How to Make a Website to Sell Items
Creating an e-commerce website allows you sell items and basically run your own online store. There are several approaches you can take to set up this kind of website, including signing up for an "all-in-one" package or coding a website from scratch. In each case, you will need to acquire a domain name to tell potential customers how to get to your site. Once your website is set up, you also will need to promote and advertise it to attract visitors.
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Instructions
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Set up your website using an "all-in-one," hosted shopping cart software with a vendor. You can select from Network Solutions' CommerceSpace, GoEmerchant Internet Store, Volusion and BigCommerce, among others. These all-in-one packages typically include customizable templates, drag-and-drop features for adding products and inventory, built-in shipping options and customer management tools. They also have security and encryption protections enabled. You can also customize payment methods to accept debit and credit cards, checks and online currencies like PayPal. With this option, you usually pay the company an initial fee upfront and then a monthly fee for as long as you use the software.
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Purchase a domain name, web hosting and install a free content management system (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla or Drupal on your website. These are free, open-source software programs that hold your site's content and give you a central, Web-based interface to manage it. To get your site e-commerce ready, you need to install a shopping cart "plug-in" or "extension" for the CMS, a pre-coded program published by a third-party. For example, you can install "WP e-Commerce" for WordPress, "HikaShop" for Joomla or "Ubercart" for Drupal. These add-ons usually allow you to customize your shopping cart template, integrate online payment gateways like PayPal or Google Checkout and customize shipping options.
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Establish a merchant account with an online payment processor and integrate "Buy Now" or "Pay" buttons on your site. Payment processors include Authorize.net, Intuit ECHO and First Data. With this method of selling items, you need to create your own website from scratch--or hire a web developer to do it--and set up a business or merchant account with a bank. The payment processor company enables you to accept credit and debit card payments and electronic checks. The company handles the routing of the customer's payments and automatically deposits the money into your bank account.
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