Setting Up An Online Store, Pt 2
(continued from above)
Initially, I had a roll-your-own storefront which communicated with a gateway service I'd signed up with; but this was back in a simpler time. As online security became more and more of an issue, it became more and more time consuming for me to add layer after layer of security to the ordering forms. I ended up spending way too much time running the mechanics of the online store instead of writing the newsletter! So, I moved most of the processes to professionally-maintained commercial services; in effect, paying someone else to manage the minutia of the ordering process.
I've personally found one turnkey service--- PayPal--- to be the best for me, mainly because it's reliable, easy, and not terribly expensive. My second-choice is a hybrid service--- EasyStoreCreator--- using their front end plus my own merchant account, which I still have at Authorize.Net. My least-favorite choice is the turnkey (expensive and not very flexible) 2CheckOut, but I maintain my account there to help international customer who run afoul of the US-centric processes used on the other sites.
This all works, but it's still a complicated thing; and I hope to have some major simplifications and improvements to announce soon!
The above only scratches the surface, but at shows you the broad picture.
There's lots more information available online:
http://www.google.com/search?&q=accept+credit+card+online
http://www.google.com/search?&q=gateway+merchant+services
http://www.google.com/search?q=storefront+merchant+shopping+cart
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