subject: Aplus Net Solutions Releases Why You Need An Ecommerce Consultant Best Practices [print this page] Ecommerce Projects are complicated in nature because they deal with the most strategic of investments for every company the Online Store. But it doesnt stop there the Online Store has to integrate with the Back-end systems Accounting, Fulfillment, etc. And when you begin talking to Ecommerce software vendors they conveniently leave the integration of these other systems to you this is why you want an experienced Web Development Consultant managing your Ecommerce Project. Lastly, why have an Online Store if your products arent going to be found in the Search Engines. You must choose a consultant that will ensure your vendors deliver the Rankings and Traffic to maximize the Online Store investment.
Ecommerce Consultant Job 1 Define Business Objectives
The Ecommerce Consultants must ensure the project has well defined business objectives such as:
Open New Channels of Revenue
Increase Average Order Values
Lower Customer Acquisition Costs
Increase Client Retention
Increase Profit by Reducing Order Entry Errors and Re-keying of data
Ecommerce Consultant Job 2 Software Selection Process
The consultant must manage the software selection process to meet your business Online objectives and help you understand what type of Back-end Integration plan will be required. They must consider size of store, complexity of products lines, degree of customization required, systems integration required, in-house resources available and many more factors. All of these factors feed the criteria that will drive the final decision on the best possible fit for Ecommerce Software.
Ecommerce Consultant Job 3 Supplier Selection Process
With the Software Selected the consultant must then move to Supplier Selection there are over 1 million companies that tout Ecommerce development the consultant must help narrow those choices and help vet the right fit for your project.
Ecommerce Consultant Job 4 Project Cost and Requirements Confirmation
The deliverable at the end of this project phase must include the completed Development Plan Document describing the delivered functionality of each section of the site and must include a not-to-exceed project estimate and a detailed production timeline.
Ecommerce Consultant Job 5 Design Development
During the Technical Design Document Phase of the site, the consultant must ensure the vendor produces, in accordance to the Development Document, a site map and the primary template pages necessary to describe the functional sections of the site.
The deliverable for this phase of the project must be all of the agreed Design Page Layouts and must require Client approval before proceeding.
Ecommerce Consultant Job 6 Development Phase
During the Development Phase of the project the vendors will perform the bulk of the development of the site however the consultant must ensure the deliverable for this phase of the project will be a staging version of the site posted on a password protected development server for evaluation testing.
Ecommerce Consultant Job 7 - Testing Phase
The Testing Phase must consist of a set of testing scenarios that are pre-defined and agreed. This will help to ensure Site Functionality is working. This phrase must also include any additional testing, and making any last minute corrections and additions to the site.
Ecommerce Consultant Job 8 - Delivery of Final Site and Go-Live
During the Delivery Phase of the project the consultant must ensure the vendor provides adequate assistance and training to implement the live version of the site.
At the end of the day all of these steps must be completed to ensure the Project actually delivers the business objectives that have been outlined as the business owner you should expect no less!
by: Armand Stehlik
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