eCommerce Website Design & Development

Service Description | eCommerce Website Design & Development

Every website package includes the same level of attention to detail, the only difference is the amount of time we spend creating that detail and how many products you need us to incorporate into the site. Each website is built on the WordPress platform with the WooCommerce engine, the most used website platform on the planet.

As a business manager or brand owner, you need a powerful tool that elevates the sales of your business and offers you the highest margin on your sale. We offer you exactly that: an eCommerce website that communicates your company and product(s) clearly and properly, so that you can sell, or connect, or whatever else your business may need that supports you in your growth.

We offer retainer agreements to manage the websites post-launch, as they demand constant attention that you may not have the capacity for. We also manage digital marketing for eCommerce.

——————

Every eCommerce Website Level Includes:

• Home, About, Contact, Shop, Cart, Checkout, & Privacy Policy Pages
• Sitemap
• Design Wireframing
• Responsive Design & Development (Mobile, Tablet, Desktop versions of your site)
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Stock Photography
• Iconography
• Google Analytics & Search Console Integration
• Integration into Google Ads, Meta Ads, YouTube Ads, and more
• Google Business Profile Creation and Integration
• Domain Name Assistance
• Contact Forms
• Newsletter Sign Ups

Starter

• Up to 10 products
• WooCommerce’s Shop Theme
• 1-2 weeks of website development time
• 1 hour of hands on training, with a video capture for review

Professional

• Up to 25 products
• Custom Designed Theme with 1 revision round
• 2-3 weeks of website design & development time
• 1 hour of hands on training, with a video capture for review

Industry Leader

• Up to 50 products
• Custom Designed Theme with 2 revision rounds
• 3-4 weeks of website design & development time
• 2 hours of hands on training, with a video capture for review
• Up to 3 Custom Landing Pages
• Custom Designed Pop-Ups and Sign-Up forms

——————

What other functionality is included?

• Content Management System (CMS)
• Payment Gateways
• Logins and Customer Accounts
• Blog and Articles Management Systems
• Social Media Integration
• Email Capture
• Forms (Contact, Sign Ups, etc)
• Password Protected Pages
• Comments Sections
• Basic Review Capture

What is NOT included with an eCommerce Website build?

Good question. There is a LOT of gray area that goes into what is included in a website, considering it houses, or connects to, just about every aspect of your online business. The following list contains things that are not included in the standard cost, but can be negotiated at the time of purchase.

• Branding (Can be added as an additional service)
• Brand Voice Copywriting (Can be added as an additional service)
• Subscription style products
• Automated emails for marketing purposes (ex: emails triggered by user conditions, such as spend $100 and get a VIP coupon)
• Refer-A-Friend marketing
• Points & Rewards systems
• Advanced Review Capture
• Store Locator
• Product Cross-Sells and Upsells
• Automated Shipment Tracking
• Gift Cards
• Sort by Brand (for resellers selling multiple other brands)
• Composite Products (build-your-own-basket products)
• Deposit Payments (for large product purchases with payment plans)
• Pre-Orders
• Distance Rate Shipping
• Unique Order Barcodes (for ticketing or event purposes)

Yeah, that’s a lot. It just so happens that eCommerce websites are absolute monsters of functionality and all those moving pieces require very specific professional knowhow in order to not break the whole thing. Did we mention we manage stores on retainer agreements?

——————

Process | eCommerce Website Design & Development

Schedule meeting –> identify needs –> find and review examples –> create timeline –> execute design –> revise –> deliver

First, we schedule a meeting (with Jonathan) where we will discuss your business, its needs, and a timeline to achieve them.

Second, we follow along the timeline, typically delivering the home page (which designates look, feel, sitemap, and more) within a week so that we can agree upon the look and feel. From there we knock out the remainder of the site, scheduling meetings or delivering progress videos as needed.

Third, we launch the site and watch your successes grow!

——————

Who is eCommerce Website Design & Development for?

Website design and development is perfect for small businesses of all shapes and sizes. Even if you feel your needs or niches are obscure.

