Business owners with the desire to promote products and services on a larger scale find e-commerce hosing to be the perfect solution.  E-commerce sites offer a wealth of benefits when compared to brick and mortar stores.  Whether a large endeavor with big-ticket items or a smaller venture offering only a couple of products, e-commerce continues to redefine the way companies are doing business in the 21^st century.

What to Consider When Building an E-Commerce Site

The first thing you should consider before launching an e-commerce site is educating yourself on basic website design.   Although e-commerce hosting packages are user-friendly when it comes to building sites, it’s important that you have a basic understanding of how the process works.  With the plethora of online articles and resources available to serve as how-to guides, even novices can learn the ropes in no time.

After doing your homework, the next crucial aspect to take into consideration is securing an e-commerce hosting provider.  E-Commerce hosting packages offer everything you need to build and manage your e-commerce site.  Regardless of the chosen hosting provider, a shopping cart is vital for the functionality of an e-commerce venture.  Shopping carts perform such tasks as receive orders, send order confirmations via e-mail and calculate final sales amount including shipping and handling, sales tax, and any other applicable fees.

The next aspect to consider when launching an e-commerce site is credit card processing.  Purchases via credit card transactions are the preferred payment method among customers.  A quick online search generates results for the most commonly used credit card processing services.  Also, it’s possible to contact your bank to setup an Internet merchant account which allows sellers to accept credit cards as a form of payment.  It’s essential for merchants to accept credit cards as a payment method as most items and services are purchased using a credit card.

A payment gateway account is also necessary when building an e-commerce site.  An online payment processor is necessary for linking a credit card account number to an Internet merchant account.  The processor offers real-time verification and handles the process of transferring requests and authorizing credit cards.  Popular processors include companies such as: Authorize.net, VeriSign.com, and Cybersource.com.

PayPal is also another widely used method of payment.  PayPal, an account-based service, permits anyone with a valid e-mail address to securely send and receive payments via bank accounts or credit cards.   Although registering a PayPal account is free, the company does charge a percentage fee, combined with a small transaction fee.  PayPal Website Payments Pro offers enhanced features including a shopping cart for about $20 per month, plus applicable transaction fees.

Finally, choosing a hosting service that meets your needs is the last component to consider when building an e-commerce site.  Hosting packages should include adequate bandwidth, disk space, e-mail addresses and FTP access.  There are a couple of web hosting providers that stand out from the pack when catering to e-commerce merchants including:  InMotion, Web Hosting Hub, IX Web Hosting.

Conclusion

With all of the available tools and services, building an effective e-commerce site that is user-friendly is easy, even for beginners testing the proverbial waters.  Understanding the basics of design and functions of a shopping cart as well as implementing safe and secure online payment processors are the essential ingredients for a successful e-commerce venture.

Related posts:

1. The Difference Between E-commerce and Conventional Site Design
2. Crucial Security Attributes of E-Commerce Hosting Plans
3. Three Components of a Successful e-Commerce Venture

Original: Opening Shop for an E-Commerce Website

Google recently announced an upcoming launch of a digital wallet that will allow customers to easily make payments on the go and will greatly assist eCommerce providers. This feature will be launched through the Android OS in conjunction with Near Field Communications (NFC) chips. The three largest banks in the United States, Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, have also announced they will be rolling out an electronic payment system.

clearXchange

Known as clearXchange, the service would give customers the ability to easily transfers funds between accounts from any location using a mobile device or computer. Funds can be transferred to specific mobile phone numbers or email accounts without the need to give any account information.

Stealing Market Share

Those developing a eWallet system will be in direct competition with PayPal, one of the most popular online payment solution providers in the world. In addition to eCommerce solutions, PayPal allows users to transfer money to one another for non-commercial transactions. The only requirement between users is a working email address.

PayPal’s Growing Numbers

In the past, PayPal was the only game in town. Google and other entities have found a niche market that is not over-saturated. In 2010, PayPal’s revenue was close to 1 billion dollars. In the first quarter of 2011 PayPal processed over 27 billion dollars in payments, an 18 percent jump from the first quarter of 2010. EBay, the owner of PayPal, is predicted the revenue from the service to surpass that of the auctions.

A Logical Choice

This concept is logical because almost everywhere, someone needs to send or receive money at any given time as well as make purchases through various types of eCommerce solutions. Although eBay offers the “Buy it now” button, auctions are not necessarily the preferred method of making online purchases.

A Statement from JPMorgan Chase

According to a statement released by the director of Mobile, eCommerce and Payments at JPMorgan Chase, banks are learning about the need for customers to quickly and easily transfer money. With these new services, customers will be able to send and receive funds in a secure environment where they do not have to worry about carrying checks or cash.

