Feb 21 2008
How To Build An Ecommerce Website
If you have a product or service that you’d like to sell online, then an ecommerce website is exactly what you need. Ecommerce websites can range from fairly simple to very complex depending on what functionality you want and how many products or services you are offering. We are going to take a look at exactly what you need to get an ecommerce website up and running.
1.) You need a product or service.
Without a product or service to sell online, you are dead in the water. Don’t even create a website if you have no idea what you will sell on it. Ideally, the product or service that you intend to sell should be something that interests you. If you don’t believe in the product or service you are marketing online, then others won’t either. Make sure you have a vested interest in the product or service before you go any further.
Product Research Estimated Cost: $0 (if you have a product) - $1,000
2.) You need a domain name.
Once you have your product or service, you should pick a domain name. This domain name will be the address to your website. You can pick a keyword rich domain name or a brandable domain name. Whatever you choose, this will be the face of your website so choose wisely as it’s hard to change a domain name once it’s been running on a website for awhile. Check out GoDaddy.com for available domain names that suit your ecommerce website.
Domain Name Estimated Cost: $9.00 - $50.00
3.) You need a website and shopping cart software.
Once you get your domain name, you will need to create a website that has shopping cart software integrated into it. This can be done in a variety of ways depending on what functionality you’d like for your site and how simple or complex you want it to be. The website is what will display your business information and your shopping cart will allow you to accept payments via the web. There are all kinds of shopping cart packages, many that are free. A great free option is Zen Cart.
Website & Shopping Cart Estimated Cost: $1,000 - $100,000+ (obviously this is a complex one!)
4.) You need a web hosting account.
A web hosting account holds your website files. This is where you will make any changes to your website and this is where your domain will point to. A web hosting account is what allows your website to be viewable by website traffic. There are many types of hosting accounts but a basic one will do to start. You can always upgrade at a later time when your website grows or you can even purchase your own servers to host your website. This is for the advanced website owner and not really in the scope of a new website.
Web Hosting Estimated Cost: $5 - $25/month
5.) You need a merchant account.
If you plan to accept credit card payments over the web, you will need some sort of a merchant account. Per Wikipedia, a merchant account is, “a specialized bank account issued by a merchant processing bank that allows a business to accept credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard, debit cards, gift cards and other forms of payment cards. This acceptance is also known as payment processing, credit card processing or merchant card processing.” There are many different merchant accounts to choose from so do your due diligence and research various types to find the right merchant account for your website. Some charge higher fees than others so be careful what you sign up for and make sure to get a list of the exact charges before signing any agreements. If you pay too high of fees, this will cut directly into your profit margin and a bunch of little charges eventually add up and make a huge difference. You can also choose merchant accounts that only take web orders or you can get a combo merchant account where you can take web orders or get a hand held to punch in orders yourself. You can determine the best solution for your business.
An alternative to a merchant account is PayPal. There are various PayPal accounts and this allows you to set up credit card processing as well. The downside is that you have less control over the look and feel of the payment processing section of your website and you will have to direct your traffic to PayPal to complete the purchase. Regular merchant accounts are seamless and the website user remains on your site at all times while completing transactions or purchases.
Merchant Account Estimated Cost: $100 - $1,000/initial setup fees plus monthly fees based on transactions
6.) You need a gateway account.
You need a payment gateway to process the transaction. The gateway is essentially a middleman that authorizes the transaction and gets the money into the merchant bank account. Per Wikipedia, a payment gateway is, “an e-commerce application service provider service that authorizes payments for e-businesses, online retailers, bricks and clicks, or traditional brick and mortar. It is the equivalent of a physical point of sale terminal located in most retail outlets. Payment gateways encrypt sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, to ensure that information passes securely between the customer and the merchant.” A popular payment gateway solution is Authorize.net. If you use PayPay, you will not need a payment gateway solution. This is only if you have your own merchant account and are processing transactions within your website.
Payment Gateway Estimated Cost: $100+ to set up and monthly transaction fees
7.) You need (or should definitely get) an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate.
If you are processing transactions on your website, you will want to get an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate for providing secure transactions. These can be purchased through companies such as GoDaddy.com.
SSL Estimated Cost: $20 - $1,000/annually - basic ecommerce site will be around $100/annually
8.) You need a web marketing plan.
How will you market your website? Word of mouth? Pay per click campaign? Search engine optimization? Print media advertising? You need a plan to get the word out on your products or services. This is a good time to talk with a web marketing agency to figure out the best way to go about marketing your new website.
Estimated Web Marketing Costs: $0 - $10K+/month - depends on how creative you get.
9.) You need patience.
This might be the most important thing you need when launching an ecommerce website. People assume that they can create a few products, throw up a website and the sales will come pouring in. This is SO far from true. You will be sadly disappointed if these are your expectations. Be realistic. You will have to try many things before one will stick. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t quit. Keep trying different things and one day one of them will work and you will see your business grow.
Estimated Cost of Patience: Priceless
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