eCommerce software is just one piece of the puzzle. EPORIA's platform puts all the pieces together for you: website design, custom development, hosting, support, inherent search engine optimization, online marketing, and everything else you need to support sites that sell more.
The Old Way – Patchwork eCommerce
Traditionally, eCommerce websites were too frequently an afterthought. Other tools were already in place for marketing, sales, fulfillment, and brand design. The website development took a back seat and was often appended to the business processes. Without the understanding that successful businesses now have of how to truly make the web work for them, solutions were pieced together and managed inappropriately.
- eCommerce site design was produced by a designer.
- The eCommerce software was purchased (or worse, open-source eCommerce software was used), forcing the designer to retrofit the brand’s look into a template or to create the design and plug in someone else’s software.
- Developers were called in to configure the software – software that they did not create and with which they were not intimately familiar. They custom developed eCommerce features to suit the company’s needs, tacking them on to the out-of-the-box eCommerce software solution. The developers implemented add-ons from third party developers to add missing functionality, often causing compatibility issues and errors between the systems.
- This solution was then hosted on a server, which had to be compatible with the eCommerce program and its add-ons. If the host made a change to the operating system or the programming languages it supported, the website might stop working. Worse, if there were an upgrade to the eCommerce software itself, it might require versions of programming languages unsupported by the host, and might overwrite customizations made to the site, requiring developers to duplicate their work, and causing significant down time for the website.
- A marketing agency was then called in to devise a plan for marketing the site. Search engine optimization was accomplished with guesswork, and was implemented by coders accessing the HTML code within the website.
Once the website was actually setup, any changes to it required coders and developers. Companies were dependent on them for every change, from updating the copy on a page to adding a product. Subsequently, many businesses came to reply on their IT staff to manage their websites.
The company website, perhaps the most visible marketing tool a company has, was presented by the IT department. This is not a choice anyone would make intentionally, but the lack of available tools, poorly executed strategies, and piecemeal “solutions” left companies with no choice.
When ongoing help was needed, it was not always clear who the appropriate contact was, with so many providers in the mix. Worse than that, support contracts with many eCommerce software companies were expensive and limited – and because the solutions were so poorly constructed, help was frequently needed.
All of this left online merchants at a loss. Their websites were lacking, unexpectedly costly, poorly supported, and rarely came close to meeting conversion goals.
The Future of eCommerce
EPORIA presents a new day for companies who are serious about growing their online channel. The days of patchwork solutions that fall short, with their slew of mismatched providers and unexpected, exorbitant costs are over.
EPORIA eCommerce is a stable, hosted solution. The data center is highly secure, meticulously protected (from hackers, fire, unauthorized entry, and power outages) and constantly monitored. With a multitude of redundant, load-balanced, dedicated servers, stability and power serve up websites that will not falter, even with very heavy volumes of traffic.
Talented, on-staff designers produce brand enhanced designs that fully support the branding and story of the company. The user experience is carefully mapped for unmatched usability that generates conversion rates that nearly double the national average. The web design perfectly encompasses every function of the site for a level of flow and ease of use that are simply impossible with a piecemeal solution.
EPORIA’s solution is 100% modular. Even the base level eCommerce solution is profoundly robust, offering every common need. Additional functionality is added, as needed, using EPORIA’s components. This structure allows merchants to receive only and exactly the features they need, and to add to them as online sales and requirements increase. If you can find a feature that EPORIA doesn’t already offer, the same in-house developers who work in the platform every day will implement it quickly and smoothly.
Component additions and upgrades are easy. There are no incompatibility issues, and new additions are implemented without losing any previous work. In fact, every EPORIA website is completely customized from the start. Both the front end website and the back end administrative interface are configured to suit the needed requirements. EPORIA’s website features are built right into the website, maintaining consistency and usability for the customer.
Because EPORIA understands that an eCommerce website is no longer just an online catalog or shopping cart, EPORIA serves as the hub for integrated back office systems. EPORIA DataBridge provides the technology to truly integrate accounting, CRM, taxation, fulfillment, and shipping management systems through one single point. Data is shared, workflow is streamlined, and productivity increases.
It All Comes Together
With such a well-oiled website ready to go, the next step is to bring visitors in. EPORIA’s Conversion Marketing™ methodology brings more qualified visitors to the website organically, and converts more of the traffic to sales. The entire website structure is highly search engine friendly so it is easy for search engines to crawl and index all of the content.
Every viewable page of the website is search engine optimized. The terms are carefully selected based on market research, industry trends, and EPORIA’s deep analytics that offer a depth of data not often available or accessible. The analytics illustrate buyer behavioral trends, and clearly illustrate the success of campaigns and marketing efforts, including the search terms that perform best.
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All of this is built on EPORIA’s eCommerce Platform. Each cog in the machine works smoothly with the others – and most importantly, there is just one single machine that produces and runs the online effort. Because EPORIA’s intuitive administrative interface is easy to use and allows content, product, and SEO updates without ever dealing with code, this most visible marketing tool can finally be administered by eCommerce/marketing professionals, rather than technical staff. No code means no reliance on developers for changes. |
Seeing it All the Way Through
EPORIA’s commitment to every client’s success is demonstrated by the complimentary training and support that every client receives. New account holders are guided by one-on-one personal training to learn how to manage the website, process orders, make updates, and work efficiently within the platform. When questions arise, EPORIA is available for help, and there is never a charge for it. This is a truly unique offer from an eCommerce company and is only possible because of the supreme usability of EPORIA’s interface and our determined dedication to every client’s success.
These efforts culminate in eCommerce websites that deploy quickly, are easily managed, sell more, and sell better. Traffic increases, conversion skyrockets, and EPORIA clients realize a faster return on investment.
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