Since each of these services is backed by major companies, they may give PayPal a run for its money. In the near future, global customers may see more than a single online payment option for commercial and personal services.

Related posts:

1. Using eJunkie as an Ecommerce Payment Processor
2. Downtime of Online Payment Operators
3. Ecommerce Hosting and Digital Product Sales

Original: New Trend in eCommerce: Electronic Payment Providers

In the early morning of Friday, February 19^th, 2011, Paypal suffered from a brief outage causing all transactions to be halted and their website to go down. According to the Paypal Developer’s Network, the issue began exactly at 12:11am PST and was resolved over an hour later at 1:23am PST. However, during the downtime, Paypal officially stated they did not have an estimated time for resolution.

International Sites

In addition to the downtime for Paypal customers in the United States, the company also revealed that international sites like Paypal in the United Kingdom and Spain may have had much slower performance until 2am PST. Netcraft stated that Paypal has regularly scheduled maintenance between 11pm and 1am PST every Thursday and Friday.

Not Consistent with Scheduled Maintenance

In the past, these routine checks have not led to noticeable downtime. Also, the outage on Friday morning was outside of the typical scheduled maintenance window. In addition to being down, the financial company also noted major issues with its payments API software which significantly affected online retailers, especially those in the parent company, eBay.

An Ecommerce Issue

Any type of downtime for an online financial institution can be a major problem for ecommerce websites. This particular outage blocked customers from accessing their accounts altogether. Therefore, many customers were unable to purchase items from those only accepting Paypal such as on eBay auction sites or when buying digital products.

During the downtime, at 12:52am PST, eBay released the following statement “EBay is currently experiencing checkout problems” and “community members may see errors or timeouts when attempting to pay for an item. We are working on the problem and apologize for the inconvenience.”

Unable to Find a Workaround

This issue must have been major as the Paypal Support Team reported they were unable to find any type of workaround to fix the issue. Therefore, they may have had to transfer all information to redundant servers in order to push the sites back up in a timely manner. Paypal last suffered performance issues in December 2010 as it, and many other financial companies, became the target of a DDoS attack as retaliation for the restriction of WikiLeaks.

Anytime a financial company has networking issues, this can be a cause for major concern as customers do not know if this is an attack and their banking information is safe. It is also a concern for retailers as customers attempting to purchase cannot push the transaction through as a result of downtime at their financial provider. Luckily the issue was quickly fixed and the servers were only down for an hour.

Related posts:

1. Using eJunkie as an Ecommerce Payment Processor
2. What are Advanced Search Operators?
3. Important Tips to Prevent Site Downtime

Original: Downtime of Online Payment Operators

Unless you’re a business owner with an e-commerce venture, it’s easy to take for granted the work that goes into creating and maintaining an online store.  Without these “back of house” operations, major sites such as e-Bay and Amazon wouldn’t be able to function so seamlessly, nor would they ever be the giants of e-commerce they have become.

Managing Inventory

As an e-commerce site owner, managing inventory efficiently is crucial to your success as the proprietor of your online establishment.  It’s all about supply and demand, which means there’s more to inventory management than simply warehousing products. You must decide how you’ll get your product(s) to your customer and also the logistics of the size and nature of your business.  If you choose to handle your inventory yourself, first research shipping rates. You may opt not to carry inventory, and instead use the services of a drop shipper which allows you to place an order for each item sold, and then the service ship the merchandise directly to customers.

Establishing Payment Methods

This is what it’s all about; you are in business to make money!  There are several payment methods to be considered, however, several are necessities of doing online business.  Credit card transactions are a must-have method of payment.  Online payment services such as PayPal should also be seriously considered as they offer an increased sense of security to many customers.  Additionally, wire transfers are a secure form of payment; however, are more expensive to offer for both you and your customers.

If you opt to offer this payment form, inquire about terms and applicable fees before choosing this as an option.  Of course there’s also the method of accepting personal checks and money orders; although a caveat if you decide to go this route, it isn’t the safest option as it can leave you vulnerable to liability should you attempt to deposit a fraudulent item into your bank.

Marketing Products Online

Managing inventory and setting up accented payment methods are important to e-commerce, but marketing is of course where the “rubber meets the road.” You should ask yourself:  How do you connect your customers with your product in order to receive payment?

There are several answers to this question. The first is the one-to-one approach, using a social network or search engine to focusing on a target audience by choosing key words to locate people who may be interested in your product.  The social media giant FaceBook allows you to create advertisements, and then distribute it based on certain key words in a user’s profile. Such advertisement is generally charged on a price per click basis, so you only pay if a visitor clicks it.  Additionally, you can set a budget to limit the number of clicks. Search engines such as Google offer similar services. Choose your key words carefully or hire a person with experience in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) who will generate key words to attract those who need your product.

