Silver Maple Studio

E-Commerce Process

When creating or starting an E-Commerce Store, there are a few things to consider.

1. Identify your products that you are going to sell.
   
   
2. Organize the products into categories.
   
   If you have more than 3 categories, or are planning to expand the list of categories, then organize the categories into a list of departments. The more structured your store the easier it is for customers to find what they are looking for.
   
   
3. Get Pictures of Your Products.
   
   The recommended format is digital format (*.jpg). Pictures can also be scanned, however you lose quality every time an image is copied and each scanned picture will require extra time in photo editing. Remember the clearer your product is to see the easier it will be for customers to buy your items.
   
   For more information see our print services web page.
   
   
4. Create a more detailed product list.
   
   This list should include the item name, price, description, and digital photo image name. Silver Maple Studio prefers that the final product list be in a spreadsheet format.
   
   
5. Decide on How You will Accept Payments.
   
   There are a couple of ways to accept payments for an e-commerce site (PayPal or a preferred Merchant Service).
   
   For those just starting out with an e-commerce site, it is recommended to start off with PayPal. This will get your e-commerce site up and running and start bringing you in money. With the PayPal option, you will need to decide whether or not you would like to use PayPal’s shopping cart, or have us create your own unique shopping cart. PayPal uses both Credit Cards (Master Card, Visa, Discover, Amex) and also PayPal account to process orders.
   
   If you choose to use the PayPal shopping cart we can utilize Paypal’s limited customization features to make the PayPal shopping cart and check out pages look more like your site.
   
   If you choose to have the custom shopping cart with PayPal, we will design your cart to fit the look and feel of your site. PayPal will still be used for payment processing, and we will update this page with PayPal’s limited customization features to make the PayPal check out page more like your site.
   
   For more advanced e-commerce sites we recommend getting your own merchant service account, where we will create a custom shopping cart and use a payment gateway to process your orders. This option will also require a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate. This certificate is more than likely offered through your web site hosting service, and is used to ensure the privacy and security of sensitive customer data (e.g. Credit Card numbers, expiration dates, etc.). We will work with you to help you purchase the SSL Certificate.
   
   
6. Decide on Shipping.
   
   It is important to decide who your carrier will be and what their rates will be based on the items your customers will purchase. Common carriers are United States Postal Service (USPS), UPS, Fedex, and DHL.
   
   
7. Choose a Catalog Layout.
   Silver Maple Studio will work with you to create a catalog layout that will be pleasing to the eye and easy to find items for your customers.
   
   
8. Design the E-Commerce Store
   
   
9. Verify the E-Commerce Store Design
   
   

Additional E-Commerce Features:

• Database Management Tool – So you can add and remove items, categories, or departments
  
  
• Automated Payment Processing (With Merchant Service plan only)
  
  
• Catalog Search Feature – Search all items in your catalog by name or keyword.
  
  
• *Secure Payment Processing (Use PayPal’s Security with a PayPal plan, or have your own SSL Certificate)
  
  

* Having secure transactions is a required option by Silver Maple Studio and it will make your customers feel much safer knowing that their information is protected.

Our E-Commerce Catalogs and Optional Shopping Carts are custom designed to fit your needs. Don’t Leave Your Identity to Chance – Be Distinct By Design