WebShop Solutions Review

There are three options to be able to accept online payment have an e-commerce site. These are:

• purchasing software ‘out of a box’
• using software provided by an ecommerce hosting company
• creating your own system, writing the code necessary

For Forteks the best solution is to use software provided by an ecommerce hosting company for the following reasons:

• Using your own system requires agreements with the banks which takes time and makes headaches.
• Creating your own system takes so much time and money.
• Using the software provided by an ecommerce hosting company, Forteks can save its time for marketing and visiting customers.

To choose the best ecommerce hosting company, the following are the criteria that Forteks must look into:

• Appearance : How does it look ?
• Easiness for Customers to order : Is it cumbersome or simple to buy?
• Content Management : How can I add new products ?
• Scalability : What if I need to have a lot of products online ?
• Promotions and Discounts : Can I make promotions or discounts ?
• Security: Is it secure for my customers ?
• Price : How much per month or for starting fee ?
• Analytics: Can I how many customers added an item to the basket but didn’t buy it ?
• Customer E-mails: Can I get the customers e-mail and send them newsletters easily?
• SEO Features: Do they have static page names or tagging utilities ?

Another important criteria is the ability to use local payment methods like Nordea, Handelsbanken etc. I have been able to find 8 companies who are competing in this are. Out of these eight companies, I have eliminated five of them immediately for two reasons :

• Too expensive
• Too amateur

So the last three of them made it into the finals. Please check them below.

	Starweb	Textalk	Wikinggruppen
Appearance	3	4	5
Easiness for Customers	4	4	5
Content Management	4	5	N/A
Scalability	5	5	5
Promotions and Discounts	N/A	Only in Plus Packet	N/A
Security	5	5	5
Price	Starting Fee 995 SEK + 295SEK /month (basic) 545SEK/month(medium)	No Starting Fee + 66SEK /month (lite) 290SEK/month(basic)	No Starting Fee + 389SEK /month (standard) 429SEK/month(international)
Analytics	4	N/A	4
Customer E-mails	4	N/A	5
SEO Features	4	Extra	4

Textalk has been my favorite in this list for the following reasons :

• Cost-Effective (no starting fees and low monthly fees)
• Easy to use
• If customized well, looks great
• SEO features