Ecommerce for Beginners

Like most average persons, I wanted some extra money to supplement my regular income. I had considered a part time second job at times, but hated that option because it would take me away from the family, make me more tired and probably just pay minimum wage. I also wanted to be able to work from home.

I had surfed the internet for years and had often considered the idea of participating in the internet revolution. I had read some statistics on the use of internet and the increasing numbers of homes with computers and the increasing percentage of Christmas shopping done over the internet. So I decided to jump in with both feet.

First what is ecommerce? The online world designates web sites devoted to retail sales as an e-commerce site. E-commerce sites sell either information or hard goods such as cameras or knifes. E-commerce sites also have Shopping Carts and Payment Gateways attached to them that non-sales web sites do not need.

Ok??so you want to develop an E-commerce site. You are now probably asking do I have enough skill, mental patience or aptitude to be successful?

Well if you have average intelligence, I believe that you and thousands of people just like you could have an E-commerce web site. All that is required is the willingness to learn a few things, patience, and the determination to apply yourself.

How? I am glad you asked.

Let's begin. We first need to discuss the basics components you will need.

1. Computer 2. Internet connection 3. Site building software 4. Graphics Software 5. Web hosting company 6. Shopping cart 7. Payment gateway

The above elements are where most people stop when they think of what they will need when they want to start an ecommerce site. However, there are other elements that need to be considered, such as getting legal and product sourcing.

Items 1 and 2 above are pretty straight forward and most people can understand why they are necessary. The other items however are a little more complex. Site building software allows the beginner to construct a web site without knowing html programming code. What is Html programming Code?

Html is the programming language of the internet and stands for Hyper Text Mark Up Language. The two best software programs currently available to write Html are Microsoft's FrontPage 2003 or Macromedia's Dreamweaver. These programs are more correctly known as HTML Editors.

These two programs are the best ones available. I have them both but use FrontPage 2003 primarily. I think FrontPage 2003 is easier to use and does better tables then Dreamweaver. Most professional web site developers, however consider Dreamweaver the better of the two because some claim it has more features, but I find it is a little more complicated to use. I would recommend that you surf the internet and read the reviews on both of these programs and make you own choice.

Next you will need a good graphic program such as Adobe Photoshop 6. A graphics program allows you manipulate the size of images create images in different formats and create special effects. "PhotoShop 6" is the current version from Adobe and is the best software program for graphics. Adobe "Photoshop Elements" can also be used, but is a limited version of the full Photoshop software. The programs from Adobe are expensive so shop around for the best price.

Web hosting is very important and you need to comparison shop for features first, not on price. Web hosting and ecommerce are extremely related, and learned by personal experience the mistake trying to separate ecommerce from web hosting. The web host company is the company that rents room on their server for your web site, but they can much more. They can offer an integrated shopping cart.

The shopping cart is the heart of the ecommerce web site. The shopping cart for all intents and purposes runs your ecommerce web site so it is critical to get a good one. It contains and displays the products you intend to sell. It also does other neat administrative functions that will make your store easier to run. There are some stand alone shopping carts for sale but most come with web hosting service attached.

The "Payment Gateway" is the cashier in the store and is also known as a "Merchant Account." This is basically a business credit card account. The payment gateway allows your se store to accept credit cards and transfer money to you. Merchant Accounts are very important and you should also carefully review their services and prices. If you do not get a merchant account you are pretty much limited to papal. Search the web and check out the available shopping carts and payment gateways.

Now what are you going to sell, and where are you going to get it? You can look every where for the products you want to sell. How do you know what will sell well? You need to do some market research. Not everything sells well, including electronics. If you have no preference on what to sell, find some marketing software that will allow you to determine which products ell well online.

Next, you will need a source for those products. Assuming you are not making them yourself. The best way is to drop ship them. The trouble is finding a reliable drop ship source and avoiding the imposters.

Once you find you product source you need to open an account and stock your store and start selling. There munch more to an ecommerce store then can be explained in a brief article format. As someone who recently went from zero to an online store Cynscorion.com), I know first hand of the pit falls that await the beginning ecommerce site builder.

