Choosing Software for Your Online Store
When it comes to picking the right software to maintain your company's online store and accept credit-card transactions, there are literally hundreds of options to choose from. The particular software that you choose should be based on three main considerations:
- How much you are willing to spend?
- How many products will you be selling online?
- What is your required ease-of-use level?
Don't be fooled by top-of-the-line e-business software packages in the thousand-dollar range. When it comes to software price tags, bigger is not necessarily better. There are companies of all sizes selling their products online. And while large corporations might require those expensive software packages, the typical small business has more modest needs. There is such a thing as too much software when it comes to e-business.
For most small businesses, a commerce software package in the $150 to $1,200 (U.S.) range should be sufficient to handle the amount of items offered and the number of transactions an online storefront will generate. Really small businesses can get by for even less with low-cost solutions. Yahoo! Store offers an affordable hosting solution that doesn't require you to buy any software.
How Many Products Will You Be Selling on Your Site?
Be sure that the product database component of the software will support the number of items that you intend to offer on your site. If you currently have 100 items for sale, it's important to choose software that allows you to offer more items for sale when your online business expands.
The software you choose should be compatible with other applications you currently use to keep track of your product database or inventory. Tell the salesperson or software representative what program you use to maintain your inventory, and ask if the software they offer is compatible. This way, you will be able to directly "import" (transfer data) from your existing program to your site without having to learn a new system.
How Easy Is the Software to Use?
Ease of use might be the most important consideration when choosing a software package. Choosing a program that allows you to have control over adding (or deleting) products from your site will keep the control where it belongs — with you.
The software you choose must have a security system for accessing credit-card numbers; either in the form of encryption or in an administrative interface. Encryption is the encoding of information so that it cannot be understood during transmission. An administrative interface is a means of secure access to this information.
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