So you want to sell online? It can be worth doing if done right.

Cost: Varies with sales

What's involved in selling products or services on-line? More than you'd guess, but we know how to manage it. Here's a list of the things you have to know; make sure the web site designer you choose can answer these questions:

• Has he or she written a custom shopping cart, or which one does he or she recommend?
• What does the shopping cart cost per month?
• What credit card gateway is used? What is its setup and monthly cost? (Some charge for your statements each month!)
• If you have your own credit card machine, can the shopping cart provide you with a list of numbers so you can ring up the charges yourself and avoid the gateway costs?
• Does the shopping cart support PayPal, the Internet standard for web purchases?
• How does the cart handle state tax? How about VAR tax in the case of international sales?
• Can you customize the cart with your company logo, slogan, welcome message and other information?
• How hard will it be to integrate the cart with the rest of your web site?
• What mechanism is used to get the order/shipping information to you? Is it in a format your shipping department can use?
• Are you obligated to stick with this shopping cart for some period of time? If so, how long?
• Who will maintain your catalog (product list)? If it's the web site designer, what will be the cost of making changes?