How to set up an internet business? (Step 8-10)

How to set up an internet business? (Step 1-3) How to set up an internet business? (Step 4-5) How to set up an internet business? (Step 6-7)



Step 8: Start to build your storefront



You need to have a shopping cart to allow online shopping customers to place items in the cart. Upon checkout, the software typically calculates a total for the order, including shipping and handling (i.e. postage and packing) charges and the associated taxes, as applicable. 

Firstly, let me explain a little bit more shopping cart software. 

Shopping cart software can be generally categorized into two models. 

Licensed shopping cart software: Licensed shopping cart software is downloaded and then installed on a Web server. This is most often associated with a one-time fee. The main advantages of this option are that the merchant owns a license and therefore can host it on any Web server that meets the server requirements, and that the source code can often be accessed and edited to customize the application. 

Hosted shopping cart service: Hosted shopping cart service is never downloaded, but rather is provided by a hosted service provider (e.g. ProStores, Yahoo!, and GoDaddy.com, 1&1 Business eShop, to name a few), and is generally paid for on a monthly/annual basis; also known as the Application Service Provider (ASP) software model. 

Some of these service providers also charge a percentage of sales (normally know as “trasaction fee”) in addition to the monthly fee. This model often has predefined templates that a user can choose from to customize their look and feel. 

In my opinion, if you want a truly professional-looking online store with many powerful functions (such as Cross Sell, Advanced Research, Link Manager and etc), you need to hire a professional to design and install the shopping cart for you. 

Yes, you need to pay a one-time fee, depending on the complexity and requirement, for his professional work, but you will be much happier with your professional-looking online store, and the convenience and freedom to use, manage and fully control it in the future. 

If you sell high-end products/services, you definitely need a beautifully-designed, powerful and stable online store to match your products/service. Plus, not all hosted shopping cart service is cheap. Some advanced hosted shopping cart services actually are quite pricy, ranging from $249.99-$299.99 a month, not to mention the transaction fee you have to pay for each single sale. 

If you just need a simple and functional online store, or if the sales don’t reach a huge amount of volume yet, it is better to use hosted shopping cart service (e.g. ProStores, Yahoo!, and GoDaddy.com, 1&1 Business eShop, to name a few). Another point is, in this model, users typically trade less ability to modify or customize the software with the advantage of having the vendor taking care of all the software updates as well as security issures. 

You need to follow the manuals (PDF files, audios, videos) provided by the hosting company to link the storefront with website pages, set up your store preferences (general, billing, shipping, sales tax, and etc), import products information and images via Setup Wizard, test and publish live. 

Like I mentioned before, if you know little about website building, shopping cart software, or don’t want to get involved with coding, the hosted shopping cart service with pre-designed templates/themes provides you such convenience. 






Step 9: Set up online payment systems 

Before you launch your internet business, the last step is to set up online payment systems to give customers the ability to pay for your products/services. Most hosted shopping card service, provided by whole package hosting companies (e.g. ProStores, Yahoo!, and GoDaddy.com, 1&1 Business eShop, to name a few), have already installed these online payment systems for you. If you hire a professional to design and install a licensed shopping cart, these online payment systems should be included into the codes. 

Let me talk about several major online payment systems in details: 



No. 1: Credit Cards 

In order to accept credit card payments online, you need to have a Card Non Present (CNP) Merchant Account. A CNP account is received by merchants to receive payment via the Internet or in situation when a payment is not physically presented to the merchant by a customer at the time of the transaction (e.g. online order, telephone order). 

You can apply a CNP merchant account through a merchant bank, Merchant Service Provider (MSP), or an Independent Sales Organization (ISO). 

Normally, obtaining a merchant account is not free, involving a variety of fees. Some fees are charged on a monthly basis but most are charged on a per-item or percentage basis. All of the monthly fees are at the discretion of the MSP, but the majority of the per-item and percentage fees are passed through the MSP to the issuing bank, normalled called “Interchange fees”, which are set by Visa and Mastercard. 

After you establish a CNP merchant account, you then need a Payment Gateway Account. A payment gateway account is the online credit card processor or transaction handler which is capable of hooking into credit card accounts belonging to the online shopper and the merchant's CNP merchant account. The payment gateway handles the verification and transfer requests. The term account when used with "payment gateway" is not a funds holding account but rather a "service account" that typically has a log in where you can configure your payment gateway settings. 


No. 2: Alternative online payment gateways 

If you just need establish your internet business and don’t have too much sales yet, it is more cost effectively to use alternative online payment gateways like PayPal, Most of these alternatives don’t charge an expensive one-time set-up fee, and application is much simpler. However, customers have to leave your website and go to the linked website of these alternatives to pay. 

PayPal: 
Paypal is one of the most widely accepted online payment gateway in the world, with 100 millions accounts globally. PayPal provides 24/7 transaction monitoring, worldwide fraud specialists, cutting-edge fraud Models and its own verification system. Credit card or banking information is encrypted by PayPal, so that customers can get 100% protection from PayPal and additional coverage for transactions from its purchase protection programs. 

The best part is, when you signup for Paypal, you can start accepting credit card payments online right away. 

ClickBank:
ClickBank provides state of the art security, robust tracking and reporting, superior customer service, one of the easiest and cheapest way to accept online payment from your online store in real time. The best part is, ClickBank charges no monthly fee. 

2checkout:
2checkout is another authorized retailer or out-sourced vendor solution. It works with existing shopping carts, great for both simple and complicated websites. The best part is, 2checkout has no term contracts, and needs no equipment or software installed, no application fee, no monthly fee, and no statement fee. You only need to pay 2checkout a one-time fee of $49 to set up a supplier account. 


No. 3: Check/Money Order 

In this way, customer can make an order online, and send you the check/money order offline. 


No. 4: Electronic Check 

An electronic Check is the electronic version or representation of a paper check. 

Based on the same rich legal framework as paper checks, E-Checks contain the same information as paper checks contain. They can be linked with unlimited information and exchanged directly between parties, and can be used in any and all remote transactions where paper checks are used today. They enhance the functions and features provided by bank checking account, and expand on the usefulness of paper checks by providing value-added information. 

Compared to regular checks, E-Checks offer: 
the ability to conduct bank transactions, yet are safe enough to use on the Internet unlimited, but controlled, information carrying capability

reduces fraud losses for all parties 

automatic verification of content and validity 

traditional checking features such as stop payments and easy reconciliation 

enhanced capabilities such as effective dating 


For more information about E-Checks, please go to http://www.echeck.org. 


Step 10: Launch your internet business!
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How to set up an internet business? (Step 8-10)

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