Cash in on web

Jan 11 2005 Barry Hebbron, Evening Gazette

Senior Lecturer in Web Engineering for information, communication & technology training and consultancy, the North East New Technology Institute

Adding an online sales facility to your website is one way of attracting new business or adding value to an existing contract.

Online trading will increase the profitability of the web both for you and your customers.

In the twelve months to July, £8.8bn was spent online in the UK alone.

At the NTI at Teesside University seven key steps have been identified.

1. Review your current use of computer technology;

2. Consider the connection between the computer and the outside world;

3. Acquire an account with an Internet Service Provider;

4. Select and buy a domain name for your web presence;

5. Acquire web space, which may be provided by your ISP or sourced separately;

6. Develop a web based online catalogue and shopping cart facility (for taking orders);

7. Utilise a means of receiving payments.

Step 1: Your normal business

A personal computer (PC) is all that is needed for most applications, but you should check that the PC and the software it supports meet the specific requirements of the e-commerce solutions you choose.

Step 2: You probably already have an Internet connection for web access and email, and this will serve perfectly well for managing your site. If you have a standard 56Kbps dial-up connection, you may want to consider upgrading to one of the broadband options, especially if your site will have many products.

A broadband connection is "always on", so Internet response is fast but your computer is permanently connected and more vulnerable to hackers.

Use of a firewall system is essential. Your PC will require a network interface or cable modem and the service is not yet available everywhere.

Step 3: Find an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Your ISP provides your gateway to the Internet, through which you can maintain your web store and send and receive emails. Avoid free Internet connection offers. For business use it is better to have a paid account. Many prices typically start at around £10-20 per month.

Step 4: Your web space must be hosted on a web server. Most businesses rent server space from a web host, or use web space that comes as part of a connection package. Your choice of web host is more critical than your choice of ISP.

If your Internet connection fails you cannot connect to the Internet, but your web site will still be available to others. If your web server fails, your web site will disappear, losing you valuable business.

Step 5: It is essential that you acquire an appropriate domain name. This is a name unique to your company, which gives you a straightforward web address that is easy for customers to remember. Your hosting company can purchase and set up a domain name on your behalf, or you can purchase it independently.

Step 6: Build your shop. There are essentially two routes to developing an e-commerce presence. Contact a developer who will construct a solution specifically for your needs.

Alternatively adopt a commercial off the shelf software solution. With the latter, the development time is greatly reduced and the subsequent costs are less, so profit margins are higher.

Long-term security is improved as software products are subject to ongoing development while bespoke solutions eventually become obsolete. One of the most widely used and supported solutions is Actinic's Catalogue suite of applications. NTI provides approved trainers in this software.

Step 7: It is recommended that you move towards online transactions using credit card payment. The best e-commerce solutions will also allow other options such as cheque with order or payment on account. To process credit card payments you will need an Internet Merchant Account, and be able to process CHNP (cardholder not present) transactions. To begin with you can receive orders directly and process them manually. A secure server (SSL) can increase sales by offering customers the reassurance of the golden padlock, a widely recognised hallmark of secure transactions.

So can you sell on-line? Yes, of course you can. You may find that you have already taken several of the steps and all you need is reassurance before you take some of the others.

NTI Tees Valley and County Durham is a project led by the Teesside University, which is committed to making available its nationally recognised academic excellence in the information communication technology field.