Online Commerce, Payments and Store Software

Online commerce – conducting financial transactions and purchases online – is an exciting possibility for website owners.  Whether it’s to sell a product, take registration fees for a conference or event, let people purchase downloadable documents, software and ebooks, or just accepting donations, online commerce can be a key tool for any modern website.

Summersault has extensive experience recommending and implementing online commerce and online shopping solutions for our clients.  We’ve built online stores and credit card processing tools when no “off the shelf” solution would do, and we’ve also helped many organizations take advantage of great third-party services like PayPal, Google Checkout, Yahoo! Small Business, Etsy, eBay, and more when all they needed was a little help getting up and running.

Choosing a type of e-commerce system is an important part of running a successful online store. Commerce solutions come in three main varieties, and you have to find the one that’s right for you:

1. Payment services that handle the last step of the purchase
   Tools like PayPal and Google Checkout handle the final step of an online commerce transaction – receiving payment from your users.  They’ll provide some basic tools like a “Buy Now” or “Donate Now” button, but don’t often handle all the infrastructure needed for a full online store presence.
2. Third-party online store services
   Tools like Shopify and Yahoo! Small Business will help you build your online store from start to finish, without having to know a bit of code.  While the initial investment is lower, you might be limited by the features they provide.
3. Integrated Online Commerce
   With an integrated solution, all of the pieces of online buying happen right on your website – browsing products/services, adding items to a cart, receiving payment, order status updates, and more.  We use secure, fully-featured add-ons to WordPress and Drupal to build a store just the way you want it.  The initial investment might be higher, but the customization available is endless.

Confused? Summersault’s project management staff will be glad to help you walk through the different options available, and which one will work best for your needs.  We’ll help you evaluate things like how your product or service might dictate a certain kind of store solution, what shipping and inventory tools might be needed, tax and reporting implications (especially for donations), and branding and customization issues.  Contact us to get started.