TRANSITIONING TO AN ONLINE RETAIL BUSINESS

Almost any retail business that sets up shop on the Internet will tell you the same thing: a web site often involves a totally different mode of thinking, with different business practices and methods.

No longer are you only serving your local community, but, if your site is created and promoted correctly, your doors are now open to the whole world.

As in the real world, initial planning and set-up of an online business is imperative, similar to performing a store build-out. Everything has to be a perfect fit, or it's back to the drawing board.

Frequently, mistakes or miscalculations made just before or after the store goes live can result in loss of revenue. In extreme cases, the web designer has to be called back in to make changes, which can often result in thousands of extra dollars needing to be spent.

We created the WebUpdate2 site management system for just such eventualities, building as much flexibility in ahead of time as possible.


Because WebUpdate2 sites are not templates or generic shopping carts, not only are they more secure, but, just as if your physical store had movable walls, WebUpdate2 sites can change, adapting to your business needs, not the other way around.

'The WebUpdate2 System is a perfect fit for my company, The 18th Century Merchant. Our primary concern in developing a web site for our retail store was being able to change it frequently. This system allows us to do just that -- we now have a dynamic web site that we can change quickly when new products are available, when we have a promotion coming up, or when we need to change the look for a new season. Also, the system allows us to vary the layout of each of our pages to make the site visually interesting.

'Because the WebUpdate2 System is so easy to use,
we have a more versatile web site than we originally
envisioned. As a result, we have developed new ideas
for marketing our products on a constantly changing basis.'

One of the main features of our web site is our Wedding Registry. Our web site was designed to meet our needs of posting the tabletop and gift selections of many brides. Our Wedding Registry page is user-friendly, searchable, and best of all, easy to update with new brides. Because the WebUpdate2 System is so easy to use, we have a more versatile web site than we originally envisioned. As a result, we have developed new ideas for marketing our products on a constantly changing basis.
We are delighted with our new web site!

- Debbie Friedman
Business Manager
The 18th Century Merchant
www.18thcenturymerchant.com