To sell products/services online & accept online real-time payments online you will need:
Web hosting is required to host and serve your online store, allowing you to sell your products and services online and accept payments in real time. To sell your products and services online, you will need a web site with shopping cart functionality.
If you are new to the internet and do not have the technical knowledge to setup a shopping cart, we also have an eCommerce web site builder, which allows you to build a business grade web site, with inbuilt shopping cart. More information is available here.
The main goal of any shopping cart software is to create an online retail environment where you can advertise your products/services, allow clients to view and purchase your products/services and finally checkout and pay for your products/services. When deciding on a shopping cart program, you should choose the cart based on useability, software requirements (that your hosting will support it) and also supported payment gateways (see below).
SSL, better known as Secure Sockets Layer, is the standard security technology for creating an encrypted link between a web server (our hosting) and a browser (you and your customers). If you are familar with the padlock icon in your web browser, this is an SSL certificate in live action. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browser remain private and integral. This ensures customer information and credit card details are accepted securely, required by merchant service providers (see below) and customers.
SSL is an industry standard and is used by millions of websites in the protection of their online transactions with their customers. We use GeoTrust SSL certificates, which are highly regarding as being one of the best SSL providers in the industry. More information about SSL certificates is available here.
Payment gateways process payments in real time. Payment gateways connect in real time to your merchant services provider (see below) and process the payment. (The payment gateway will also deposit the funds debited from credit cards into your bank account). When a customer places an order via your online shopping cart, your shopping cart connects to the online payment gateway to process the transaction. The payment gateway then processes the transaction with your merchant services provider and then sends the payment result back to your shopping cart e.g Payment approved. Your shopping cart will then mark the invoice as paid and accept the order.
Merchant services are required in conjunction with your shopping cart and payment gateway to sell products/services online & accept online real-time payments online. Merchant services will allow you to accept credit cards. Please contact your bank for more information about using their merchant services with an internet payment gateway. Banks offer a special type of merchant plan for those who use internet payment gateways. You can not use normal merchant services in conjunction with an online payment gateway. It is also important to note, most banks will ask for a basic business plan to be submitted before providing you with a quote for merchant services.
Paypal is a merchant services provider and internet payment gateway all-in-one and it appeals to many due to the zero startup costs, instant activation and low fees. More information about Paypal is available here. Paypal is also widely supported by most shopping carts, including our eCommerce web site builder. It is always good to have Paypal as one of your payment options.
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