the Payment Card
Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This puts certain obligations on to
you as a merchant when handling credit card information for online
transactions. You can limit your exposure by using a recognised card payment
processing service, such as Protx or similar, to handle your card payments.
There is also evidence that using a recognised payment provider does increase
customer confidence in an online retail store.

Support and training

You should expect your ecommerce provider to provide you with adequate
training and support in the use of your website. If you are the expert in retailing,
then they should be the ecommerce specialists, and have the knowledge to
guide you in the set-up and ongoing management of your online store.

A completed website should really be only the start of your relationship with
your ecommerce supplier, and next week we will look at how you can work with
them to attract and retain online customers.