Internet and E-Commerce Businesses

The world of internet or "e-commerce" can be very difficult to grasp at first.   With so many difference options how do you know what you need or the best solutions for your business?   If you are new to e-commerce we recommend that you take a few minutes to read our short essay - Just click here.  If you have already started your e-commerce project or at least started it, TMS can take you all the way through to the completion and live publishing of your online store. In order to sell products on the internet most businesses will need the following: A special merchant account specifically designed for processing credit cards on the internet.  Note most retail store accounts may not be used for this purpose. A way to process credit card transactions, which is usually an internet gateway service, but can also be pc based software or a credit card terminal.  This is also known as an Application Program Interface (API) A shopping cart program that will allow you to display the products or services you sell including their images, categorize them, and describe them, as well as give your customers an easy way to shop by allowing them to select the products they want to purchase, compute order totals, shipping fees, appropriate taxes etc., compile the order, capture the payment and shipping information and provide a receipt for their records.  A hosting service.  You will need a place to publish your corporate web site.  Your web site can be anything from some basic information on your business to a detailed content rich web site like this one.  We find that most merchants that contact us are in one of the following categories.  If one of these fits you, than you may wish to jump to the appropriate link or just take the entire eCommerce tour if your prefer: