The cost, effectiveness and setup of web pages appear to be problem areas for a lot of boutique owners out there. Yet with the right advice, design and up-keep, an online site can become the most effective and profitable part of your business.
John O’Dwyer from web design company Simplicity has been designing web pages for businesses up and down the country for over eight years. "We are setting up a couple of web pages for a good client to help with distribution of some sports products and this is an £800 piece for a few days work. But the biggest projects can run for 6 months and cost £50K+." Said John.
He was also quick to point out some of the dangers that can face boutique owners starting their own websites, "It is very easy to set up a bad site, an online retailer should take as much care over their online presence as they would take over their shop window. There is so much more choice on the web that the site has to so much more than work properly, the site must push all the right buttons."
Cost and timing appear straight away to be the main two stumbling blocks. Yet often, these threats can often be over stated and easy to negotiate. "The ideal client will be passionate, creative, open-minded and be able to make time for the project. There are good, cheap, web-based services emerging but these only cater for the low-end customers and don’t really help the business that wants something a little different to stand out from the crowd."John added.
Your input is up to. It’s as simple as that. You can have as little or as much influence on it as you wish. Web design companies such as Simplicity will do all the ‘leg work’ for you John explains, "The key is to research companies before you contact them, look at their reputation and portfolios before deciding on the one you want. Simply googling for designers is not enough."
What, on the surface, appears to be a complex mine-field that you have to go through on your way to establishing your business on the web, can be easily negotiated with the right help and advice. Web consultants such as Simplicity, can provide the bridge that you need to the world wide web and get you involved in E-tailing and hopefully, grab you a piece of the seven billion pound pie.
One of the boutique businesses that Simplicity have set web pages up for is Loula’s Boutique. The company opened their website in December 2005 and solely trade online. Founder of the company and site, Louise Campbell, believes that it is a sound choice to make converting to online, "If you are experienced in your field then there is no reason why you should not take it a step further. Either from the high street to the web or vice-versa. Stick to what you know and take it that one step further."
Louise wanted to set up the online boutique as a combination of her two loves, jewellery and graphic design. John: "We introduce a system for some clients that allows them to go in alter their pages as and when they want. This lets them change the make-up of their pages day by day."
She said, "Sales wise, we get most of our custom from UK, Ireland and Germany. Our back end check-out system was set up by Simplicity and the payments received are by Pay Pal. From there we process orders by hand and use Royal Mail special delivery as postage."
James Parr