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A TO Z e-COMMERCE ON THE WEB

Here are the simple steps to get started.

Set up a web site
1. Select an ISP
2. Register a domain
3. Build the site

ISP fees can cost around $20/month and up. Some companies offer shopping cart services but they must host your site for a fee.

• Need a shopping cart program on your site
CGI based shopping cart programs can be found on the web for free, but you need to know how to do the programming side of it. Pre-fab Shopping cart programs such as Miva and e-Vendor with easy user interface can cost from $75.00 and up.

• Need a merchant account
Merchant accounts to process credit cards on the web are similar to merchant account used to process credit cards at you r brick and mortar store. There are only certain companies that do this and your bank may or may not provide this service. The fees to set up a merchant account start $195.00 (gotmerchant.com) One day to one month set up time.

• Need access to process credit cards
Companies on the web that process credit card information are VeriSign.com and Paypal.com. They usually cost a monthly fee and some take a per-transaction fees as well.

E-commerce checklist

If e-commerce is in your company's future, there are a number of things You will have to figure out before setting up shop online:

Payment processing: This means accepting credit cards online. In turn, it means having a merchant account or an agent who can handle credit card orders for you.

Order Fulfillment: Can you deliver the goods? Is your distribution system capable of handling high order volume, if you should be so lucky? If you are selling 8 products a week, you and one employee could handle the whole thing, if on the other hand you are selling 55 products a day you might require having a whole department dedicated to fulfilling orders.

Customer service: Can you handle customer complaints and returns? Do you have staff to answer customer questions in real time? Poor customer service is one of the biggest gripes online consumers have with Web shopping today.

Marketing: Getting the word out successfully is perhaps the biggest challenge of building a successful e-commerce business. Traditional advertising and direct marketing are still the biggest returns, All though, email campaigns and internet advertising are greatly gaining ground. Last but not least there is SEO (Search Engine Optimization), this is cruicial for people searching on the web to find your site.

Build or Buy?

How should you build your e-commerce site? You have three basic options:

1. Build it from scratch.
2. Use a software package.
3. Rent an e-commerce solution.

Alternatively, a number of "e-commerce in a box" software products are available. They use templates to guide you step-by-step through the process of setting up an e-commerce site. Two such products are AbleCommerce and Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition. These packages run anywhere from $1,000 to several times that amount. In addition, you must pay for hosting and site maintenance.

E-Commerce Services
Here are few examples of companies offering e-commerce solutions.

Bigstep.com » Free site and storefront development. Credit card processing starts at $44.90 a month.

EarthLink e-Commerce Solutions » Costs here range from $40 for 10 items for sale to $250 per month for an unlimited number.

Freemerchant.com » Four Store packages starting at 14.95 (plus $25.00 start up fee) to 100 per month. A variety of other services available.

GoBizGo » From free for a starter kit to $19.95 per month.

IBM e-commerce Solutions » Must request via email for pricing.

WhereoWare.com » For retail and suppliers starting @24.95 per month.

Yahoo Store » Unlimited products but with a price. Starts with a $49.95 hosting fee, and a .10¬¢ transaction fee, plus a 3.5% revenue share from any sell via yahoo networks.