Generate Success

Choosing the right developers:
Even if you have programming knowledge and experience I would ALWAYS recommend you work with a good professional web development team, preferably one that comes with a word-of-mouth recommendation. You should be focusing all your energy and time on managing the business, not the website.
Work with a company, not an individual. There is less chance of a highly respected web development company hanging up their boots than there is an individual migrating, being offered a job in the city or getting tired of offering you the support he said he would, and you need, if you are serious about generating a successful online business.

Choosing the right eCommerce software:
There are many eCommerce solutions to choose from and every “expert” will have their own opinion. I believe this is the best independent and impartial advice I can give.

When you are choosing your web developers ask them what eCommerce software is best for you and your business and why. If they say any of the following, I would consider they are thinking of themselves, and not your business:

a) We have built our own eCommerce software
b) We use an off-the-shelf “Shop-in-Box” solution
c) Not sure, this is our first eCommerce site
d) We were hoping you wouldn’t ask
e) What’s eCommerce?

I recommend using OS Commerce (OS stands for Open Source) for the following reasons:

a) It is free to use
b) There is no need for a license
c) It is open source and therefore you are not tied to one particular company such as Microsoft.

OS Commerce is developed in PHP and uses a MySQL database, both of which are industry standard and the most commonly used programming language and database for website development. Therefore, if you become disenchanted with your developers you will have no problem finding someone else who should be able to understand and undertake management and further development of your eCommerce site.

Furthermore, there is a world wide community of web developers who are continually adding new modules and plug-ins for OS Commerce.

Always remember you need the best team and the right software to make your online business a success.