Payment method (PayPal, merchant account, etc)

To get the full advantage of a eCommerce website you need to be able to process payments in real-time. This means using PayPal (or similar) or accepting credit cards directly through your website; using a payment gateway. While you can accept cheques or money orders there is no way to process these until they arrive usually by mail then they have to clear your bank account before you actually have the money. Most people start off with PayPal and then get their merchant accounts and start accepting credit cards directly once they have been established for awhile. If you already have a merchant bank account for your business it might be less expensive to take payments that way than using PayPal, which takes a percentage of every transaction.

Products like OSCommerce, CubeCart or Zencart have many payment gateway provider modules so you are able to choose the best one that suits you without having to get a module written for you.

Online presence

Your online presence is more than just your website it is more closely your websites ability to represent your company. A website can be more than just a collection of information about what you do, where you are located and how long you have been in business. With an eCommerce component it can become an integral part of how your company makes money and controls costs. The effective use of your “online presence” will separate you from your competition and set you apart as the leader in the field. Likewise not having an excellent online presence (poor website design, cumbersome to use, unhelpful etc.) can result in failure. The key parts of this are:

1. hosting account – BCwebnet business website hosting we will meet your needs for now and well into the future. Additional space and traffic, advanced servers such as virtualization and dedicated servers are easy to upgrade without downtime.

2. domain name – what’s in a name? Well everything… it should be short, easy to spell and remember, plus if possible have some relevant, to SEO, term in it.

3. website/cart software – One of the products I recommend is ZenCart but phpCOIN might also server your needs.  Either product is good and there are many others and they each have their advantages.  I plan on writing a review of them shortly so what for that.