Lots of the early webshop adapters have invested in their systems several years ago. Often they reached good to excellent results. But will it stay it that way? Of course not. The world is changing  as we speak, ehh.. write, so also the webshop keeper must stay focussed and contantly improve the website itself and the content that it is delivering. So, as in the 'old economy', first analyze if there's room for improvement in the market you're active in. If you would realize a, let's say, 3% revenue growth, would that mean a difference? Would you be able to spend money on reaching such a target? If the answer is yes, then please read on. If the answer is no, then I advice you to rethink your market strategy first. :)

Step 1: Analyse

You noticed it didn't you? We more or less already took the first step: analyse your market and define the budget available based on a realistic store growth.

Step 2: Change or rebuild?

In the second step we must decide how to change: is the current platform/CMS still going strong? Can we modernize the look and feel by simply changing to a new template? Can we add the functionality that visitors nowadays expect rather easily? If yes, great, cause it will mostly need a smaller investment. But don't do any home improvement when you already know that the foundation is not trustworthy anymore. Taking this decision can be a difficult one. How do you know if your current system will still be able to help you in the changing environment. Well, of course you can ask your vendor for their future plans. Are they keeping up with latest changes like blogging, twittering and other social media? Of course you can also use Google to find out more. Finally, make a list of your requirements and wishes. It will make it easier to take a decision. 

Step 3: Selecting a new CMS

You may skip this step if you decided to stick with the existing solution. Consider asking a consultant for help that knows the market very well. Keep in mind that in such a case it's better to have an independent consultant, so that you are sure that he or she will not give you the best offer - for themselves. In here your list of requirements will be very helpful. Without it, wou could only make a selection based on pricing or the vendor.

Step 4:  Create a shortlist and decide

 Now try lowering down the number of options. With your checklist, pricing against budget and vendor rating it should be possible to create a shortlist of possibilities of let's say 3 or 4 solutions. Ask for quotes and a presentation of the vendor and offered solution. Open source on your shortlist? No problem of course, but still find a partner with the know-how and experience with that product. 

Step 5:  Contract time

Whether you've chosen to rebuild using a new CMS or finetune the existing one, at a certain moment you'll have to close a contract. Assuming that you'll not create every single line of code completely yourself ;)

 Ask for a fixed price for the project! But be careful, everything that was not explicitly mentioned in the offer will be charged afterwards. At least also make an agreement about the procedure to follow when something must be created out of contract. This will prevent that you'll receive a surprise invoice just because someone within your company told the design agency that 'they really needed it'. So make this a formal procedure, it's simply better for your wallet.

Step 6: Plan and set deadlines

Simple step right? But what if the deadlines are not met? Are they realistic? Also for your own organization? Create a schedule for status update meetings and take formal notes during those converstations. Too formal? Well, that depends on yourself. But even if your e-commerce project is a one-man-show it is still beneficial to be able to check later on what was agreed on exactly and who said what.

Step 7:  first test

Somewhere in time your project will be delivered. Great, it is finished!  Really, well you'll notice that not everything is what you expected. Why's that? Here's where the fun starts. Your testing process is one of the most important parts of your project, I'm convinced about that. Did you know that testing is actually a profession? So shortly, back to step 6: how much time did you put in for the test phase? Ahhh, right... I would at least double that :)

Step 8: test again

Step 9: test again. Really.

Step 10: Go-live

Yiewhooh, it took you some effort, sweat and tears, but your project is finished and ready to go live. Go ahead. Oh, just one more thing: do not forget the backout plan. The what? Yes, you need a plan B in case something goes wrong. Especially when you have also offline marketing actions combined with the go-live of the new site. So, still some errors or problems. Please make sure that your contract created during step 5 covers it. Otherwise you'll be arguing about the money in stead of fixing the problem. And problems you will have. It will only be less if you carefullly took all the steps I just wrote about.

By the way, how long will it take, such a change? That of course completely depends on the complexity of your project, your budget and the size of your organisation. But I would make sure that you reserve enough time and include some more just in case... Did you completely lose faith now after this article? Doesn't have to be, believe me. You may contact us as well of course ;)

Good luck!