B. Hopkins has published a great article on setting up an eCommerce store from scratch.  He clearly outlined the steps needed in getting started.  Here is a clip from the article:

4. Accept credit cards

You will want the ability to accept credit cards. Sure, you can run an ecommerce business by using fax, and/or requiring people to send in your checks, but you will be leaving a lot of money on the table if you don’t accept credit cards in one form or another.

5. Use a secure socket layer

A secure socket layer allows encrypts the data between the customer’s computer and your web server. It keeps prying eyes from sneaking a peek at sensitive data, such as credit card info. You can run a business without it, and you may get some sales, but the vast majority of people will not purchase from your web site if they don’t see the secure connection indicator on their web browser. Different browsers indicate the secure connection in different ways.

6. Use a payment gateway

A payment gateway collects the credit card info and sales info (price, customer info, etc.) and does some sort of basic fraud check, to make sure the credit card isn’t stolen, etc. It charges the customer’s credit card and deposits the money into your bank account.

7. Acquire a merchant account

A merchant account allows your business to charge sales to credit cards. It is basically a type of agreement between your business and a bank.

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