How eCommerce supports Halifax, Bradford, Leeds & Huddersfield firms expand and sell products online
With 2022 well and truly here, it’s more vital than ever before to sell direct from your website – and West Yorkshire-based One Click Web Design can get an eCommerce website up and running for you within just 5 days. We’ve supported firms across Halifax and Calderdale (including Sowerby Bridge, Elland, Hebden Bridge and Brighouse), along with firms across wider West Yorkshire (including Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds) expand through slick, modern websites that are mobile-phone friendly and search engine optimised.
The high street was already struggling before the coronavirus crisis, but the pandemic has hastened its demise and no-one will know what household retail names will still be there in a few years – or even just a few months.
That’s why if you sell any product at all you must have an eCommerce site to maximise your sales. Time is all-important – the longer you put it off, doing it then the more potential sales you’ll miss.
By the way, how should you spell eCommerce? A quick check on Google shows there are so many different ways such as ecommerce, E Commerce, E-Commerce, e-commerce, E-commerce, e-Commerce – but we’ll go with eCommerce.
But what is eCommerce and why does a business need it?
Tom Stanley, who runs Halifax-based IT web design specialists One Click Web Design (www.urbanitsupport.com), said: “Your website shouldn’t just be your shop window, it needs to be your shop these days. Many businesses are put off from doing it because they think it will be such a massive effort to set up but we can take all that off your shoulders.
“If you’re looking to buy anything the first place many people start with is Google to see the choice and range of what they’re after. Your potential customers will be doing the same so you need to be up there alongside your competitors … and then beating them.”
What are the advantages of selling online?
OK, we’ll keep this short and snappy.
* Selling via a website is clearly a great deal cheaper than renting or buying retail space and all the never-ending and costly overheads to run it.
* You’ll instantly move from a local to a global market, making you instantly accessible to customers no matter where they live.
* Customers can shop from you at any time of the day or night … eCommerce sites have no opening or closing times.
* You can run it from anywhere – all you need is the internet, a phone and somewhere for your stock.
* Inventory management sorted by One Click Web Design means you’ll quickly see what’s selling and what’s not so successful ranges can be diversified to boost sales while those lagging way behind can be dropped. It means you’ll maximise your sales and cut costs.
* Cash flow will increase as both trade customers and the public usually pay for their products upfront when they order them.
* Your website is a constant sales pitch – including lots of information about your products from descriptions and cost along with how to use them and why they’re better than your rivals.
* You will know who your customers are and what each is buying so can devise marketing strategies to send information to them or perhaps offer discounts or reward points for repeat purchases.
What do all eCommerce websites designed by One Click Web Design feature?
* Your corporate colours and branding throughout to make them eye-catching and fit in perfectly with your main website and marketing.
* Any layout and content you want but obviously we will help you with that every step of the way.
* Secure checkout and complete flexibility for you and your customers and by that we mean payments include secure debit card, credit card and BACS payments plus others such as PayPal, Stripe, Sage Pay and ApplePay. There is even the option to offer different ways to pay including subscription-based payments, cash on delivery and buy now pay later.
* The system will make payment and refund processing straightforward and also include automated delivery calculations.
* Full inventory management including uploading products and automatic stock control alerts so you know exactly what you have to sell and the product variations such as colours, size and weight.
* We’ll make it easy for customers to buy from you with the way product categories and types are laid out along with the way they can be sorted such as from low to high price.
* Customer profiles so you know their order history and shopping habits at a glance
* A mobile app so you can manage your online shop, stock, track and oversee orders on the go.
* Most people now buy straight from their phones and that’s at the forefront of our minds when we are designing your eCommerce site.
* The website will be built using the latest SSL security standards.
* Customers can set up accounts so they can see their previous orders and place new ones with just a few clicks.
Tom said: “We can even help you by writing all the words for your website and then help you to continually promote it through content such as blogs using keywords and search engine optimisation to help push you up Google. Our ongoing support packages are second-to-none.”
To have a chat about setting up an eCommerce website call us on 01422 646465 or email hello@one-click.co.uk
Blog written by Andy Hirst from Huddersfield-based AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/)
