eCommerce websites – a model for publishers
By now, everyone knows that Robert Galbraith, whose ‘debut’ novel The Cuckoo’s Calling was published in April, is a pseudonym for JK Rowling. But out there, on the street, does anyone know the name of the publisher of this title? Similarly, most people know that Fifty Shades of Grey, the runaway hit last year, was written by EL James, but out there, on the street, can anyone tell you the name of the publisher? Publishing professionals would have no difficulty naming these publishers. Neither would most authors, for whom the publisher name – brand – is all important. The highest accolade any author seeks is to be published by a renowned publishing house. And thus the best brands attract the best authors.
That is how it’s always been. But now there is a new imperative – publishers need to attract readers, the best readers – i.e., the ones who buy books. Better still, the ones who browse first, and then buy. As physical bookshops close and online ones take off, publishers must make the online browsing and buying experience as good as it can possibly be, so that readers enjoy the experience and come back for more. Outcome? The next time they recommend a book to someone, they name the author, the title and the publisher. And thus enhance brand recognition.
At Firsty we’ve been creating eCommerce websites for companies for 14 years, with the primary focus in recent years being on creating websites for publishers that are easy to manage, strengthen their brand image and attract readers. Alongside that, we’ve built up extensive expertise in eBook and book app creation. So we not only know a lot about eCommerce and website development, we also understand the challenges facing publishers and the digital solutions that best meet those challenges, including eBookstores that allow them to display, promote and sell their titles and provide readers with an enjoyable and interactive experience.
There are many platforms out there that Firsty could use to create eCommerce sites for publishers, but in our experience few match Magento®, a scalable platform giving publishers complete flexibility and control over presentation, content and functionality. The modular and configurable nature of this robust platform means that it offers not only the standard features of an eCommerce website, but also the flexibility to add features with ease in the future, making the site future-proof.
We list here some of these features – the standard ones briefly, and then the add-on ones a little more fully. To make it easier to see how this all works, we’ve created a diagrammatic model of a Firsty eCommerce site for publishers.
Standard features:
- Commission, discount and payout management
- Account management
- Banner and link management
- Transaction management
- Payment management
- Voucher codes and bundled products
- Multiple merchant accounts inc. PayPal
Optional add-on features:
- DRM: site integrated with Firsty’s Adobe Content Server 4 (ACS4) for strict DRM sales, and/or with our digital watermarking facility for social DRM sales
- Distribution: eBook orders fulfilled and managed by our ACS4; print book orders fulfilled via a feed integrated with the publisher’s distribution system
- Onix importer: we have developed a module for integrating Onix feeds into Magento for managing publishers’ book data; the Onix feed can run daily or weekly
- Responsive Web Design (RWD): site designed and built to provide an optimal viewing experience (easy reading and navigation; minimum resizing, panning and scrolling) across many devices, from desktop monitors to tablets and smartphones
- Affiliate Plus Extension Module: a module enabling local or specialist booksellers to resell publishers’ digital content, based on the booksellers selling eBooks from their websites and sharing the revenue on each title with the publisher
- Enhanced book search: we have enhanced the standard search to meet publishers’ specific needs and to increase the precision of search results; publishers can also have an advanced search facility to filter content
- Browser-based reading (in development): gives users access to a personalised bookshelf via their browser and the ability to read ePub eBooks on any device with a compatible browser; it also caters for subscription-based reading, which is ideal for educational publishers
We’ve only highlighted a few add-ons here, there are many more and we’re adding to the list of add-ons all the time. So if what you’re looking for isn’t listed here, why not call us to see if we can offer it? If we can’t do so immediately, we’ll almost certainly be able to do so soon.
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