Making e-Commerce websites affordable for local small business

I have to admit that I hate shopping. At shopping centres. I can't think of anything worse than searching for that elusive parking spot or worse, resorting to "stalking" (you know what I mean? Spotting an obviously shopped out shopper, copious bags in hand, following them back to their car, then waiting sheepishly while they load bags in to the car and take their sweet time vacating the parking spot...sorry. I digress...).

The sheer thought of Christmas shopping this year had me reeling. Wasting time, wandering from store to store, getting frustrated with out-of-stock items, sore feet and a sore shoulder from carrying bags, etc.

I decided a much better solution was to let my fingers do the walking and let Google do what Google does best... so I did the majority of my Christmas shopping online this year*
Not only did I get to shop in the comfort of my own living room, with a cup of coffee and a slither of my Mum's to-die-for Christmas cake in hand, but I was able to source the best deal and enjoy FREE delivery to my door. Every item arrived within a week of ordering. I'm still waiting on one parcel but hey, 1 out of 5 aint bad!

I have a few friends who've been keen to set up an online store but say they're completely daunted by the set up costs and ongoing monthly fees charged by some website companies. Not to mention the lack of apparent ownership and access to the site for content management.

Well, I took this as a personal challenge...

I'm thrilled to say that Sharpe Design Solutions now offers an e-commerce website service that is affordable and gives you complete ownership of your site along with a very simple content management system for adding and deleting stock, tracking inventory and much more functionality. Throw in the security of PayPal services and now we're in business...online!

Key features of our new eCommerce solution include:

• A shopping cart integrated directly into your site
  
• Accept all major credit cards with the security of PayPal
• Product options like size and colour
  
• Order tracking and history
• Sell digital goods (e-books etc)
• Inventory tracking
• Shipping and Tax calculators
• A completely mobile optimised experience
• Product search with advanced filtering for options like size, colour and price
• iOS and Android apps so you can manage your store on the go
• And much more to come!

Take a look at our recently launched online "e-boutique" for Sadie Lou at Long Jetty on the NSW Central Coast.

So if you're a small business keen on selling your wares online, don't be put off any longer. Give me a buzz to discuss launching your e-commerce site in 2014. 

Meanwhile, have a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to an awesome New Year.

Author: Jody Sharpe, Sharpe Design Solutions

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*No small retail businesses were harmed in the making of this blog post. I have supported my local Long Jetty and Killarney Vale shop owners as always.