As a business manager or brand owner, you need an eCommerce website that makes an impression (and a sale), but what you may also need is some good old-fashioned customer service for yourself.

Small businesses and eCommerce brands have a lot going on; and when you’re at a committed stage of your business, doing DIY projects often lead to more headache than they’re worth. But you still need a website and want to know what the heck is going on with it. And for those types of businesses, bentcreative is a perfect fit.

——————

What about after the eCommerce website is launched?

You will need hosting, maintenance, and updates. We provide this as an additional service.

We wouldn’t consider ourselves a customer service first agency if we didn’t set you up for success. It’s important to note that you own all rights to your website and its content. You will have full access to the website and connected accounts, and should you like, we will give you a short video tutorial of how to operate your website.

You may also choose bentcreative to operate your website. In which case we will gladly do.

Here are the options, plainly:

• Choose one of our Hosting, Maintenance, & Updates packages OR Retainer Agreements
• We send your website to the hosting provider of your choice

——————

Can I run ads to this eCommerce website?

Yes.

Every single website we develop is optimized for Google/Search Engine searches (aka SEO). We don’t stop there, though. Should you desire your website to be connected to ad services such as Google, Meta, and/or YouTube ads, we will bring that desire to life. In fact, that is our standard practice. Should you want an expert to strategize and run those ads for you, well you’re in luck, because we do that too!

Is Digital Marketing Included?

No.

Digital Marketing requires a whole different set of knowledge than website design or development. It is complimentary, and tangential, yes, however it requires an extra set of hands to make work. It is a clear cut role with its own demanding work load, strategy, and requirements to keep up-to-date with industry standards and market trends. We do offer this as a service, and would be more than happy to take that new website and show it off to the work via Google, Meta, and YouTube Ads.

——————

What happens when my eCommerce business grows?

We offer further development, and retainer agreements.

We offer further development of anything that bentcreative produces, including your eCommerce website. Typically, if your business is gearing up to offer a new service or product, and need updates to the website to reflect this, we typically approach it as a project—or a chunk of time dedicated to building your needs—and this is handled via a similar process as the initial website itself: we meet, discuss your needs, and decide the path forward from there.

——————

What can I do to assist or speed up the process?

Have your creative assets in hand, examples of websites you like, and an understanding of your business needs.

Fantastic question! You’re a winner for asking this one! By far, the longest process involved in development of websites is the handling of creative assets. This means your logo, photography, and brand voice, etc. We require your assets in our hands before we begin development—so if you can have those items generated you will save everyone time and effort. Of course, should you not have those items already, we are happy to create them for you via our other services.

Another thing that will help speed up the process is to have some ideas of the functionality you wish the website to achieve (i.e. we want forms so customers can contact us, we want to collect emails). It’s okay if you don’t have your strategy fully ironed out—we’ll help with that—but having a basic game plan gets us moving quickly.

——————

What other services feed into this one?

Your website is the central hub of your online business. Virtually everything we do feeds into it.

• Logo Design & Graphic Design
• Product Photography (managed by bentcreative)
• Email/Automated Marketing
• Digital Marketing
• Brand Design
• Content Writing
• And more

——————

Are there hidden costs in a eCommerce website?

Yes.

Pretty much no matter what platform you choose, be it WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento etc. you will find quickly that there is quite a bit of yearly cost that is included in running an eCommerce website. The below list will detail this as clearly as possible:

• Security (you’re handling people’s sensitive data)
• Updates to the platform software (usually yearly recurring costs that range from a few hundred to a few thousand)
• Website hosting, & maintenance — a monthly or yearly recurring cost
• Detailed metrics software — data is the new gold and worthwhile softwares that mine it cost money
• Email marketing — other than general mass marketing blasts via 3rd party software
• Payment processor fees — typically in the range of 2.9% to 3.9%
• Further development — usually billed as a project as a one time cost, or in retainer format

While this list is burly, if you’ve ever tried to sell via retail or via distribution you’ll understand how this avenue still nets you the highest margin. Websites can rapidly turn into large investments for businesses, however, we’d say those investments are generally worth the investment as the sectors of the working world and shopping world continue to move digital.