EC Site – Best Ways To Born

The EC site, which is indispensable for online business, not only for order management, but also attracts customers by linking with SNS, displays recommended products, sets shopping carts and payment services, issues coupons, push notifications, etc. Of course, besides the common functions, high security to protect customer information is also important.

As a way to develop an EC site, there are some methods, including doing it in-house or utilizing outsourced development. Each one has its own benefits, and the development process is also not the same, but which method is better?

Steps to Create EC Sites In-house

First, let’s look at the steps to create an EC Site in-house.

1. Select a Server

When building an EC site, it is first necessary to secure a server for managing product information, customer information, payment information, etc.

Specifically, there are “on-premises” in which a server is built in-house, “cloud” in which a server is used via the Internet, “hosting” in which a server is rented from a vendor, and “housing” in which a server is entrusted to a telecommunications carrier for management. There are 4 patterns.

There are pros and cons for each, but with on-premises, where you install your own server, you can freely customize it for your company, but the initial cost is huge, and it takes a considerable amount of time to set it up. In that sense, it can be said that cloud and hosting are easier to operate because they can build servers relatively quickly and inexpensively with the help of other companies.

2. Download EC-CUBE

When developing in-house, there are various methods, such as full development from scratch, packages, and cloud EC. In this article, let’s explain how to use “EC-CUBE”, which can be developed with open source.

EC-CUBE is an open source EC platform provided by EC-CUBE Co., Ltd. It has all the functions necessary to build an EC site. Since you can add plug-ins from over 1.000, the range of customization is wide, and the initial cost is free.

There is a cloud version that can be used without maintenance and a download version that can be installed on a server for free, but in this article, we will proceed with the latter download version. By the way, regarding servers, companies such as “Sakura Internet”, “X Server”, and “KAGOYA” are EC-CUBE’s official partners, so we recommend using these servers because you can proceed with the installation work smoothly.

There are multiple installation methods, but the easiest method that can be done even if you are not an engineer is to download and expand the EC-CUBE main unit on the rental server using “EC-CUBE Downloader”.

3. Set Payment Method

Once the download is complete, we will set the payment method. This is to allow the user to select the payment method for the product price when purchasing the product. In EC-CUBE, four payment methods are registered by default:

• Postal transfer
• Registered mail
• Bank transfer
• Cash on delivery (COD)

If you want to add a payment method other than this, do so in the form of a new entry.

4. Customization

Customization is possible for various themes, such as payment, attracting customers, customer management, sales promotion, and design templates in order to differentiate from other companies and solve problems unique to your company. About 1,000 kinds of plug-ins (extended functions) can be used. While freely utilizing these functions, we aim to create highly specific EC sites that are unique to our company.

5. Product Registration and General Settings

Register products for sale in the online store in your Shopify admin. At that time, you can also batch register using a CSV file, so it would be convenient to use it as needed. Store settings, such as basic settings, terms of use settings, and delivery method settings, and system settings, such as authority management, login history, and security management, are also performed on this management screen.

6. Release The Online Store

All settings are completed, various tests are performed, and if there are no special problems, the online store is finally released. Unlike physical stores, online stores operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So, you never know when and what kind of trouble will occur. It will be necessary to consider how to deal with that case upon its release and maintain it in a perfect state.

Advantages and Disadvantages of In-house Development

Advantages

• Make the most of internal resources

In this method, basically everything is done in-house, so it is possible to use internal sources for human resources and systems. It would be a great advantage to save the trouble of specially hiring or arranging a system other than a server.

• Meet the requirements of the EC site with optimal cost

It is also attractive to be able to build an EC site while keeping costs to a minimum, as there is no need to hire new staffs or use any external resources.

Disadvantages

• Poor development experience

There is a considerable gap in the development capabilities of engineers. Unless the in-house engineers are experienced, if they are unfamiliar with development and lack knowledge and skills, it may be difficult to manage the process until the end of development. As a result, the degree of perfection of the EC site will be low, and the value of the company may be lowered.

• Limited resource

In the case of in-house development, the number of engineers and accompanying IT personnel is often limited. As a result, many of them will be working on EC site development work in addition to the work they are already in charge of, so it is expected that the workload will increase significantly and they will be forced to manage a fairly tight schedule.

