So if you run your organization with minimal staff  but you want handle product updates yourself in house and don’t want to worry about compliance issues and/or customizing the look,  feel or functionality of pages  you may be better off with the hosted version. If you have an in-house design staff or web department and you spend time on SEO and like to customize the look and feel of the shopping cart then perhaps you would be better off with the stand alone package.

Either way make sure the product you choose offers all of the things that you want a shopping cart to do for you right out of the box.

Every vendor that accepts credit cards for payment whether online, in person or over the phone is required to be PCI complaint. There is great information about PCI Compliance at PCI Compliance Online Guide and at the Visa Partner Network. You can also check with your hardware vendor about the equipment that you currently own. As for software – many small businesses own some version of Intuit’s QuickBooks which has white papers explaining how to make your system complaint. They can be accessed at http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/papb.aspx .

They penalty for not being complaint is a fine in most cases but can result in your not being able to accept credit cards. Check your software, hardware and processes to make sure you are compliant before an issue arises.

Other PCI Sites –

Visa Rick Management
PCI Security Standards Council

Self Assessment Questionnaire

1. Domain Name Registration – whatever you choose for a domain name it will have to be registered with one of the many registrars. An annual registration fee will cost you different amounts depending on the registrar, but they range from 10.00 year to 35.00 year. You want to make sure that you or your developer choose a reliable registrar that has an easy to use interface and a 24/7 support line.
2. Host Servers – A host server is a collection of servers that stores all the files that make up your web site and give access to those pages to anyone surfing the net. Each site has different requirements from the server, depending on what the site is and the size of the site and the numbers of visitors to the site, and whether or not you are selling a product or service. In general I recommend that you take the recommendation of your web developer as they will know your sites requirements. Depending on the host, the amount of space and bandwidth that you require, whether or not you require security, a database and many other considerations it can costs you approximately $99.00/year to hundreds of dollars a year.

These two costs are standard with every site except a free blog or a Facebook page. There are additional costs if you are running an e-commerce site or taking credit cards for payment.

1. SSL – If you are accepting credit cards online you will need a Secure Socket Layer Certificate. There are a variety of levels of security encryption that meet different needs and cost different amounts. The average small to medium sized store is going to spend 39.00 to 250.00/year for this certificate.
2. Merchant Gateway – A merchant gateway is required to interface between your shopping cart software and your merchant account. There are various gateways just as there are various merchant accounts and they all charge a monthly fee as well as a transaction fee.
3. Shopping cart – there are free shopping cart but in general you are going to either pay a monthly fee for a hosted system or a larger one time license fee as well a regular upgrade charges.

All of these fees are in addition to whatever you pay a developer/designer for your website. As you can see they can be very limited if all you want is a small brochure site and somewhat more extensive for and online store.

If you run you own business this just becomes another chore that need to try to fit into your day. I know. I own my own business and adding time to update my site always seems to be something I can leave for tomorrow.

The first thing you need to do is evaluate where you site is in the standings and then decide what needs to be done to make improve its search position. Remember, whatever you think of your site, it’s purpose is to be either a marketing conduit or a place for you clients to get information or both. Review your metrics and create a marketing plan specifically for your web site. Break the plan down week by week for the next 6 months and make sure you stick to it. At the end of time you set for yourself you should see improved metrics. If you don’t then it may be time to hire a professional.

Many small companies that are deciding to go on the web for the first time have owner’s that are not regular users of the web and they often find it hard to know what they want. They want the stuff everybody else wants. So to all of you I say get out there and look around. Look at your competitor’s sites and see what they do. Jot down a list of options that there site offers. Then go to another industry in a similar field and check out the site there. What do they do? What do they do differently? What do you like about it? Not like about it?

After you have decided what functionality you want, then discuss this with various web developers and find out what the different options are going to cost, what is the best way to get access to them. Is there something you want that is outside your current budget? Can it easily be added later?

You don’t necessarily want to go with what the web developer is recommending if it’s what they always offer. See if they are choosing the best product for you or the best product for them.

In addition to functionality, you need to answer another question before finding a web designer – do you want to own the software or do you want pay a fee for a hosted solution. If you own the software, you download it and then customize the visual layer to meet your needs. You are then responsible for upgrading it in the future and for finding and paying for modules and plug-ins.  Many of the options you purchase licensing for are open source and as such they usually have a group of people that regularly write plug-ins and modules for the software that meet the needs of the evolving web. Hosted options limit you to using a host service that the software company owns, you pay a monthly fee that can include varying levels of support.  The software company constantly updates the software adding functionality based on what their clients feel are necessary. This software is generally not open source and you can pay a high fee for being allowed to access their source code. The design layer is usually limited to a set of themes that can only be modified within certain parameters. However, this kind of site, once setup requires very little maintenance and upkeep.  There are pro’s and cons to both systems that need to be evaluated by the end user.

Again, this is all basic purchasing research but many people don’t do it because the whole subject of the web intimidates them. Don’t pay thousands to get a website you hate and that doesn’t meet your needs only to be forced to find a better solution.  Do the research up front, no matter how painful and then find a developer that will get you what you want. That should result in a web site that you are happy with and that meets your needs.