What is a shopping cart (or storefront)?

How is a shopping cart set up?

What types of shopping cart software are available?

How to I accept credit cards on my web site, or what is a merchant account?

What is a payment gateway?

What will all of this cost me?

Do I really need to know all of this stuff?

E-commerce is short for electronic commerce. It is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet. Most commonly, a buyer can shop in a business's web site shopping cart, type in their credit card information, and the products are sent to them by the business. The funds from the customer's credit card get processed electronically and are credited to the business's bank account. return to top

On a website that sells products or services online, the shopping cart is a common name for the pages where a customer views products and makes selections. Typically, the user checks off any products or services that are being ordered and then, when finished ordering, "Checks Out" by proceeding to a page where the various information such as billing and shipping information is collected and the order is placed and confirmed. The programming that provides a website with the ability to build a catalog, build its associated database and integrate pages into the website that provide users the ability to shop is known as shopping cart software. return to top

Most people understand that a web site is built on a developer's computer (such as me, working on my computer), and when finished is uploaded (FTP - file transferred) to a remote server (you web host--such as Earthlink, Globat, Verio, etc.). The shopping cart however is generally created through an interface. The shopping cart software is added to your web server by your hosting company. It usually occupies it's own directory (folder) on your web server. The web developer then can log into the interface and build the shopping cart from there--uploading images, typing in data about your products, and changing the way the pages look to something that looks more like the rest of your web site. The up side to this procedure is that the business owner can also log into this interface and process their orders, and make minor changes to the cart or pages without the need for a trained professional web developer. The down side is that if you decide to change web hosting companies, moving the shopping cart is not as easy as moving the rest of the web site. But with advance warning, some copy and pasting is possible which will cut down re-construction time considerably. return to top

There are dozens--perhaps hundreds--of shopping cart software producers in existence. Currently the most popular is Miva Merchant, a very customizable and versatile program. This is the one I am currently the most familiar with and recommend whole-heartedly. You can see some examples by clicking here or contact me for links to shopping carts I have personally built. The basic software is very functional as is, and if there is anything you want to be able to do with the storefront that is not supported by the basic program, there are a multitude of reasonably priced third-party modules that can be added on to your web site. There are many web hosting companies that offer Miva. You can ask me for a referral or click here for a list from Miva. return to top

In order to accept credit cards you must have a merchant account. A merchant account is a commercial bank account established by contractual agreement between your business and a chosen bank. You need to have one in order to accept credit card payments online. You can then conduct online transactions via a payment gateway. return to top

A payment gateway allows your bank’s payment processor to authorize, process, and manage online transactions--it's essentially the "middleman" between your web site and the Merchant Account. The payment gateway approves or declines orders in real time. If it’s approved, the order is then processed as pending.

You can access the Gateway through an interface (sometimes also referred to as the Payment Gateway front end) in order to complete the transaction. Once the order has been shipped, your personal bank account is credited with the funds collected through the payment gateway. return to top

Specifically, I can't tell you. It depends on what web hosting company you have chosen, which shopping cart software, which merchant account and gateway, which credit cards you will be accepting. You need to add together your monthly web hosting fee, and then you will most likely be charged monthly statement fees by your merchant account/gateway (any where from $10.00 to $25.00 a month), a per transaction charge (possibly $.20 - $.30 per), and a percentage of credit card charges (2.10% to 2.45% depending on the credit card). Some companies offer package deals depending on what you anticipate your monthly sales to be. return to top

Of course not! This page is provided merely for the curious folk. You just need to know enough to run the financial aspects of your business. I'll handle the registration and technical stuff, and will give you enough information on how to process your orders to get you going. If you have any other questions, please email or call me (303-346-1525) and I'll answer them if I can. Your question may even be added to this e-commerce faq! return to top