What is the best way to set up an e-commerce?

[tigerlily]

I am opening up an store in a month (off line) and would like to venture into doing an e-commerce as well. Could someone please guide me as to where I should start? Do you have recommendation of who to hire and what the cost would be?
As you can tell, I don't have much knowledge in this area and any guidence will be greatly appreciated.

[TipPro]

If you are somewhat computer savy and you have the time, your best bet is to do it yourself. No one is going to work harder for a quality eCommerce site for your business than yourself.

If you do decide to hire someone to create your Web site, try to find someone locally. A lot of people in this forum may guide you towards various Web sites to find a programmer but this would not be good for your situation. You need someone to come into your store and work with you one on one to come up with a solution that will enhance your off line business.

Depending on your needs, expect to spend between $1k to $5k building your initial Web site. Initially your monthly bills will be low under $100 until your Web site starts picking up more business and Web traffic.

[Corey Bryant]

Sit down and write out what you want in your shopping cart - like do you want to give real time shipping? What gateway? Do you want users to create an account? Do you want to host the cart on your own server or a hosted solution? Do you want ASP, .NET, PHP? Do you need the ability to add options (like color, sizes), etc.

You will also need an internet merchant account with an electronic payment gateway (LinkPoint, Authorizenet.com, Verisign's Payflow). You might consider a third party processor like Paypal as well.

I would consider putting an SSL on your site and don't use a shared SSL. This might be more expensive because you will also need your own IP address. But doing it this way will be easier in case you decide to move your shopping cart.

[roban]

The above points are all valid.

When you say you are opening a store off-line what exactly do you mean? Is this a brick and mortar store on Main Street?

My advice to you is to 'read, read, read'. There is a ton of information out there and all kinds of promises from people willing to take your hard earned dollars to set up an online shopping cart system for you. The main thing here is to keep control. In other words it would not be a good idea to buy in to a system hosted by a company who will set up your store, stock it and handle the payments. Although this might seem appealing to you, it's the worst thing you can do IMO. You should know as much if not more about the system as the people who developed it. Make sure it has a strong community behind it in a forum so you can get feedback and support from other users.

Register your own domain through a host who has a track record for hosting e-commerce. Some even offer free carts through their administrative or back end. I know mine offers 3 of them and the set up is a breeze.

What you don't know can and will hurt you in the e-commerce game and an online solution takes just as much work as a brick and mortar shop. You still have to stock it, make it attractive and market it so, know what you're doing before you start and then keep on learning.

[opensourceforce]

E-biz is like any business. People will spend more time researching a good lawn care service then a website firm or programmer.

I have seen many clients come in need of help after spending $3000 to $20000 on websites and custom programming and they had nothing to show for it. I have seen people excited about a "custom built cart" that cost $17,000 or more and the programmer sold them a CRE or X-Cart site with a custom template.

So you are taking a good first step by asking around, but just make sure you see samples of their work. Ask for contact details for some clients. Check themout at the BBB or Ripoffreport.com types of sites. Also, have a VERY clear idea of what you want and need before you go to a service provider. If they tell you what they think you need, you might find yourself with a large bill and little value-adding work.