Starting an online e-business? Faced with deciphering the countless possibilities of custom features for your website, it can be really confusing! There are just so many options and so much slang.

Where the Heck Do I Start?

So, what’s out there? Let’s start by going over some of the more common options for your e-business.

Web site features are limited only by imagination, time and money. As with any other business decision, features should be implemented based on return on investment (ROI). In internet terms, ROI often means “traffic”. Some of the major fields of web site features include blogs, wikis, stores, auctions, forums, articles, directories, news, and entertainment.

Blogs

Blogs are the easiest way to publish articles without knowing HTML, although it is helpful. Articles are often called “posts”. You can write the posts yourself, advertise for additional writers or hire ghost writers. “Content is King” when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Generating articles on a regular basis is a splendid way to generate higher search engine rankings.

Wikis

Yes, the spelling is correct (but it could change tomorrow). Wikis allow users to edit and generate content. Heard of Wikipedia? It’s the king of wikis, although there are countless other wiki softwares.

User-generated content is a great way of offering interactivity to website visitors, allowing them to become “experts” while creating content for free. It’s a win-win and what could be better than that? Users like you, search engines love you.

Stores

Who hasn’t shopped online these days? Online stores not only sell products, but also easily interact as a Point Of Sale (POS) services. Often, online stores can be integrated with other inventory, shipping and POS services (imagine you have a brick’n'mortor store). You can even hook them up to your bank account. Refunds are usually manual, so there’s so worry there. Check the transaction rates though, some are better than others.

Your business model determines your vendor as well. If you’re selling a shirt at a time, a higher per-transaction fee like 2checkout.com may be better than a monthly cost. If you’re in a high-volume e-business, monthly fees with lower transaction costs like Authorize.net may be a better bet. Rumor is that Google is offering free transactions for 2007…

Be sure to pick a reputable payment gateway provider. The universal rule applies. We get what we pay for, unless Google can gain marketshare.

Catalogs

Online store software can be repurposed to act as a catalog. Catalog type ecommerce sites provide listings of categorized products that can be purchased for a fixed amount or for a call-for-price. Sometimes a shopping cart is employed which allows visitors to select multiple items for purchase. The same integration with POS and inventory systems applies but depends on your programmer and systems (see Stores above).

Reusing online store software for catalogs is often the most effective method for putting your catalog online.

Auctions

If you haven’t heard of Ebay, get out from under your boulder. Auctions have been around for around 10 years. EBay started in 1995 and allows visitors to bid on items; the highest bidder wins the auctions. Ebay is just the most famous action site. There are countless others selling off used niche equipment, travel deals, concert tickets and too many other things to mention.

Auctions often have a price reserve, have a time limit and also sometimes have a buy now button. A buy now button is a button that allows a bidder to end the auction and guarantee purchase by paying a set fixed price.

Forums

Forums are message boards that allow your visitors to post messages on your web site and interact with other visitors. Some of the most popular forum softwares are VBulletin, phpBB and bbPress. An advantage of forums is that can they can generate a lot of traffic, bringing visitors back to your site time and time again to post and follow conversations.

If done correctly, forums can also provide large amounts of content for search engines to spider. The down side of forums is that they can make your site look unimportant and undesireable if no one is using them. It is wise to have forums moderated so that people don’t spam and dilute the topics on your site, so they require a little overhead.

It can also be tricky to build up traffic on forums if you employ them at the start. Interestingly, there are also companies that offer services to keep your forums active or get them jump-started. These types of services can help you get your forum off the ground, but are best used after building up enough traffic to sustain the momentum.

Articles

Articles are a concise way to convey information and provide a reason for web surfers to come to your site. In addition to providing a valuable resource to your web visitors, articles also provide content for search engine bots to spider. Adding articles to a site is essential in many SEO strategies.

I mentioned blogs earlier, but that is only one way to add articles to your site. You can also purchase or reprint articles (with source information intact) from several free resources.

Directories

Directories categorize other web sites, businesses or just about anything. Some directories are huge, like Yahoo!, while others may be very small and specific only to a small target audience.

Directories are often sold as a part of SEO to potential listers. They also turn up in search engines and generate ad-revenue for owners. If you have a niche directory, all the better! Niche directories can often be quite useful to web visitors, particularly if the directory includes editor reviews, ratings and/or recommendations.

News

News sites generally have articles on current events. They are generally updated often and have search functions by which archives can be retrieved. An advantage of a news site is that often audiences return daily, granted the site is consistently updated. A disadvantage is the need to constantly update the site.

Entertainment

Video

Video can be delivered over the Internet in a variety of ways. Some of the most popular methods are Flash, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer and Quick Time, though there are many others. Quicktime and Flash are definately the most cross-platform friendly. No, not everyone works on Windows!

Short clips are generally broadcast over the Internet due to cost and bandwidth restrictions. As broadband penetration continues to increase and bandwidth costs decrease, more and more sites are broadcasting full-length shows and movies.

Music

Like video, music can be broadcast in a variety of forms. Many band sites are now allowing downloads of their songs in MP3 format or samples. This can be a huge promotional tool.

PodCasts

PodCasts are a lot like short radio shows and music. Usually, podcasts are 30 minutes or so recordings in MP3 format. There are many softwares out there to record podcasts, including Skype. Technically, you could record a Skype conversation and broadcast it on the web as a podcast.

Games

The Internet has provided gamers a huge variety of options. Games can cost any where from free, to pay as you go, to a one time payment to subscription fees. Game sites often have loyal followings that come back time and time again, making the audience prime for advertising.

Games can be used in Ads or in Forums to retain visitors or gain quick attention. Often they are used for entertainment or political statements.

Consult An Experienced Professional and Trust Your Users

Many businesses have yet to fully explore the possibilities of their web sites and the Internet. While other businesses see a quick end to their vision by over-doing it from the start.

Many sites will utilize many of these different web site features to create powerful and lasting experiences. Often these features are combined to create a unique and interactive experience for users.

Hiring a consultant or programmer is a lot like hiring a builder for your home. An experienced developer has built enough sites to help guide you in what will give you the most bang for your buck, but your users get the final say. What makes them come back and visit more often? What keeps them on your site?

This information, along with your own business sense, can guide you in building your successful e-business.