Website Development
Content management systems
What is a Content Management System (CMS)?
A Content Management System or CMS is essentially a program which allows non-technical people the ability to update and maintain a website.
What are the advantages of having a Content Management System?
The main purpose of a CMS is to save you time and money when updating content - the most important time saving feature offered by a CMS is a visual text editor. With this visual text editor it's possible to edit your website in an easy way similar to using a word processor (Microsoft Word). It saves you money because you don't need to call a web developer every time you want something simple changed.
The CMS "Panel" is accessible from any device with an internet connection. It is therefore possible to update your website from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
e-commerce
What is an e-commerce store?
It's a place where people can buy things on the Internet, you say. But what is it exactly? It is a deliberately created environment which causes a customer to want to purchase.
Think of shopping as a customer experience rather than a transaction and you begin get the picture.
Why do I need an e-commerce store?
If you already have a brick and mortar store, an e-commerce store is a very cost effective way of opening "another branch". This branch not only operates in the same town or city as your real store but can also operate country or world wide. If you have no real world store then an e-commerce solution is a cost effective way to get your business started without massive capital outlay.
What is an e-commerce store going to cost me?
What is a brick and mortar store going to cost you? The answer is that it depends. It depends on the size of the store, how many "shelves" it has, how many products it can store and so on. Media Hut offers a basic e-commerce store for R10,999-00! This includes the following:
- Store front - Home Page for your store, here you can display popular products as well as a menu to browse all your products and categories.
- Shopping cart - As seen on popular e-commerce websites, this cart acts like a shopping trolley would at a supermarket, products are placed inside it until the customer has finished shopping. He or she can then go through the checkout procedure. (i.e Pay, arrange for shipping, etc)
- Payment module - A payment module will be built. This allows your website to link to an online payment proxy such as PayPal so that you can receive online payments and pay them into your bank account.
- CMS Management- The e-commerce store will be built on a content management system. This will allow you as the shop owner the ability to add, edit and delete products on your e-commerce store.