• Complex customization

Complex customization is necessary if you want to create a high-quality EC site that is rich in serviceability. However, in the case of in-house development, it is not always possible to arrange personnel who can handle it, so there is a possibility that the released site will pale in comparison to highly competitive rivals.

• Risks of system errors

If the engineers lack implementation experience, there is a good chance that uncontrolled system errors will occur. As a result, the trust of users is lost, and more people are forced to deal with it, which may result in conspicuous disadvantages.

• Variable costs can be high

Variable costs can be high due to poor development efficiency when the workflow is not controlled, like outsourced development. Unfamiliarity can lead to wasted work and rework, and as a result, the budget may exceed expectations.

Procedure for Creating an EC Site Using Outsourced Development

Next, let’s look at the EC site development procedure using outsourced development.

1. Selecting an Outsourced Developer

Outsource development has a wide range of nationalities and achievements, so it is necessary to select a company that matches your company’s development objectives from among many. For that reason, it is important not to decide on one company from the beginning, but to narrow down from multiple candidates by collecting information from other companies in the same industry.

Also, what is important at that time is whether there are abundant achievements similar to the development content you want to request. That way, you will be able to respond flexibly to our requests, and the degree of completion of the deliverables will definitely increase, so be careful not to prioritize only economic reasons, such as whether it is expensive or cheap.

2. Hearing & Estimate Creation

Once you have decided on an outsourcing company, we will conduct a detailed hearing (requirement definition) about your development intentions and the concept of the online store, and ask them to create an estimate that reflects the details. If the budget does not come to terms, it may be necessary to start over again from the selection of the contractor.

3. Online Store Opening

If the budget has been finalized and the contract has been officially signed, development will finally begin. Be sure to participate in the testing when the site is roughly complete. We carefully check whether the functions and design are as requested, and whether there are any problems with operability. If there are any problems, we will request correction without exception at this point, and we will check again as soon as we can fix them.

4. Release

After receiving the test results of the online store, the product is officially completed, and the online store is released. Rather, the EC site is in production after it is released.

Unexpected inquiries and feedback from users and system troubles will always follow, so it is necessary to establish a system that can respond quickly at any time by cooperating with developers.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Creating an EC Site Using Outsourced Development

Let’s explain the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing development.

Advantages

• The initial cost can be calculated

In the case of outsourced development, an accurate initial cost can be calculated by multiplying the engineer’s unit price and work hours based on the work volume of the requested work. If there is a specification change on the way, the amount may be changed, but unless otherwise specified, the calculated amount will be charged. Therefore, it is easy to secure a budget, so you can rest assured.

• Reduce the risk of system errors

A dedicated team for EC site development is formed, and development work is carried out under strict management, so the risk of system errors after release is significantly reduced compared to in-house development. You may think that it can be mitigated.

Disadvantages

• Need to find a suitable development company

With in-house development, you can start development whenever you are ready. However, outsourcing development requires time and effort to find a development company that suits your company. What’s more, even if it gets good reviews and the price is right, you won’t know if the ideal system will be completed until you actually develop it.

• The accuracy of on-demand customization depends on the capabilities of the development company

An EC site is a great tool for differentiating itself from competitors. Therefore, it is important to aim for a finish that users will feel is novel, impactful, and motivates them to purchase, rather than just looking like they have seen it somewhere else. In that sense, on-demand customization is very important, but the extent to which it can be handled depends on the capabilities of the development company.

• Requires more initial costs

The in-house development method can utilize internal human resources, but the outsourced development relies on external human resources. Since the initial cost is calculated based on the fixed unit price depending on the man-month, the budget will inevitably be higher than if you were to do it yourself.

Summary

Relipa offers a wide range of EC site development services. We will consult on the sales flow in EC-CUBE, customize the existing functions of EC-CUBE according to the customer’s request, and take responsibility for setting up the production environment.

Let us customize the theme according to your desired interface and upgrade from EC-CUBE 2.x to version 4.x.

Relipa provides the best package for customer needs with its extensive experience in EC site development, enthusiastic consulting, and quick response speed. If you have any requests for EC site development, please feel free to contact us.