Modern E-commerce Site Setup

Today, there are a number of considerations that should be thoughtfully weighed as a startup business or existing small business seeks to setup or modernize their online services.  Its not the web site design emphasis of the 1990s nor is it a heavy weighting on the “platform” that became a major focus in the mid 2000s.  Today the focus on modern ecommerce is a balance across several elements:

1. The content management aspects to the business enterprise
2. The relationship of the business with its “social graph” ecosystem
3. An understanding of the security around data collected and managed
4. Content design that properly reflects the brand identity of the business
5. Off-premise management of infrastructure – (data and applications in the cloud)
6. Choice of platform(s) to support business needs in the most cost-effective format
7. Outsourcing skills for design and sustainment tasks for business operations

This is a far cry from the days of setting up a simple website and its clearly more to think about than in the days of a simple shopping-cart site.  While there are clear places for both of those examples, businesses today are seeking to differentiate services within an increasingly network-connected ecosystem that requires more planning and thought toward business operations.  Each business has its unique needs and preferences.  Approaching the elements of a modern e-commerce business enterprise seeks to balance cost and performance that make the best sense for the business, its near-term and long-term prospects.