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HTTP vs. HTTPS: Which is Better?
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Unless you are tech savvy and are constantly keeping up to date with the latest digital trends, the average user would probably not understand what HTTP or HTTPS even means. In simple terms, HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol and is the most common way to connect and access websites. On the other hand, HTTPS is another iteration of HTTP but adds a layer of security to handle confidential material. Another protocol that can be used with HTTPS is the secure socket layer (SSL) which checks to make sure that the information from one party sent to another is consistent without any tampering.

HTTPS is used for e-commerce businesses or banks who require online payments via credit card since the added layer of security and encryption make it a safer choice than HTTP. Now that you know which one is better to use, how does HTTPS contribute towards Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? When it comes to Google search, Google tends to put preference towards safer websites which HTTPS fulfills. Ultimately, this leads to slightly increased rankings for websites that use HTTPS but what mostly changes the ranking is still website content.

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Taking Your Store Online: Why an Online Store Can Boost Your Sales
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Having an online store can be an extreme advantage to ones business. Whether it be a stand lone or a supplement to a current business, getting your store online can bring your more sales than ever. Lets delve into this:

First of all, your online store doesn’t have store hours, which means unlike a conventional store, a customer can always access your inventory and make a purchase. Your online store is open 24/7 and sales can be made at any time. In addition to providing more opportunity for customers to make purchases, you are also expanding your potential customer base. You are not just a single physical location anymore. Your online store can be accessed from people across the nation and across the world. Not to mention that an online store is extremely flexible. You can immediately update inventory information, sale prices, or even create daily deals. This type of flexibility allows you to provide a change of information that customers can’t see in a conventional store. So, more opportunity, more customers, and more flexibility equals more sales.

Now, keep in mind that you are also dramatically increasing your visibility by putting your store online. With search engine optimization, online promotion and advertisements, customers will search for your online business and making sure they find you is part of the equation involved in making online sales. Additionally, you are also able to conduct direct marketing for your online store as well. And as opposed to conventional methods, you can closely monitor and manage the results you get for a very detailed marketing plan.

We have yet to mention perhaps the most important reason for having an online store. It is the technology age! People use their mobile phones and tablets everyday to browse inventory and purchase products. There is an entire generation of people that practically live online, and if your store doesn’t exist on the web, then to them it doesn’t exist. If you don’t provide your customers an online shopping experience, you are missing out on a huge market of potential sales. Don’t make this mistake!

For help creating an online shop for your store, contact RG Pacific today. You can fill out a quote submission here

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Set Up Your E-Commerce Shop for Valentine’s Day
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With Valentine’s day approaching, many business owners can expect a temporary boost in sales. However, with the internet market blooming, getting your shop online in time for Valentine’s Day can drastically increase your sales. In 2012, on average, every person spent $130.97 for Valentine’s Day so you can’t go wrong with setting up your E-Commerce shop today.

Creating an online shop, also known as an E-Commerce site, can prove to be very advantageous for your business. Plain and simple, creating an E-Commerce shop provides an additional platform for your customers to shop. With more ways for customers to shop, you will then make more sales because you can reach out to a larger audience. Another factor is that online shopping is much quicker for both the seller and buyer, and in today’s fast paced work environment a quick transaction can be a deal breaker for many potential customers. Not to mention that almost every potential customer will go online to shop. In fact, E-Commerce sales in 2013 accounted for $1.5 trillion.

Now that you know the advantages of an E-Commerce site, there is no better time to set up your online shop. With Valentine’s Day approaching in just over a month, you can take advantage of that fact that more than 25% of people will go online to shop. Meanwhile, according to About.com, 46.9% of tablet users and 40.7% of smartphone users will “research products, prices, and retailer information, redeem coupons and purchase products with their device.” So, if you set up your E-Commerce shop, you can reach out to a much larger customer base and effectively improve your sales.

Contact us if you want help building your shop!

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How Much Does an E-Commerce Online Store Website Cost? Depends on What You Really Need
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As an E-Commerce Development company, many bricks-and-mortar retailers always call and ask me this question before anything else is discussed- “how much will an e-commerce website cost me?” And I always reply with the same response, “What do you need?”

An online store can go from simple to complex, because its functionality can vary. Are your customers local or national? Do you sell to consumers or wholesalers, maybe even dealers? Do you drop-ship? Will your site be public or private? Those are just a few questions that I pose to retailers looking to get online, and the answers are different each and every time. For a few hundred dollars, you can get an online store up. Yahoo, Godaddy, and template based websites give you E-Commerce sites for cheap. BUT do you really want to give your customers the impression that you are a run-in-the-mill company? Will you be comfortable knowing your online store will look like thousands of others?

