Why eCommerce Software for Small Businesses?

It takes a lot to get any small business going and ecommerce businesses are no exception. Here are a few steps ecommerce owners must take:

• Choose and register a website domain name
• Select a website hosting company
• Design a website
• Decide on a shopping cart
• Set up a payment gateway
• Arrange for credit card processing
• Open a merchant account

And all this must happen before you sell a single product from your ecommerce website. This typically requires purchasing products from five or more companies to get your site up and running.

Now, imagine an ecommerce service that registers your chosen website domain name, provides you with easy website building tools, hosts your website, helps you apply for a merchant account, connects you to a shopping cart, a payment gateway and a credit card processing service, all working together in harmony—this is the power of ecommerce software.

But with the multitude of ecommerce software solutions available today, choosing the right product can be a cumbersome and time-consuming venture.

Within this site, you’ll find articles on ecommerce topics, recent news stories and comprehensive reviews to help you make an informed decision on which ecommerce software is right for your business. At TopTenREVIEWS – We do the research so you don’t have to™.

What to Look for in an eCommerce Service

There are many important attributes you should consider when purchasing software. Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate ecommerce software:

• Fraud Protection – eCommerce services offer you, the merchant, tools to prevent fraud. Examples include requiring customers to enter the CVV2 code printed on the back of most credit cards and processing your financial transactions over secure Internet connections. Look for an ecommerce service that offers these and other fraud protection tools.
• Hosting – eCommerce companies house your website on the Internet for you. Hosting service computers are powerful, dependable, and typically connected to main arteries of the Internet to ensure speedy visits for your customers. Many ecommerce services offer website hosting as part of their packages. Some ecommerce services offer unlimited bandwidth.
• Website Design – eCommerce websites let you enter your product choices and pricing, set up shipping options, figure necessary taxes, and set up your store to accept customer payments. The best services offer tools that are versatile, but simple to use.
• Shopping Cart – eCommerce services provide you with a web-based shopping cart (an electronic version of a grocery store shopping cart). After your customers pick what they want to buy, the customer moves to the check out by pushing a button. The order is totaled and confirmed.
• Credit Card Processing – Once a financial transaction is approved, this service records the transaction, removes funds from the credit cardholder's account and deposits them into your ecommerce merchant account.
• Ease of Installation and Setup – To start your ecommerce website, the ecommerce service shows you exactly what to do and how to do it. If the service does not provide you with all the necessary components to start your online business they should lead you to the services you need. For example, an ecommerce service that doesn't offer credit card processing should recommend compatible credit card processing services to make your set up easier.

With the correct eCommerce package, you can start selling your products online right now.

To read our top-ranked ecommerce software for small businesses review, click here.