A gateway is essentially a secure and trusted entity that will process your credit card transactions and deposit the money into your bank account. When working with sensitive information like credit card numbers, a gateway like Authorize.net acts like a point-of-sale terminal found in, say, a retail store.

Yes, there are some companies that offer an all-in-one kind of package, like PayPal. PayPal acts as both a shopping cart and a gateway, which  makes it an convenient choice for many small businesses. But unless you are familiar with basic web programming, adding and managing lots of products could prove difficult.

However, before jumping into it, it’s important to consider your needs. Some shopping carts are cheap (if not free) and easily configurable, but are limited as to the ease and level of customiation. An example of this would be Zen Cart, which, out of the box, is essentially like being handed a template.

Then there are other options, like Mal’s E-commerce, which provide a little more flexibility when it comes to the shopping experience, but require the checkout procedure to take place through their own secure server, meaning that customers will be taken away from your site to check out.

Hip Web Design likes to use WP E-Commerce, which is made especially for WordPress powered websites. The platform allows users to manage their store through the same back-end that they manage their website’s content. It is also extremely easy to configure and pair with a number of gateway services. The biggest benefit of using something like WP E-Commerce, which integrates with an existing content managment server, is the high level of customization, from the shopping experience to the check out procedure.

Whatever your needs may be, Hip Web Design would be happy to sit down with you and help you figure out the best plan of attack. So, if you’re looking to start that online store, make sure to give Hip Web Design a call so that you can get started off right.