Business

Quick Query: Network Solutions Exec Discusses Retooled Shopping Cart

There was a time, in the 1990s, when the only place to buy a domain name was at Network Solutions. That storied company has since had its ups and downs, but no one disputes the pioneering nature of its products. Recently, Network Solutions redesigned and repositioned its website and its product offerings. This includes its newly named shopping cart, nsCommerceSpace.

Julia Dalton is senior product manager with Network Solutions and she talks about the company’s latest advances.

PeC: Tell us about your newly retooled shopping cart.

Dalton “The new package is geared towards merchants who are just getting started. Our software is now called nsCommerceSpace and we offer three packages to suit merchants of any size. One of the best changes is that the feature set across all of the packages is pretty consistent. The only major distinction really is the number of products that you need to manage. So, as merchants’ businesses grow and expand, our software can grow with them without the need of them getting familiar with a new system or a new platform.

“nsCommerceSpace is a hosted solution. We offer monthly packages and we also have pricing for annual terms if you want to purchase for a year or two. The payment is pretty flexible to what your business can accommodate. You’ll get better pricing [annually], but for some people going month-to-month is really the best option.”

PeC: A few years ago, your company acquired MonsterCommerce, an early-day shopping cart. Why did you change the name from MonsterCommerce?

Dalton “The MonsterCommerce brand carried a lot of recognition in the market, but it became increasingly clear that our customers and prospects were unsure of the relationship between the MonsterCommerce software in Network Solutions. So to alleviate some of that confusion and allow improved bundling of our services, as well as kind of an overall product support, we made the decision to position the ecommerce product as part of the Network Solutions product suite and not as its own branded solution. Now all of our products are under one brand umbrella, so we can really focus our marketing efforts there.”

PeC: Why should a merchant use nsCommerceSpace?

Dalton “nsCommerceSpace is really one of, if not the best, SEO carts in the business. With every feature and new piece of functionality that we release, we consider the SEO impact. Our software code is very search engine friendly. We have a number of features, including customizable URLs that really give merchants an edge on getting higher rankings.

“In addition, we are one of the first full-service ecommerce software providers to comply with the PCI [payment card industry] standards for protecting cardholder data, and each of our packages comes with a 128 bit SSL security.”

PeC: How many users does your shopping cart have?

Dalton “To date, we power over 12,000 users in various package levels.”

PeC: Network Solutions has been sold three times since the year 2000. Who owns the company now?

Dalton “General Atlantic, a private equity firm. They acquired it in 2007 from Najafi Companies.”

PeC: Anything else on your mind for our readers today?

Dalton “There has really never been a better time to start a business or expand your business online. Bringing your business online is the less expensive, less risky alternative to going out and starting a brick-and-mortar business, but it has just as much opportunity. If you are already online and you are looking for ways to ramp up your sales, the best thing to do is to go where your customers are searching.

“Review your products and determine if there are keywords that you’re missing out on. That could really drive your sales if your business came up in those [organic search] results. Once you identify where your potential customers are searching, you can try a combination of online marketing techniques whether it’s SEO, PPC [pay-per-click], or other online marketing avenues to drive targeted customers to your store.”

PEC Staff
PEC Staff
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