Most companies have an internet presence in addition to their brick and mortar site. To create a profitable e-commerce site, business managers must make some key decisions that lure customers in and keep them feeling satisfied.

The first decision that must be made is the domain name.  It’s been said that “you never have a second chance to make a good first impression.”Think of the domain name choice as the first impression. The name must be descriptive, short and easy to remember.A grocery stored called Mike’s Groceries should not pick Ilovereading.com as its domain.  Mikesgrocery.com is a much better choice of domain name choices.  If Mike’s customers need to guess at the domain name or find it in search engine results, common sense must rule the day.  These types of intuition-based domain names can become a valuable business asset.  One caveat:domain names should not ever infringe on trademark regulations. Do not use a competitors name or trademark to “trick” their customers to come to your site.Besides being unethical, it could set one up for a lawsuit.

Speaking of lawsuits, legal terms-of-use should be very well defined and placed upon the site.  These terms-of-use agreements define which legal jurisdiction the site is operated under, explicit or implicit consent by the consumer when clicking into the site and usage agreements. This is especially important because there is no one global body that has jurisdiction over every e-commerce site.  Some states require sales tax and some don’t.  By finding which state has jurisdiction (usually the state where the business is registered) and then explicitly stating to users, legal confusion can be reduced.

It’s also important to understand your customers’ culture.  Are your customers mostly European?  If the answer is yes, then dates should be written as day first and month second - which is in contrast to the North American custom of month first and day second.  Understanding what is likely to offend or confuse your specific customers can help you gear your site towards your customer’s preferences.  Customers are more likely to utilize an e-commerce site if they feel comfortable browsing and purchasing from the site.

Finally, recognize what customers might purchase online and what they might not purchase online and create your site to meet their needs.  As learned by the pets.com failure, pet foods are not likely to be purchased online – especially when it’s too easy to use a coupon and run by a store.  When setting up your site, sell what the customer is likely to purchase and provide more information on those items your customer may not be likely to purchase.  For example – an e-commerce site for a homebuilder might have more information for a consumer than items for sale.  Although the homebuilder might offer housing plans for sale, the majority of the site should provide tools such as a 360o view of model homes, decorating tips and tricks, neighborhood information or links to moving companies.

Communicating effectively through an e-commerce site is similar to communicating through a brochure or newsletter.  The main premise is to completely understand your customers and learn more about your target market.  Make things as easy as possible for customers to find you, use your site and gain something from the visit.Utilize the unique features of the internet, such as domain name or search engine keywords placed onto your site to get the most benefit and increase sales.When in doubt about which action to take, remember that an e-commerce site is a tool that should be used to showcase your abilities, provide convenience and information to your customers and show why you are better than your competitors.