White label sites jumpstart Web biz

White label sites help companies or individuals interested in starting a Web business to get to market faster by providing ready-made sites which customers can just include their branding and content, industry players stated

Michael Ho, director of E-commerce.sg, a Singapore-based white label site provider, said that custom-made e-commerce Web sites would be a lot more costly and time-consuming to create compared to a ready-made site. Additionally, custom site creators would need to make sure that the coding is correct and test for bugs and this would mean more time to get to market, he noted during a phone interview with ZDNet Asia.

Based on users of its platform, he noted that companies making use of white label e-commerce sites tend to target the consumer segment, such as those selling jewelry, fashion and cars. This is because such platforms would include features such as shopping carts, shipping and tax calculators, payment gateways and inventory management, he noted.

There are currently "a couple of hundred" users on its platform, the director added.

Meeting IT, marketing skills needs
Louisa Page, a public relations executive at WhiteLabelDating.com, added that companies can worry less about having to hire IT professionals to maintain the site by using white label sites.

This is because providers such as WhiteLabelDating.com would have dedicated in-house teams of Web developers who are responsible for keeping the site "performing at its best", while also adding new features and functionalities periodically, she noted.

The company allows its partners to set up their own-branded online dating sites using its platform, which comes with provisioning of backend system requirements and software, billing and customer support, Page said.

Ho also said its content management system allow companies to produce customized content for their Web sites without much IT knowledge. This would help save costs, too, as they would not need to hire skilled workers to maintain the Web site, he added.

As for marketing, Ho noted that some companies do face challenges in promoting their Web presence. This, however, can be mitigated using marketing strategies such as pay-per-click advertising and search engine optimization, he said.

Page concurred, adding that for customers struggling in this aspect, they can call on a Google AdWords professional for support and advice when they sign up for the white label service.