Are you wanting to be your own boss and create an online ecommerce business? Starting an online web site selling products can be a very daunting task, but the following information should guide you in the right direction.
Are you wanting to be your own boss and create an online ecommerce business? Starting an online web site selling products can be a very daunting task, but the following information should guide you in the right direction.
Domain Names & Web Hosting
The first step you must do before anything else is decide on a company name. Think of a company name that has the domain name available. Because of the scarcity of .com names, you may have to become creative. I would not recommend anything other than a .com as it has become the standard. An inexpensive domain name registrar would be Godaddy.
Once you decide on a domain name, you must find a web hosting company that suites your needs as an ecommerce merchant. Most web hosts do not specialize in ecommerce stores, so be sure to find one that can provide you with all the features and services you need. Depending on what kind of shopping cart solution you want to use, you may need to go with a web hosting company that is an all-in-one solution. This is explained in more detail in another shopping cart article.
Web Design
Some all-in-one hosting solutions like the Yahoo Store service allows you to design a web site using its template driven web based design tool. Like everything else in business, if you want to truly succeed, you need a professional company image. To accomplish this, you need a professional looking web site and corporate image. Unless you can do this yourself, it is recommend to hire a web designer. There are countless places to find good web designers, but do some extensive searching online. Prices can range greatly and doing your homework will determine if you get a good deal.
Credit Card Processing & Payment Gateways
Once you have created your online store, you then need to accept credit card. Most online stores also utilize an Internet gateway service that collects the credit card data securely and sends it to your merchant account provider for proper submission to Visa & MasterCard
