Following are the basic steps of building an e-commerce website
Building your own e-commerce website is not as hard as you may think. Following these steps will get you up and running with your own online e-commerce website in no time.

1. Online merchant account: REQUIRED - A merchant account allows you to accept credit card payments. If you already have a merchant account for your retail business, contact your merchant account company to find out if your existing account will allow you to take orders placed online. If not, or if you don't already have a merchant account, you may apply for your online merchant account with our easy Online Application.
2. Online payment gateway: NOT REQUIRED - An online payment gateway automatically authenticates online credit card payments. Many new e-commerce wait until their sales reach a certain level to add a payment gateway. With LetMeShop e-commerce software you may start out with out a payment gateway and add it at any time. We recommend Payflow Pro for most payment gateways.
3. E-commerce Software: REQUIRED - Choose the e-commerce play that fits your needs. LetMeShop gives you the option of choosing a plan that fits your needs. The professional plan gives you a sound foundation with many of the best marketing features to help you be successful with your e-commerce website.
4. Security Certificate: REQUIRED - Every e-commerce website should have their own security certificate. LetMeShop recommends GeoTrust to all of our customers. GeoTrust provides more security certificates than any other certificate company in the US. Don't worry about the technical details...we will process your request and install the certificate on your website for you.
5. Design your website: REQUIRED - LetMeShop makes it easy for you to create a professional design with a minimum of technical know how. And remember, we are always just an email or phone call away if you need help. Don't forget, we offer several inexpensive e-commerce design packages.
6. Develop your privacy statement and terms and conditions of use: In most cases, businesses are required to have a privacy statement that tells people what you do with the information gathered on the website. You also need to create a detailed set of terms and conditions of use to let people know what you will and will not do.
7. Enter your products: REQUIRED - This may well be the most time consuming step of building an e-commerce website. Just remember, you can start selling as soon as you have any number of products in your e-commerce website and continue building the number of products in your website as you go along.
8. Publish your site: As soon as you can, publish your website. It sometimes takes months for your website to get indexed by the search engines.
9. Register your website with the major search engines and directories: This is one of the most important steps of building an e-commerce website. DO NOT use an automated process for registering your website...take the time to do it individually for each major search engine and directory.
10. Manage your e-commerce website: REQUIRED - Successful e-commerce websites are well managed. You need to continually make changes, set up promotions and specials, change the content on your home page and focus on creating content for the search engines.
11. When in doubt...email or call...our job is to help you create and maintain a successful online e-commerce website.