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Getting Started with Ecommerce

  • October 5th, 2007

Starting an ecommerce site or online store may not be as difficult as you think. Of course, there are those “ready-made” online stores where you pay a fairly hefty monthly fee and much of the behind the scenes stuff like accepting credit card payments is all done without any interaction from you. But if you’re like me, you don’t want to pay the hefty monthly fee. And you’d rather have more control over your web site and how it operates than the average “package-deal” online store offers. So if you’re wondering what’s involved in setting up your own web store, here are a few tips.

First, of course, you’ll need some products to sell.

Second, you’ll need a hosting provider. Make sure they offer you a dedicated IP address, as well as database capability.

Third, you’ll need some good, inexpensive ecommerce software to run the backend of your store. You could use a free program such as OsCommerce, but I don’t recommend this as it is unecessarily complicated. Also, with free software, no one is getting paid to support you. I highly recommend EcommerceTemplates. I’ve been using their software on my own sites and on client sites for several years now. The functionality is great and the support is just phenomenal. Prices are around $159, which includes 6 months of free updates. Updates cost just $29.95 per six months after the free period, which you are free to take or leave (though I highly recommend keeping your software up to date). The templates are available for Dreamweaver, FrontPage, and GoLive. There is also a CSS-based version that can be used with any web editing software.

Fourth, you’ll need a payment gateway. Google Checkout currently offers FREE payment processing (no monthly fees and no transaction fees). Other choices are Authorize.net, PayPal Pro, LinkPoint, NetBanx, etc. (all those mentioned work with EcommerceTemplates out of the box, besides several more).

Fifth, you will need a method for performing secure transactions on your web site. Many hosting providers will allow you to “share” a secure certificate, but I highly recommend purchasing your own certificate from a third party such as Network Solutions, Comodo, Thawte, Verisign, GeoTrust or any of several other companies. Just make sure they provide you with a “seal of trust” or “trust logo” that you can display on your site to show your customers that your site is secured using the latest encryption technology. Very often, clicking these logos or seals provides the user with live verification that the site is authentic and safe. This builds customer trust.

And that’s it! Mix these ingredients together and you can have your own fully customizable online store with very few (if any) recurring costs.

And remember, because we use the EcommerceTemplates software on our own sites and on client sites, we can help you with almost any aspect of setting up and maintaining your online store.

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