Of course there’s more to efficiently operating an e-commerce business, however, strategically managing inventory, establishing safe and reliable payment methods and marketing your product are essential for success!

Related posts:

1. Twenty Two Tips for Running a Successful E-commerce Business
2. The Easy Approach to E-commerce
3. The Difference Between E-commerce and Conventional Site Design

Original: Three Components of a Successful e-Commerce Venture

No e-commerce site is complete without solid billing software. One of the most popular billing software programs is HostBill. Modern online billing services offer many different services, all of which have become necessary in the industry. Crisp software and a navigable and easy-to-use design are all “must-have’s” for the billing industry. HostBill delivers just that and so much more.

Users of HostBill

Anyone has the option of using HostBill, however, the design and programming are more catered to hosting companies, web designers, ISP providers, small hosting resellers, freelancers, marketing agencies and cloud solution providers. Most of these types of companies have many different clients so automation and organization are a necessity. Other services for these entities include, order forms, invoice management, domains, multiple language support and payment gateways.

Automated Billing

The automated billing HostBill provides is compatible with standard hosting, domains, dedicated servers, VPS and colocation facilities. Daily, weekly or monthly bills can be sent out from any of the primary user types directly to the customer. Also, direct withdrawals each month can be enabled. Additionally HostBill supports over 30 of the most popular control panels.

Order Forms

Although the order forms vary per service type, the simple order forms list the client’s first and last name, address information, terms of service, subtotal, total due today, host name, order summary and payment method. These can be used for any type of service.

Other Services

Over 60 of the most popular payment gateways are supported by HostBill with the most popular being Paypal, Authorize.net, NeTeller and SecurePay. Also, HostBill is compatible with several domain name registrars. Furthermore, website access and order forms are available in many of the most common languages. Additionally, through one easy-to-use system, invoices can be managed, sent, downloaded and reminders forwarded to the customer.

In addition to these services, extensive customer support is available through wiki’s, forums and support tickets. Therefore, someone is available to answer any of your questions around the clock. Also, HostBill offers a blog to provide updated information on news, new features, updates and the release of patches. Finally, the website provides an “Extras” session which includes, add-ons, tutorials and how-to’s.

HostBill has many functions for different types of e-commerce business. This is the primary reason for their popularity and success. Since all online businesses need an all-in-one, robust billing software solution, HostBill has listened to their customers to provide one of the best programs in the industry.

Related posts:

1. Four Steps to the Ideal E-commerce Software
2. The Best Billing Software to Power your Reseller Business
3. Streamlined E-commerce with Automated Billing

Original: Complete Your E-Commerce Experience: HostBill Software

Selling any product or service online can be very lucrative if you know how to drive traffic. Of course some items are easier to sell than others, and digital products are by far the easiest items to sell online. The reason why digital products sell so well is because they are easy to transfer online, there are no shipping costs, and they are generally cheaper than tangible goods. However there are also a lot of problems associated with selling digital items.

Security and Sharing

One of the main problems with selling any kind of digital items online is that they are often shared, which can lower profits significantly as the item begins to circulate online. One of the ways digital products are shared is by sharing the download link that is given to the customer upon purchasing the item. One that link is shared the item can be downloaded hundreds of times over night for free. Using eJunkie’s secure download links is a great way to prevent this from occurring. With eJunkie you’ll be able to automatically direct the customer to a download link that is set to expire after a certain amount of time. When another customer purchases the product the link will expire.

Convenience and Compatibility

Another attractive aspect of eJunkie’s payment processing service is it’s compatibility with other payment processors such as PayPal. eJunkie lets you connect your PayPal account to your eJunkie account to collect funds quickly and easily. You can even accept credit card payments as well without a merchant account. This added compatibility makes it convenient for you and your customers to complete the sale.

Tracking and Affiliates

eJunkie also lets you track the amount of sales you’ve made, providing detailed analysis of your sales statistics on a daily basis. This makes it easy to see your success in real time, which can aid in the revision of sales tactics and marketing promotions. When you know what methods are working you can invest in them further and maximize your success. You can even recruit affiliates and eJunkie will automatically create affiliate links for them. You have full control over the commissions that your affiliates receive, as eJunkie lets you pick the percentage of each sale they will receive. You can even set up a tiered affiliate program in which your affiliates receive commissions of every affiliate they recruit!

