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A Site for Sore Eyes
A Site for Sore Eyes |
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Written by Stacy Bradshaw
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Finally, a Beginner’s Guide to Launching a Flower Shop Website
If your flower shop is listed in the local business
section of the three biggest Internet search engines: Google, Yahoo,
and MSN, that’s great. But it’s just a start.
By now you’ve probably come to grips with the fact that there’s a big difference between having an “online presence” and having a website that greatly contributes to your bottom line. You know you need a professional, up-to-date website, but you don’t know where to begin. Don’t let your fear of the unknown stop you from launching your site. Whether you want a simple marketing website to drive customers to your bricks and mortar store, or a full-service online floral shop, the following guidelines will help make your dream website a reality.
Determine goals and objectives
Is your primary goal to set up an e-commerce site where you can sell bouquets and arrangements online? Or is it simply to generate more in-store sales?
Consider how much time and money you have to invest. An e-commerce site will cost more to develop and maintain. Not to mention you will need to offer online customer support and service, pay shipping costs, transaction and merchant fees. Opening an e-commerce store should be like opening a new business, complete with a business plan in hand and your goals clearly defined.
Most of the costs of a simpler site, one that allows you to showcase products, profile the shop, and promote seasonal arrangements, are up front with fixed monthly fees.
Whichever option you choose, be sure to check out some other florists’ websites before you start. Look for ideas and decide what elements you like and dislike. The more functions you want your website to perform, the more money you will have to spend.
Investigate development options
Research and weigh your options against all factors: time, money, your skill level, and the requirements outlined in phase one. These factors will dictate how you design your website.
Option A: Web design software (Advanced, do-it-yourself)
As an independent florist, you obviously have an eye for design. But do you have the tech-savvy, the time and the willingness to learn how to design your own website? If so, you’ll need the right tools. Here is a very basic overview of what you would need:
• A web design software to design the pages of your site. Design software packages range in levels of difficulty, for example XSitePro for beginners to Dreamweaver for professionals.
• There is also a number of other services you will need to source, including purchasing a domain name (ex. www.myfloristshop.com), finding a hosting company (essentially, to rent space on their server monthly), and purchasing a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software to transfer your web page files to the hosting company.
• Keep in mind, there is a significant learning curve with web design software and it is not recommended for building e-commerce sites.
Option B: Browser-based website creation services (Entry-level, do-it-yourself)
Browser-based website creation services are the easiest to use, according to Rick Broadhead, Canadian author of Online Selling and a guest speaker at the recent Visa Small Business, Big Thinking Conference in Toronto, Ont.
Browser-based services are popular with small businesses because they don’t require any new software. The entire website can be created online. Better yet, hosting and domain names are included in the monthly price.
Many Canadian-based providers offer an online store (or “shopping cart”) option, making selling your products online easy. Keep in mind, however, that many browser-based services use generic design templates, limiting your options in terms of customization, aesthetic design, and marketing and merchandising capabilities. Hiring a professional web developer to add new functions to these and any site you build yourself is always an option.
Option C: Hire a professional web developer
An independent web designer or professional web development company will allow for a sophisticated design and layout and endless merchandising capabilities. But it is often the most expensive option.
Choosing the right developer is critical. Ideally, you want to hire a designer or company that is familiar with the floral industry. Search the web for a company that suits your individual needs.
Unfortunately, developers are not generally concerned with the profitability of your website. It’s important, therefore, to have your business goals clearly defined and in writing. Maintain an open dialogue with the provider about what you hope to get out of your website.
Arm yourself with the right questions: do they offer 24/7 tech support? Do they have an emergency, after-hours contact number? What are the monthly costs in terms of maintenance, updating, service, etc.?
Become an online merchant (for e-commerce sites only)
If you plan on taking online orders for your products, a shopping cart is a must. It allows online customers to “place” items in the virtual cart. Upon “checkout” it calculates a total for the order, including shipping and handling and taxes.
If you’re building your own site or working with a developer, you’ll need a shopping cart software, a payment processing component, and a merchant account (separate from your in-store account) for each type of credit card you want to accept: Visa, Mastercard, etc.
Broadhead recommends, as a Canadian merchant, restricting yourself to merchant accounts offered by Canadian financial institutions and Internet payment service providers. He also warns small business owners about the hidden fees of merchant accounts, including set-up, transaction, equipment rental and monthly fees.
If you decide to go with a browser-based service, choose one that specializes in e-commerce enabled websites for small businesses. Broadhead says many Canadian financial institutions (ex. www.moneris.com by Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank), telecommunications companies (ex. www.telus.com), local Internet service providers and others (ex. www.yahoo.ca) offer all-in-one site design packages where the merchant accounts are included.
PayPal (www.paypal.com) is another payment option. It allows merchants to accept credit cards and bank account payments for comparatively low transaction fees. PayPal is free to consumers, but not everyone is a registered user, so it is typically only offered as an additional payment option.
Shopping carts range from powerful, advanced software programs that can tie into your company’s back-end systems, to the most basic of e-commerce solutions. Whether you’re developing a sophisticated online store or a cost-efficient, yet stylish website, remember the basic principles of web design still apply: keep it simple and keep it current.
For more information about these and other critical web design principles, marketing and merchandising ideas, look out for Part 2 of this article in the
upcoming April 2007 edition of Canadian Florist magazine.
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