Much of the success found online for many small businesses can be attributed to the concept known as e-commerce (“electronic commerce”). Its basic concept is to allow the transaction of money for goods and services through an electric device, as in a computer, mostly through the processing of credit cards through a software program on a website. It is one of the driving forces behind the 21st century global marketplace.

Integrating E-Commerce allows every business in the world to sell a product or service 24 hours a day through their website. Many will claim that you can not charge money for a “service” over the internet; remember, incorporating e-commerce can be as simple as a back-office tool used to bill clients after a service is performed. Another option for us in the service industry is to offer additional products through the website that complements our business.

Deciding on how to incorporate e-commerce into your online strategy can be difficult, but it is important to weigh in different options before making a move. Many different options exist, but we’ll boil them down to the three major categories.

The first is obviously the low-budget PayPal option. PayPal, an Ebay company, is an online bank that is used to make purchases online by millions of people every day. Set-up for using PayPal to accept money on your website takes very little time, but more importantly the service is free to use, other than the small percentage taken out per transaction. Another advantage, and probably one of the most challenging aspects of e-commerce is the security PayPal exudes. Known throughout the world, your customers can feel safe and secure using PayPal rather than trusting an unknown processor. However, by using PayPal, the transaction takes place outside of your website and takes a little longer to complete, in addition to not being as customizable as other e-commerce options.

The second choice in deciding on an e-commerce platform is purchasing third-party software. There are many, many options in this area that offer an array of credit card processing along with security and shopping cart features. Many are very customizable to help blend into and maintain the look and feel of your website. However, a merchant account service or bank may be required to handle the actual credit card processing, as these software programs usually don’t handle it. Again, the options here are many; you can find affordable low-end e-commerce platforms that just handle processing or elaborate platforms that offer lots of extras to add to the purchasing experience.

A final and obviously costly option would consist of a custom-built e-commerce system. While many would see this as overkill with all the third party software available, many decide to develop custom systems either in-house or through a skilled developer for security and customization. Many systems are actually combinations of third-party systems, as many of these software companies offer customizable options through their own development team. Either way, developing an e-commerce system ensures you full control over any option you may or may not want to offer customers making a purchase through your website.