Conclusion

With eJunkie you have full control over your  digital campaigns, and every aspect of selling digital products online is made convenient within the slick comprehensive user interface. Best of all eJunkie is extremely affordable, and practically anyone can afford the monthly plans starting at about $10.

Related posts:

1. Ecommerce Hosting and Digital Product Sales
2. How to Avoid Five Common Ecommerce Problems
3. Selling eBooks with eCommerce Hosting

Original: Using eJunkie as an Ecommerce Payment Processor

Selling something online is relatively easy, considering you have access to the entire population of the internet at your fingertips. Once you know how to get traffic, the money is going to come eventually, as it becomes a numbers game eventually. Although getting traffic is not extremely easy, once this is accomplished, you then have to find a way to convert that traffic into money.

If you’re trying to sell physical products then you’ll definitely need an eCommerce hosting account. If you want to sell digital products, an eCommerce account would help but is not absolutely necessary.

Do I Need eCommerce Hosting to Sell my Product?

The answer to this question depends upon what you’re selling, and how much you plan on selling. If you are selling actual products that need to be shipped to an address, then having a eCommerce hosting account linked to a merchant account would be optimally. If you are selling a small amount of physical products and you do not have a large product catalog, then you could settle for a regular hosting account, and accept payments via a payment processor such as PayPal or AlertPay. On the other hand, if you’re selling digital products such as eBooks or down-loadable software then the choice is entirely up to you. Once again, the more products you are trying to sell, the more beneficial it would be for you to have an eCommerce hosting account.

How Can an eCommerce Hosting Account Help You?

Ecommerce hosting accounts do several things that contribute to the overall success and organization of your online business. Perhaps the most important feature offered by an eCommerce hosting account would be the amount of server resources you’re given, and the per-installed software that helps you build product catalogs and accept orders easily. One such software that no serious internet merchant should go without is a shopping cart. If you have ever shopped online then you have probably used a shopping cart, maybe without even realizing it. The shopping cart is simply the application that lets users buy several products at once and conduct a variety of other interactive activities within your web site.

Safely Selling Digital Files

If you’re selling digital files then you need to be concerned about people sharing your digital files online. One of the ways people share digital files easily is by linking people to the download page that you supply upon payment. To protect yourself from such an occurrence you need to find a way to lock the file so that only one person can download it. You can do this by signing up for eJunkie, which will let you host your digital products online without having to worry about more than one person downloading the file. When a person submits payment to your eJunkie account they are automatically taken to a secured page that only works for one user.

Related posts:

1. How to Avoid Five Common Ecommerce Problems
2. Ecommerce Success – From Concept to Company
3. SSL Certificates and eCommerce Web Hosting

Original: Ecommerce Hosting and Digital Product Sales

If you want to be successful in selling goods or services online then you will wan to purchase a merchant account. Merchant accounts link your customer’s funds to your bank account safely, allowing you to accept payments from all kinds of credit card and payment services such as PayPal. Without a merchant account, many customer’s will not trust your site enough to even pull out their credit card! Applying for a merchant account is a relatively simple process, and it can be done from the comfort of your own home in a matter of minutes.

You have two options concerning merchant accounts; paid or free. Obviously a paid merchant account would be optimal. However if you are unable to meet the requirements of a paid merchant account, then you may need to apply for a free merchant account instead. Before you settle for a free merchant account. There are some factors that should be considered.

Are Free Merchant Accounts Free?

Although there is no setup or approval fee associated with free merchant accounts, it is important to note that there are transaction fees, and these fees are generally higher than those associated with paid merchant accounts. Therefore, while these services are convenient for people who are unable to get a paid merchant account, in the long run they are anything but free. It should also be noted that most free merchant account providers will only offer their services to be people that sell products. Meaning you cannot sell services using a free merchant account. You may also need to adhere to certain stipulations and regulations. For example, you may be required sell a certain amount within a certain time period to keep your merchant account active.

Free Merchant Account Policies

Free merchant account providers are used to dealing with people that may have bad credit or may be considered untrustworthy by paid merchant services. Therefore it is deemed necessary to impose stricter policies to protect themselves an customers from fraudulent activity. These policies are very important because they provide basis to keep your funds in reserve for a certain period of time to prevent fraud on your behalf.

This means you will have to wait longer for your funds, and in some cases the merchant account provider may issue refunds to unsatisfied customers without your consent. This has been a problem for many honest merchants, because scam artists know that free merchant account providers are quick to issue refunds no question asked. In many cases the scam artist will receive the products and then receive the refund after they have already received the order items! This is why it is crucial to be sure you are familiar with the policies of your merchant account before hand, so you can take the necessary precautions to protect yourself from fraud.

