Know-How Exchange : E-Marketing

I use Inspire's email system and it works very well.

You might also try Network Solutions E-commerce system. It will allow you to build your own site and has a robust e-commerce package.
www.networksolutions.com

Please keep in mind from the beginning, a web site isn't something you just slap something up and the world buys from you. It is a complex ballet of meeting the customers expectations to open their wallets.

Professionals in graphic design, content writing, marketing, software coding, advertising, photography, multivariate testing, analysis, and a host of other disciplines are used to develop an efficient website that works (and hopefully a good ROI). Large companies like Verizon have armies of staff to tune their site daily to squeeze out revenue. Few persons are adequately equipped to handle all these tasks by themselves.

A website publisher will have pre-made design templates and add-in functions which you select to make your website

Pros
- allow you to build a site "easily" and "quickly"
- typically less expensively initially
- more functionality for the price
- changes are done by you (if you have the time)
- typically functional yet unimpressive sites
- upgrade designs and features may be available
- without changes - may be less expensive over time
- OK for proof of concept without large investment

Cons
- may not be be able to be customized
- may not be able to add on 3rd party code within your site for added functionality (like Google Analytics, or hundreds of others)
- hosting may be shared excessively resulting in slower web performance (too many sites on one server to cut costs and increase profits)
- you're "a number" - company doesn't care how successful you are or the quality of your site to perform your desired functions
- you don't own the site - underlying proprietary software - if you want to move site - you need to rebuild your site from square one
- you're probably not a marketing person so your content may not achieve your desired goals
- If it can be customized, you'll pay the web design company that actually made the publisher software so you wind up at a web design company anyway
- a bucket of subtle shortcomings that are only visible when you try to do something and can't
- ecommerce adds a vast level of additional complexity to the above comments because of security, shopping cart abandonment, merchant account connectivity, data privacy and protection, product management, reporting, etc.



A website design company will build your site anyway you want it with only the constraints of your budget and technical limitations of the software and programmers.

Pros
- custom design throughout - custom or proven semi-custom programmed modules may be used to lower development costs and time
- company working on your behalf (consulting) for all disciplines mentioned above - (somewhat vested in your success)
- can be moved to another hosting company if you become unhappy with your current company (a typical problem)
- company will write content, perform SEO, create landing pages, prod you with ideas for improvements

Cons
- a larger investment of all resources throughout
- changes "costly" if not on maintenance plan
- good ecommerce hosting - minimum VPS (not shared)

A do-it-yourself web site (publisher) has its place in the market. If you're serious about your business, especially an ecommerce business

Web sites should be changed / improved often - not left static. SEO is important and depending on the publisher, you may or may not be able to do the best SEO.

Over time, if you build a website publisher site and you are successful, you will probably rebuild again from scratch with a web developer to build in all those components you wish you had that your "quicky" site may not.

If you wish a personal consultation, please call or email me through our profile.

Sincerely,

Bob
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Thanks Bob.

Well, another thing I wanna know is that for B2B business like manufactre, which website is better for it, normal website or estore(shopping cart)? Cos youk know, I think as B2B business mode, the company credibility and reputation is much better than others. So i think normal website is better for it showing the strength the company has. Is my thinking right?