The next thing you need to do is to select an e-commerce shopping cart developer. An E-commerce developer is a company that has knowledge and experience developing e-commerce sites.

This is a very complex question. Not all e-commerce solutions are created equal. You have to take into account a number of factors to find the right solution:

• Quality of the design and software on the customer's side (FRONT END)
• Quality of the software on the store owner's side (BACK END)
• Store features necessary for your particular products.
• Availability of manuals and help with using the software
• Customer service (phone, e-mail, etc)
• Quality of overall web design
• Price
• One-stop shopping (meaning your developer also offers training, website hosting, support, internet marketing, SEO, and domain name registration)

A successful e-commerce website requires more then just a "nice design." E-commerce development is a very sophisticated process that requires programming, secure hosting, and a developer who is experienced in working with Payment Solution Providers. Most web designers are not familiar with these essentials. Having "shopping cart software" is not enough: we recommend considering ONLY companies that have worked with at least a dozen e-commerce clients. Experience is crucial!

The design of the site is VERY IMPORTANT. A professionally designed site will attract visitors and entice them to make purchases. A poorly designed site will scare away customers, because visitors will assume the quality of the products will reflect the quality of the design. DO NOT try to save a few dollars using a cheap or template design. Most templates are general in nature and do not reflect your particular product. It is worth the extra investment to have a custom design.

An e-commerce site consists of three parts:
FRONT END: the part of the store that is visible to visitors. BACK END: the administrative part of the store, where access is limited to the store owners and developers. PAYMENT PROCESSING: a module, usually offered by a third party (known as a Payment Solution Provider), which is responsible for processing payments online.

A front end should:
Be intuitive and easy to navigate.
? Have a nice design and clearly visible categories, products, and navigation buttons. In other words, the site should not play hide-and-seek with the customer.
Be flexible and able to accommodate the functionality you need or may need in future.
Be expandable, so that you are able to easily add extra features in future, such as discounts, specials, coupons, etc.

The next thing you need to do is to select an e-commerce shopping cart developer. An E-commerce developer is a company that has knowledge and experience developing e-commerce sites.

Payment processing is a service offered by a third party known as a Payment Solution Provider (PSP). You should seek the advice of your e-commerce developer when selecting your Payment Solution Provider. The important features to look for are:

• Compatibility between your e-commerce solution and the PSP.
• Reliability of the PSP (How long have they been in business? How many clients do they serve?)
• Prices of their services (setup fee, monthly maintenance fee, transaction fee, discount rate for credit cards, charge back fee, other fees)

In order for customers to view your site, it has to reside on a web server. This process is called web hosting. You should seek advice from your e-commerce developer on selecting a hosting provider. The important features to consider are:

• Compatibility with your e-commerce solution. There are two major hosting systems: UNIX and Windows. Each hosting platform has its advantages, depending on your requirements. UNIX is the more popular, stable, and secure platform of the two. Close to 80% of sites on the Internet currently use UNIX hosting.

• Reliability, speed, and uptime.
• Availability of a phone number to call for support.
• Price. Be careful of selecting very cheap or overly expensive hosting. Good hosting for an average e-commerce site should fall in the range of $20.00 to $50.00 per month.

You may have the best e-commerce site on the Internet, with tons of functionality, superb products, and excellent prices, and still have very few visitors and zero sales. Proper marketing of your site is extremely important.

It is very common for store owners to leave this question as the last order of business. This is WRONG. Proven experience in Internet marketing should be a part of your criteria in choosing an e-commerce developer.

• Do they have experience in marketing websites?
• Can they show you examples of successfully marketed sites?
• Is their e-commerce software search-engine friendly?
• How much will their service cost?

One-stop shopping in e-commerce development means that one company is able to offer you all of the following services:

• E-commerce website development
• Connection of your site to a Payment Solution Provider
• Website hosting
• Internet marketing