Set Up An Online Store And Conquer E-commerce.

July 18, 2010 - PRLog -- Set Up An Online Store And Conquer E-commerce.

Are you ready to start making money with an Online Store?  Do you know how e-commerce works?  Ok. So you have a product, or maybe many products, and you want to sell online.  Let’s face it, you hear every day of someone making millions selling online and you may wonder how it’s done.  More importantly, if you can do it too.  

Do you know what a Shopping Cart is? Do you know what a Merchant Account is?

Many who try to establish an online store, ultimately fall short from success.  This is because they have not been educated in proper Internet business practices when creating their website.  Visit us at: http://iwebcreations.com/tutorials/onlinestore.html and access additional information on how to effectively enjoy a prosperous Internet presence.

Contents:

What is an Online Store?
How can E-commerce keep me competitive in my Market?
What is a Shopping Cart?
What kind of Merchant Account do I need?
Should I build my Online Store or allow a web designer to do it?
How much is it all going to cost me?

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of how an Online Store works, let’s be clear about one thing, we are going to be very basic with this tutorial.  We are going to make it very simple, practical and to the point.  Easy to understand and follow along.  

If you’re a Guru making millions from your online store and are the king of e-commerce this is not for you.   However, if you own an online store and are not really selling all that you think you should, then Go ahead and read this e-commerce tutorial.  We may provide insight into things that when applied to your online store may make all the difference in the world.

What is an Online Store?

An Online Store is a website on the Internet where people can purchase goods or services.  Usually there are two types of online stores, selling hard goods or selling information. Hard goods are those that you receive an actual physical item from the online store.  More than likely something will be shipped to you after the sale is completed.  Information is usually sold by downloading information directly into your computer. Such as an e-book or by providing information that can be accessed through a website.  Of course, there are online store that sell both.

What are the components of an Online Store?

A website to display your items and information.  A shopping cart and a merchant account to process the transaction.  The shopping cart allows for the online store to communicate with the merchant account and provide the customer options on shipping, quantities, sizes, etc.  The merchant account allows for customer to use credit cards and other means to purchase from the online store.    

By now, you’re probably wondering website, Shopping Cart, Merchant Account?  You are probably saying I can barely use my computer to open up pictures and write a letter.  How can I learn all this stuff to sell on the Internet?

Don’t worry; there are plenty of geeks like us willing to help you set up your e-commerce.  And at a fraction of the cost compared to a couple of years ago.  It is so affordable to have your online store professionally designed, that it’s not worth doing it yourself.  Even if you are somewhat familiar with the software involved.

How can E-commerce keep me competitive in my Market?   

In a nutshell, if your competition has an online store and you don’t, the probability of them taking your potential customers just went astronomical.  Imagine this; let’s say you sell products on your storefront, your competition sells through their online store.  You are limited to business hours and location, competition is not.  They sell twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year including holidays, to the entire world.   And in addition to that their chances for repeat orders and up selling are so good, that online stores with properly configured shopping carts, do this automatically.  And with no effort in the owner’s part.  Can you say lots of potential customers?

What is a Shopping Cart?

A shopping cart is a tool that makes possible the interaction between customer and the online store.  A shopping cart communicates with the merchant account and allows the customer to pay for products or services using a credit card, an e-check, pay pal or any other payment means.   Also, a shopping cart allows the client to make specific choices on the products.  For example, if you sell t-shirts through your online store, the shopping cart can be configured to allow the client to choose size and color.  If you sell information, the shopping cart can be configured to allow the client to download the information into their computer or refer the customer to a website to access the information.

There are two types of shopping carts.  One is a self hosted shopping cart and the other is a hosted shopping cart.  As it implies a self hosted shopping cart, is design by you and resides in your own server.  A hosted shopping cart is one that is partially pre-designed and hosted by someone else.  In our opinion, the days of designing and hosting your own shopping cart are over.  Only a small percentage of all new online stores will go with a self hosted shopping cart.  The affordability factor of a hosted shopping cart, along with the number of components already built in, makes it impractical to build one from the ground up and maintain it.

What kind of Merchant Account do I need?

A Merchant Account is nothing more than an agreement between the online store, a bank and a payment processor to settle transactions.  The Merchant Account allows the purchase to take place in real time.  This is done by validating the payment instrument and the transaction of funds taking place.  This is all accomplished through a payment gateway.  A payment gateway is the equivalent of the point of sale (POS) terminal you see at retail stores. This is where customers swipe their credit cards to conduct payment transactions.  The gateway allows for information to flow from the shopping cart to the authorizing bank.  Merchant accounts for online stores usually carry slightly higher fees per transaction.

Should I build my Online Store or allow a web designer to do it?

Ask yourself this question, is your online store going to look more or less professional if a web designer builds it?  Do you have the expertise to incorporate your website, shopping cart and merchant account together?  Does it make sense for you to start building your e-commerce store to find out in the middle of the process, that you lack the expertise and must hire a web designer to finish the project?  Bottom line is money, isn’t it?  You know it makes sense to hire a web designer to build your online store and to maintain it.  However, in the back of your mind you are thinking, this sound expensive and out of reach for me at the moment.  Here is the kicker…most people that try to build their own stores could afford to have it done by a professional. They were oblivious of the cost but did not bother to ask.  Now, listen to this very carefully, the average cost of an online store is less than one hundred dollars a month to operate and as low as four hundred dollars to have professionally designed.

How much is my online store going to cost me?

It’s hard to say.  Building an online store is much like building a brick and mortar store.  You can build a simple store or you can build Amazon.com.  You can have one to two products, or hundredth of products.   Your specific needs are going to determine the cost.  Perhaps you will sell the same item and never need to make changes or maybe you are going to sell unique items that change all the time and consequently your online store needs constant revision.

Simply stated, taking advantage of e-commerce and owning your own online store to sell services or products has never been easier and more rewarding.

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Iweb Inc. Based in Miami, Florida, http://iwebcreations.com offers you a local, affordable, end-to-end solution for establishing and sustaining an effective, results-driven Internet presence. When you work with us, you are able to concentrate on your core business and avoid the high costs and technical challenges of managing an Internet presence in-home.