Imagine this: You are walking down the hallways of your local shopping mall. On one side you have Coach, which is a store that stands out, exudes class and brand. On the other side, you have a ROSS store (no offense to those who love that store), a location that looks like a low-end clearance store. Which store you think will appeal more to your customers? Visualizing that scenario should give you an idea of what it takes to create an Online Store.

There is so much functionality that can be done. An Online store can be customized in two ways- look and feel, and functionality. The way your online store looks is vital. The homepage must be an attention grabber, similar to what you experience when walking into a retail store. Also consider that 46% of local searches are done on mobile phones now, so if your business has a local reach, a “responsive” design, which has both a web and mobile version, should be considered. Functionality will really determine your overall investment. A simple store will allow categories, product detail pages, and checkout. But what if you want to add more?? Coupon codes, social media sharing, posting reviews, price comparison, filters, and other options are add ons, but for many retailers, must haves. Those development tools are functions that you should consider in order to realize an adequate budget.

As you see, an online store takes considerable planning. You must determine who your target customer is, what you want your visitors to experience, and how unique you want your online shopping pathways to be to your visitors. Once you figure out what exactly you need, you will be able to fetch adequate quotes with options that are ideal for your business.

 

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What is the Best E-Commerce System?
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I always get the same question from many entrepreneurs and business owners alike – what is the best e-commerce system or platform out there? I always tell them that it depends on what they want their online store to accomplish.

There are many open source e-commerce platforms such as XCart, OS Commerce, Magento, and others.  Some are easy to set up, and others offer more sophisticated tools to better equip an e-commerce store to operate like a fully functional bricks and mortar store, including POS integration.

ecommerce platformsTo choose the best, I would assume they want a platform that is both up to the latest trends and robust. If the budget persists, the best e-commerce system available is Magento. The Magento Community Edition E-Commerce platform gives business owners all the tools that are required for a high end and robust online store.  It comes equipt with CRM based reporting, built in newsletter, blog, and more. It also allows users to cross and upsell products and manage inventory with both basic and supply chain like attributes.

The system is alot bigger and powerful than your basic OS Commerce or Cart e-commerce solutions. Installing it on basic hosting accounts like Godaddy and others will make your system run slow. It is strongly advised to invest in a more powerful Linux based hosting server like Mediatemple, 1and1, and others.

Selecting the best e-commerce system really comes down to the amount of products you are trying to sell, and the method of management that you want. If you are a small business and will basically manage the store yourself, or with a helper or two, a fast and efficient system like WordPress or X-Cart will suffice. If you want to build a fluid store and see yourself adding in alot of inventory, and really want to implement at CRM system to your customers, Magento is the way to go right now!

If you do invest in Magento, you must know that customization and upkeep is more expensive. Yes, it is a Linux and PHP system, but the programming and databases are more complex and knowledge of JS, the Magento code, and cross platform development is needed.  It offers all that you need, but make sure you have the team that is ready to handle it on an ongoing basis!

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Bricks and Mortar and an Online Store – Expand your Business on the Go
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I have had several clients in the past that were very hesitant to start an online store, with all virtually telling me the same excuse- business is fine, why complicate things? Surly a business owner, with little time to dedicate to learning about the internet and managing a website, can make more money concentrating on his business with walk in customers right? Wrong! Yes, in today’s ever changing social media landscape, that has become business suicide!

The internet today is everywhere. In every sector of the business community. Retail, Wholesale, Distribution, Manufacturing… You name the industry, I can find you the top dogs in the niche thriving online.  The internet is needed now because it is everywhere. People are online at home, at work, on the go (with mobile phones), and in the air (iPad’s and tablets). Therefore the old cliche of a 24 hour online business model is more true than ever now.  Social media has become a mainstay for many people of affluent culture, and the middle class is the biggest online contributor online.

If you are trying to package and sell your products to your customers locally, you all are aware that location is key. With the internet, you can pinpoint your customers by time, age, income, demograhic, and geographic location. Anytime, for a modest budget. Business owners are using an online storefront to present new products, sell last years overstock, reach new markets and cities, and build a CRM system that can help business in the coming years.

The biggest difference I tell clients about online marketing for their products online is this: Print, TV and Radio allows your to market to a general audience. You “hope” your kind of customer reads your message, which is why there are “slogans” and gotcha statements in ads. WIth online marketing, the opposite holds true. People visit certain websites and therefore you can find your target market in a few minutes, so your message is more personal and direct, you can talk to your customers personally. No newspaper or magazine can give you that kind of access.

An online store can be affordable and robust. Start an online brand and show off your products and attempt to sell your hottest items. Get to know your market and customers, and invite walk in clients to give you feedback about your website. You will find that everyone is on the web, people everywhere look for goods and services on search engines like Google. Not being seen online is like having a store in the middle of nowhere.

Remember guys… Location, location, location!

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