When Should You Use a Free Merchant Account?

There are many reasons why one would consider using a free merchant account. The most obvious reason being inability to get accepted for a paid merchant account. After all, a free merchant account is better than no merchant account! Even free merchant accounts give you the ability to calculate taxes, shipping charges, and to accept credit card payments.

Related posts:

1. Options for Accepting Credit Cards without a Merchant Account
2. Paid gets DOWN with Rock
3. The Basics of E-commerce in Four Easy Steps

Original: Free Merchant Accounts Vs. Paid Merchant Accounts

UPDATE: This Offer is now Live. Follow this link: http://awardspace.com to claim your UNLIMITED Hosting +  almost FREE Hosting!!. Use the Coupon Code: HEART while checkout

***********************************
AwardSpace is Offering an irresistible Web Hosting Offer on the eve of Valentine’s Day. This Offer will be valid only on Feb 14, through out the world. When you signup at AwardSpace for their Unlimited Hosting(Max Pack Plus – $8.99/month) on valentines Day, you will just need to Pay $0.14 for 6 Months !!!

Company Profile: AwardSpace is popular choice for many web hosters. AwardSpace is trusted by more than 10,00,000 Users currently!

We will make a reminder post on Feb14 with more details, for all who plan to avail this offer. To Make Sure you dont miss on this, Subscribe to our “Host Coupons RSS” link (or) SignUp for the “coupons by email subscription” on the right.

From AwardSpace:

On 14th Febuary 2010 Awardspace will be offering all its 6 months paid hosting plans including the unlimited Max Pack Plus – for only $0.14. If you have ever been wondering whether to go ahead with our paid service this is the time to make your wise decision.

To qualify for the promotion all you need is to have a few cents in your credit card or your PayPal account. Absolutely no other additional payments are required. You will have 6 months to evaluate our stable and reliable service suitable for both beginners and advanced users, personal, business and corporate use, low rank or high ranking websites.

Related posts:

1. AwardSpace
2. 50% off for 6 months on Hosting packages : September
3. January Promo from Certified Hosting

Original: AwardSpace Valentine’s Day Promo: 6 Months Unlimited Hosting for $0.14 !!

Trying to setup one’s business with merchant payment gateways can be a hassle and often more than a bit confusing.  Many businesses opt to use PayPal but the transaction fees charged by this company can be a bit prohibitive – especially for those businesses that are brand new and not conducting a lot of payment transactions.  SquareUp, a new start-up company currently in its beta stage, wants to change all that for both small businesses and individuals with a swiping device that can be easily connected to one’s mobile media device.

Twitter and Angels

Headed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and backed by several angels including Khosla Ventures, the SquareUp service provides a swiping dongle device that connects to the audio outlet of a cell phone.  Currently the only device supported is the iPhone but plans are in place to integrate the dongle with the Android and Blackberry devices.  Ultimately, SquareUp intends on having the device work with just about every major mobile media device available.

How-to

To complete a financial transaction, the SquareUp user simply connects the dongle to their iPhone, swipes the customer’s credit card, requests a signature from the customer via the touchscreen, and the payment is made instantaneously.  Customers may also request receipts at their e-mail address.

As the service is being beta tested for the moment, very few details have been released.  It has been speculated that there are no long-term contracts to have to contend with and no ongoing monthly fees.  As such, it would be safe to assume there are transaction fees and, in order to compete with such services as PayPal, these fees would need to be standard or lower.

Internet Feedback

The feedback on this new service has been rather mixed.  As SquareUp has played close to the chest in as far as information being released, curious Internet users have only been able to guess on what the service will provide and what the overall cost will be.  Some have expressed concern over the security of the service.  Skimming programs are plentiful when it comes to lifting banking information off of cell phones and with the banking industry being hit hard enough lately as it is, yet another avenue for fraud may not be welcomed with open arms.

Another concern expressed by Jon Paisner, Yankee Group senior analyst, is that many potential users may not quickly adopt the service due to yet another device one needs to carry around.  Additionally, there is the concern that the audio jack in most mobile media devices is not designed for repetitive use in this manner and may be damaged with long-term use.

Overall

The overall feedback on the SquareUp service is that it may be a useful product for niche businesses – single style transactions (traveling sales), freelance work, and other means where mobile payment may be required.  Most businesses that conduct many daily transactions would not benefit from using SquareUp.  However, as stated, not a lot of information has been released by the company and the planned public release date does not occur until sometime in 2010.  The best stance to take at the moment is to keep a watchful eye on SquareUp and see what unfolds.

No related posts.

Original: Payments On the Fly with SquareUp