Choosing an E-Commerce Provider

For business owners going into the realm of online e-commerce, it can be a very exciting and yet, daunting task. IT can produce and break still the sturdiest or hearts. In 2006, a report estimated consumers spent over $102 billion online at e-commerce sites in the U.S. alone. This does not insert online auction sites, travel or other corporate entity sites. This is the best time, if ever, to be on the receiving end of this global "gold rush". All though the economy is on the down turn, online sales are still solid. Having an online store requires a collection of planning and research of potential products and services to be made available. Setting up and maintaining inventory, taking orders from customers and making delivery on hour requires more the rule than the exception today and requires more than a traditional web hosting provider. Focusing on the licence e-commerce solution and one that fits your business and not the other plan sorrounding is what I am brining
to the table. There are approximately 400 different shopping carts for e-commerce and with such a wide choice, where do you begin? The first tool you call for to figure gone is whether you thirst for to purchase a license or have a hosted solution for your shopping cart. There are pros and cons to both on the other hand it all boils down to lifetime and resources. Do you have date and resources to implement your cart on your own or do you require someone else to bear that burden? Licensed carts - having a licensed copy of a shopping cart requires you to choose among the masses of products, install it on your web server and configure it to integrate with your website. You own the software (code) and can modify it in any form or fashion to your hearts content. It also resources that all features and upgrades, you have to perform yourself which can become a double edged sword. Any problems with the security or features of the shopping cart, falls the business owner to rec
tify and in a timely manner also. Remember, day is money! If there is a team that is assigned to this task, they have to be "spot" to ensure that it is ALWAYS functional. Shopping carts must also be PCI (Payment Card Industry) DSS (Data Security Standard) compliant. Hosted carts - a hosted solution handles all aspects of the cart for you. From setting up and integrating it into your site, maintenance issues, security during check out, 24/7 monitoring, tech support and free of charge software upgrades. Any bug fixes and emerging situations, they will handle. It is maintenance unrestrained and allows you, the business owner, to focus other more leading aspects of your business. Bottom Line: Buying Or Renting - Costs plays the dividing factor in most, if not all online businesses. You are here to assemble money, right?! ! The tricky subject here is to decide which is cheaper and how much control do you hope for to retain. Having a licensed cart income a significan
t up front capital invested in the product initially however small monthly fees for the months ahead. A hosted cart requires higher monthly fees for its use. Full text: http://computerandtechnologies.com/web-hosting/news_2008-09-05-09-30-04-223.html