Page 152 - 597 Business Ideas You can Start from Home - doing what you LOVE! (Beginner Internet Marketing Series)

1 44 Your Idea. Inc.

user friendly, secure e-commerce website up and running sometimes
within a week or two.

Not all web designers are familiar with setting up e-commerce

software, however. I use the company Interms (www.intermsllc.com).

which builds websites and can add e-commerce capabilities. It is
reputable and offers great customer service, including a lot of expla­
nation as the site is built. It's nice to have a full-service company
available when problems arise. The staff knows the site inside and
out, and they can handle little glitches quickly.

Site-Specific Shopping Carts

There are elaborate ways to set up electronic shopping carts if
you are selling many products, or less complicated systems, like
PayPal. If your website's main purpose is to sell lots of products and
if you will be expanding your product line frequently, you will need
a more customized shopping cart than what PayPal offers. Shopping
cart systems take more time and money to customize than working
with PayPal, but if your business warrants the shopping cart, get it.
Talk with your web designer about your short- and long-term goals
regarding e-commerce so that you will have the appropriate setup.
As we discussed in Step 6, you'll need an Internet merchant account
to handle online purchases.

PayPal

PayPal is a service that allows users to pay or be paid from online
transactions without sharing financial information. It's a good
option if the following are true:

• You are only selling a few products.
• You do not yet have a merchant account with your bank.
• You cannot afford a more extensive and secure shopping

cart system.