The explosion in online sales in recent years is well documented elsewhere and there are many reasons why you should consider selling online, so we’re not going to go over those again. If you weren’t aware of the benefits of selling online, you wouldn’t be reading this page!
Our role is not to persuade you to sell online, but once you decide to do so, we hope you will consider Red Rhino to set-up and manage your online shop. Whether you are in Belfast or Belleek, Ballintoy or Ballymartin, or anywhere else in Northern Ireland and in-between, we can help you reach a global market online!
The key decision in developing an online sales presence is the choice between using existing shopping cart software packages or a bespoke system developed by us, from scratch, specifically to suit your needs. The choice affects initial and ongoing costs, features and the flexibility and future expansion options for your online business.
‘Off-the-shelf’ shopping cart
There are many popular shopping cart software packages which are commercially available that will provide an ‘off the shelf’ solution when you require an online shopping cart. The cost in implementation of these is in setup, configuration and customisation of the design of the site. While these have many features and functions, these systems are designed to be generic to suit a multitude of product types and sales scenarios. There is an element of customisation available and many have a range of available plugins, modules and addons that provide additional functionality.
We have reviewed and tested all the major shopping cart packages available and the choice of which ‘off-the-shelf’ shopping cart software to use would be made after we have identified your precise needs.
Bespoke shopping cart & custom ecommerce development
While the most expensive solution when it comes to initial investment, a bespoke solution means that any feature you require can be included, and any design or layout can be created for the shop without compromise. The customer shopping experience, product presentation and user interface can be tailored exactly for your product range, while an administration back-end can be created to match. While a bespoke shopping cart and custom ecommerce development can cost cosiderably more than an ’off-the-shelf’ shopping cart, the flexibility of having a cart designed to your exact needs usually pays benefits in the longer term and generate a better return on investment.
Confused?
Red Rhino will be glad to help you walk through the different options available, and which one will work best for your needs.
Whichever type of online shopping cart solution suits your business best, Red Rhino can advise, plan, design and develop your project. If you are serious about selling online, you need a web design partner with real life business experience that really understands the big picture – not just design and programming but also customer behaviour, site analytics, user interface, online promotion and consumer marketing to really make it successful.
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