Creative Spark Solutions

Umesh Sethi, is owner at Head of web development at Creative Spark Solutions, a company which is in the field of e-commerce and web solutions since last 8 years. We have conducted a short interview with him:

What is the most important element of a great e-commerce website?

A great e-commerce website is one which is user friendly, is secure, attracts traffic and is search engine friendly. An impressive design will be also be helpful. You will notice I have given more importance to user friendliness, security and attracting traffic because practically speaking these would be the most important elements. The main goal of the e-commerce website is attract those who are searching to buy your type of product to your site, provide them with the choices and the offers and convert it into a sale. It is these practical aspects we consider when implementing e-commerce solutions.

For start-ups, what are the services you offer? And what value do they get if they engage your services as compared to your competitors?

Creative Spark prides itself in offering e-commerce and web development solutions in all ranges and budgets and so if you're a start up online retailer having a tight budget, we can help you. For example we are on of the few yahoo store development company providing a customized yahoo store implementation under $1000. Another thing we help start ups is being a one stop shop for all services they may require - e commerce, web design, logo design, hosting, online marketing and hence saving them money.

Start ups and small business get more value with us because we bring professional web development at budget prices. For instance you'll find on our web site's home page the promises we make such as: web sites developed only after requirement sheet sign off, mock ups before committing to the web site design. We also provide easier payment milestones linked to the final delivery of the e-commerce project or web site.

What are the current demands from content management systems? Can you show us an example of your work in content management system which you like?

Content management websites, especially Joomla websites are growing quicker than ever. The demands from content management system currently include higher level of security, easier management and up-gradation and increasing use of social components. We're Joomla CMS web developers and we are finding that Joomla update cycles are becoming shorter. This means exciting and newer versions more frequently and security issues tackled quickly. We also find that newer add on components are emerging which embrace social marketing features. An example of a CMS powered web site developed by us is www.acaci.in which is an Anti corruption organization web site which has enabled them to reach out to thousands of people in India and spread their message.

Your company appears to specialize in e-commerce / shopping cart implementation ? Which shopping cart do you prescribe and why?

Well, there is no one specific shopping cart that will fit all projects. We have worked on nearly 15 different shopping carts apart from custom in-house developed shopping cart so we know that the correct e-commerce solution to use will depend on the unique needs of a customer. In simple term what this means is that the client's budget and his goals decide the solution we use. It also depends on the features a client requires in his web site and how critical they are to him. For instance some clients want a medium budget e-commerce solution and need both a wish list and gift registry implementation. Whereas wish list is available in many e-commerce implementations, gift registry isn't, so we will accordingly guide them which solution is best. Some clients also have technology specifications such as they require a cart on microsoft platform (asp.net mainly) only and here too we will suggest the right shopping cart. This is basically our biggest differentiation factor as well. Since our experience is not limited to one or two shopping carts or one specific technology, our clients can be rest assured that the e commerce web site developed for them will be the best fit for their specific needs.

What would you advise aspiring online business owners when working with technology companies such as yours?

To aspiring online business owners I would say that getting your business online has never been easier. It is not as complicated as it looks, all you need to do is check out your competitors, other business websites you like and develop a small document (even a 1 page document will do) which we call an RFP (A request for proposal). Use this one document to build on your web site requirements and hire an e commerce solution company that can provide you clear communication on how , when, at what cost will they do your work. They should also be able to provide examples of their work. Please also have an online marketing plan in place because simply getting your business online will not be the end of it, you do need to get visitors to your web site. Plan on all these aspects and I am sure your e-commerce business will be a roaring success.