Besides the software you need to operate an informational website, you will also need specialized software to allow people to view, order, and pay for the products/services on your website.

The software needed to operate an e-commerce website can either be purchased or rented from the ISP hosting your site. Most businesses use the e-commerce software provided by their ISP because it is usually cheaper than purchasing the software.

The software needed to operate an e-commerce site is the shopping cart software. This is the operating system for placing orders on your site. It allows people to choose what they want to order, then enter the shipping information and credit card data.

To keep the ordering and credit card information secure over the Internet, websites use Secure Socket Layer encryption (SSL). SSL is available from your ISP if the ISP supports e-commerce sites. You can purchase the ability to use SSL to transmit data; it is, however, more economical to use the SSL offered by your ISP.

Besides designing your site to conduct transactions, you must have a way of processing the credit card orders. A merchant account obtained from your bank transfers the credit card payment from the purchaser’s account into your account. When you sign up for a merchant account, the bank may include the processing software or you can get it from your ISP assuming they support e-commerce websites.

Contains a guide for setting up an e-commerce website

www.ecommerce.about.com/smallbusiness/ecommerce/library/weekly/aa070600.htm

About.com has a good overview of what’s needed to start an e-commerce site. They also provide links to various vendors that supply the software and services needed.

www.wdvl.com/Internet/Commerce/MerchantAccounts/payment.html

Web Developers Virtual Library offers a good overview of credit card processing.

www.wdvl.com/Internet/Commerce/MerchantAccounts/account.html

Another good article by Web Developers Virtual Library on how to obtain a Merchant Account.

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