If you want to learn more about what to avoid in building an ecommerce site go to either: www.cynscorion.com and go to the bottom of the page and click on "Ecommerce Book For Beginners" ,or go to: http://cynscorion.com/store/cart.php?page=what_yofuture_release_of_a_very_unique_ecommerce_book This book is for people undecided on whether to start an ecommerce site and want to find one point of reference to assist them in making their decision.

Lastly, I wish you good luck and success in your ecommerce endeavors. If I can do it, so can you!

For additional assistance go to:
http://people.lulu.com/users/index.ph p?fHomepage=101573

The author created his own ecommerce web site going from knowing nothing to having a fully functional ecommerce site on the web, and wrote a book on the experience. The aptly titled "STEP 1: E-commerce for Beginners" explains to BEGINNERS what "STEP 1" is, and what they should be prepared for and makes recommedations to make the experience of building the 1st web site less stressful.

---

1 Simple Solution to All Internet Marketers about Their Website Design Needs

It is an undeniable fact that not everybody is keen... Read More

7 Reasons YOU Need a Website

1) A marketing necessityI still hear it said from time... Read More

Building a Web Store on Shoestring Budget in less than Four Hours

Starting a business online is no longer as difficult as... Read More

What is Blogger.com?

In the late 1990's three San Francisco based web developers... Read More

Freelance Programming is Easy to Manage

There are several reverse bid freelance sites out there. Beyond... Read More

Developing A Website: 10 Tips For Getting Started

1. Be clear on your purpose.Building a website can be... Read More

Tell me what your website does!

You know exactly what your organisation does and what your... Read More

Growing Your Meetings In CyberSpace

As increasing numbers of people search for information on the... Read More

Website Sales: 10 Reasons Why People Dont Buy From You

You've put up a website to promote a product or... Read More

3 Reasons Why You Need URL Rewriting Module To Enchance Your Web

URL rewriting are major needs for your sites that produce... Read More

You May Be Losing Valuable Traffic - And Not Even Know It!

Here's something you may never have thought of before:If I... Read More

New Years Resolutions: Is Improving Your Website One of Them?

With the New Year upon us yet again, it's time... Read More

Beautiful Web Sites Seldom Make More Sales

Designing an E-commerce Web site is not as simple as... Read More

7 Tips to Make Your Order Page Work Harder

So your prospect, Mary, is sitting at the computer reading... Read More

Selling Your Site: Outsource or Homemade?

To the starting internet entrepreneur, there is nothing more discouraging... Read More

Increase Hits to Help Increase Your Business

In this day and age most businesses consider having their... Read More

Successful Web Development: 10 Key Elements

There are many elements that are key to successful web... Read More

Running An Effective Website

Running an effective website is a continuous process. I have... Read More

Web Accessibility Myths

With more and more countries around the world passing laws... Read More

Website Success is Key

The popular search engine Google indexes over 8 billion websites.... Read More

Benefits Of An Accessible Website: Part 1 - Increase In Reach

The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) states that service providers must... Read More

5 Sure Fire Ways To Send Visitors Away For Good

So your traffic is going through the roof yeah? It's... Read More

Maximizing ROI via Web Site Traffic Analysis

We are clearly well past the innocent "golden age" of... Read More

Benefits Of An Accessible Website: Part 2 - The Business Case

The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) states that service providers must... Read More

The Internet Road Map

1) Data CaptureOne easy way to collect e-mail addresses and... Read More

Create Huge Income From Your Web Site - 10 Easy Ways

The cost of setting up a web site is dirt... Read More

4 Steps to Selling More With Your Web Site

Most web sites are more like stage sets than real... Read More

35% Revenue Increase? from Your Website!

2 Golden Rules for an Engaging Website35% of visitors fail... Read More

What Hosting Companies Dont Tell You, Could Hurt You?

Did you know that hosting companies overcrowd their servers despite... Read More

Improve Web Sales Figures Forever And Ever Amen!

"How do I improve web site sales figures?" The CEO... Read More

Getting One-way Inbound Links: the 5 Major Strategies

With search engines putting a damper on direct reciprocal links,... Read More

Learn to Build a Better Online Business Website Using Keywords and Content

Are you aware that 90% of the websites on the... Read More

Why You Need A Web Site

"I have a small business with just a couple of... Read More