Locating an ecommerce web site builder

One of the key decisions to finding an ecommerce web site builder is whether you will use someone in-house or outsource the job to vendors. Answering a few basic questions before you start will help you determine how to select the appropriate ecommerce web site builder.

Who will you hire to be your ecommerce web site builder?
In most cases, you can do the initial configuration and set up yourself, or hire ecommerce web site builders through a vendor.

If you have qualified technical staff available, you can save money by designating one of your employees as the ecommerce web site builder who will perform the development in-house.

For businesses just starting out in online sales, the best option is to hire an ecommerce web site builder from a development firm. This is also a better choice when extensive integration is involved.

Who will host the ecommerce software?
For small companies without dedicated IT staff and those who are just testing ecommerce, hiring an ecommerce web site builder from an external company is probably the best choice.

If you already host your own web site and have technical staff to build and maintain the site, you can host the software yourself: you buy and install the software on your own servers, purchase an SSL certificate, and integrate the store with your web site.

Be aware that even if you host the bulk of your web site internally, you can still outsource the hosting of the e-commerce sections. This split will be transparent to site visitors.

Hosting it yourself gives you greater control over the customization and integration of the online store with the rest of your web site. However, it can take a lot of time for an ecommerce web site builder to construct a web site, even if you start with a packaged ecommerce solution. Plus, ongoing maintenance can be a drain on your internal resources. Outsourcing it reduces the burden on your staff, but may result in less flexibility in appearance and behavior.

Who will maintain the catalog and manage orders?
As with hosting and initially creating your site, you can maintain the catalog on your own or through an external company. In most cases, it’s better to manage your catalog in-house. This doesn’t require technical expertise – with the right interface, any computer-savvy employee can handle it. You should, however, look for an online interface that's easy to manage.

Doing it yourself is cheaper in the long run, and allows you to be more flexible. You don’t want to have to call your ecommerce web site builder every time you want to change the price on one of your products.