Using a separate design and hosting service.

By separating design and hosting, you have more choices. Thus, you can have more control over both your budget and your site. Technical incompatibilities are a risk when taking this approach, however. Be sure your designer is familiar with your hosting service and it's technical capabilities. To help facilitate information flow and minimize technical problems:

(1) Choose a short list of hosts that offer ecommerce capabilities you require and pass "reliability" tests. Read "Don't Make These Hosting Mistakes" at http://www.take-payments-online.com/ECommerceWebHosting.html for questions to ask and other mistakes to avoid. (2) Find a Web designer experienced in ecommerce applications. (3) Together, decide on hosting service and ecommerce systems you will use.

Making Decision

Deciding upon right combination will take some research. One way to gather a list of hosting options is to first find ecommerce sites that you like and/or have ecommerce abilities similar to your needs, then ask about sites' hosting and ecommerce providers.

Asking for referrals from business acquaintances is another. Many times, people are more than happy to share their positive experiences. For example, I use five different hosts and am generally pleased with all of them. When asked about hosting, however, I always recommend Lexiconn.com (my WebSiteMarketingPlan.com site host) because of exceptional help desk service and support documents.

Another way to discover hosting options is to look for online advertisements. You can generally find these designated as "sponsored" listings in search engines and on informational Web sites. While there is no guarantee all of companies you find will be high-quality, willingness to pay for advertisements can be an indication of commitment.

Diligently decide upon ecommerce features and choose a host with those features in mind. By doing so, you are creating a smoother path to ecommerce success.

Accepting Payments Online through a Third Party Online Payment Processor

If you are not ready to set up your own online merchant account and/or you want to offer additional online payment options, you can turn to a variety of third party online payment processors.

Third party online payment processors provide a way to accept payments online without extra cost and obligation of a merchant account. To compensate, transaction fees and/or discount rates are significantly higher than for merchant accounts.

Each program is a little different and no single third party payment processor is right for all situations. Clickbank, for example, helps you sell digital products online. At last check, CCNow processes payment for tangible items only.

Deciding What's Best for You

Whether you accept payments online through an Internet merchant account, through a third party payment processor, or both, read all agreements carefully before committing. Do not hesitate to ask providers questions if information is unclear or incomplete.

There is more information about accepting payments online - including explanations of merchant account fees, finding right ecommerce providers, and third party payment processor overview - on ecommerce information site Take-Payments- Online.com, http://www.Take-Payments-Online.com .

Put together "puzzle pieces" for accepting payments online and your ecommerce Web sales will flourish!

Bobette Kyle is publisher of the ecommerce information site http://www.Take-Payments-Online.com . She is also proprietor of The WebSiteMarketingPlan.com Network, subject-specific Web sites designed to help you find the right information for writing and implementing your marketing plan. Visit here: http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com