You can likely get ecommerce support from one of many places, including your web hosting company and your web designer. Most hosting companies allow you to customize the ecommerce options you want on your site, and you can generally upgrade your package any time you feel you need new features or options. The web designer who helped you build your site may still be available to help with any changes or problems you may have.
Find out your web hosting company’s policies ahead of time. Although getting ecommerce support regarding your account is usually easy to do, you should always double check to be sure that you can get assistance if and when the need arises. Hosting companies generally offer numerous features for consumers, including search engine optimization, database support, and domain protection. Find out more about each of these features, and look for a company who has the ones you feel you need.
If you hired a professional web developer to build your site, you can likely hire him or her to help you with ongoing issues or questions regarding that site. Many designers offer ongoing ecommerce support as part of a package deal when you sign on as a client. Others may be hired on a project by project basis. Issues your designer can likely handle include adding database support to your site, as well as adding new features or products.
In the event that your designer does not know how to do what you want, you can hire an additional designer or programmer to provide the ecommerce support you need. Shop around to find the person with the highest level of knowledge that fits your price range. This will help you avoid needing a third designer in the event that you run into any complex technological issues.
Many ecommerce site owners hire a full-time webmaster to help with everything from customer technical support to site upgrades and routine maintenance. Pricing to do this may vary, and will depend on the amount of work involved. In some cases, you may be able to offer the webmaster a percentage of site revenue, but this is not always the case.
Additional places to find ecommerce support include talking with other online retailers to get tips or advice, and marketing professionals who may be able to help you advertise your site to the public. If you can’t afford to pay for a consultant or developer, there are many online tutorials that will help you upgrade, market, and add to your site. Those with no technical experience who cannot hire a professional designer should use site builders that can be easily maintained using a hosting provider’s site or another template-based web builder.
