Getting started is easy once you know what to expect. In this section you'll find an overview of how eSellerCart works, what's expected of you and resources for getting the tools you need to quickly and easily commerce enable your website.

eSellerCart Overview
eSellerCart is a powerful tool for commerce-enabling a new or existing website. It does NOT provide a website in and of itself but rather it plugs into your hosted website. You maintain complete control over the look and feel of your website at all times. The Catalog Manager will step you through the creation of your catalog of products and help you organize them by pages of like products; navy blue pumps on the shoe page, Limited Edition Monopoly on the board game page and decaf Costa Rican coffee on the hot beverages page.

The eCommerce Manager steps you through transaction preferences including order value, order notification, tax settings, shipping preferences and more. ESellerCart then builds a custom cart just for you. The Cart remains on our secure servers, protecting you and your customers.

When your catalog is complete the eSellerCart HTML Generator will produce the HTML code for each product and the specific attributes you've assigned. You copy and paste into your website.

Shoppers purchase right from your site and are transported to our secure server environment where their credit card and billing information is captured and securely stored. You log in, process the order via our gateway and transaction processing system and ship the product.

What do I need to commerce-enable my site?
The check list here will give you a good sense of what you will need to build a successful ecommerce website.

• Secure A Domain Name
  You will need a domain name for your website. Most common domain names end in .com, .net., and .org but .biz, .info and .name are now also available. If you do not have a domain name, you can purchase a domain name at http://www.ehost.com.
  
  
• Secure a Hosting and Domain Name eMail Account
  With eCartSeller, you have complete control over the look and feel of your website. You will need to acquire a hosting account . (Go to http://www.ehost.com if you don't already have a hosting account.) You will build your site and publish it with your hosting company. Then add the HTML generated by the eSellerCart HTML Generator tool into the appropriate sections of your site. Make sure your hosting account allows you to send and receive email under your domain name. If not, get a separate account.
  
  
• Secure a Compatible Merchant Account
  If you do not already have a merchant account that supports online transactions you will need to get one. We recommend eSellerCart Credit Card Services accounts because they are fully integrated into the eSellerCart eCommerce Manager. If you have an existing merchant account you will need to verify that it is compatible with one of our payment gateways: eSellerCart Credit Card Services has it's own integrated gateway. Other gateways supported are: AuthorizeNet 3.0, IntelliPay, and LinkPoint.
  
  
• Gather Your Product Images and Descriptions
  Before you start building your store, have the product images and descriptions ready to go. For images you'll want to have a high-resolution digital photo. Click here to learn more about digital images. You'll also want to have strong sales copy for your product descriptions. Consider highlighting complimentary products within the product description to enhance your revenue per order.
  
  
• Know your Shipping Costs!
  As you build your catalog you'll be prompted for the shipping weights of each product. If you plan to use auto-mated shipping calculations, you'll need to know how much a product weighs once it's wrapped and ready to ship. If you want to add a handling fee, you'll need to know how much the shipping packaging costs too. You can always get started with the Merchant Calculated Shipping setting which lets you add the shipping costs once you've shipped the product.
  
  
• Know Your State's Laws on Collecting Sales Tax!
  Some states charge sales tax and some do not. You'll want to check with your tax accountant or your state tax board for accurate, up-to-date information for your state.
  
  
• Build Your Marketing Plan.
  You'll make better copy and business decisions if your marketing plan is in place before you build your catalog. You'll know if you need to create custom messaging for your email confirmation or if you'll want to provide customers with the option of direct-sending gift orders. You'll know when to add a cross-sell message and how to communicate specials and promotions.

Do I need a domain name?
Yes. You will need a domain name. Sometimes called a Top Level Domain, you'll need to own or have permission to use, a domain name. You will need to park your domain with your hosting company so that your website can be reached when a customer types in your domain name. To order your domain from us, click here. Your domain name will automatically be set up on our name servers for convenient access.

Do I need a hosting account?
Yes. You will need a hosting account. The eSellerCart is designed as an add-on product to commerce enable your website. If you have a hosting account, you can add the eSellerCart generated HTML into your site. If you don't have a website, we recommend that you can purchase one from our partner, http://www.ehost.com . You'll be able to log in and manage your hosting account, your domain name and your eSellerCart settings from the same log in.

Do I need an email account?
Yes. You will need an email account. Most likely your hosting account provider has included an email account for your domain name when you registered for their hosting service. If not, click here to get domain-based email. You'll need an email address to receive order notifications and to communicate with your customers. We recommend that you do NOT use a free web-based email account. A domain-based email account, such as you@yourdomainc.om, provides greater credibility with your customers.

Do I need to know HTML?
Not necessarily. You will not need to know HTML in order to use eSellerCart to commerce enable your existing website although we believe the process will be easier for you if you have some knowledge of how a website works. The more advanced your knowledge of HTML the more you can customize the look and feel of your site.

The Catalog, Commerce, eCart and Order managers all use a forms-based wizard to set your preferences and generate the product HTML you will copy and paste on your website.

However, you will mostly likely need to know HTML to build your website. If your hosting company supports it, you can use an HTML editor like Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia's DreamWeaver to generate the HTML for your website.

Our customer service team does not provide HTML support.

Do I need a Merchant Account?
Yes. You will need a merchant account in order to process credit cards online. The eSellerCart Credit Card Services account is fully integrated into the process complete with an online application and integrated payment gateways. Click here to learn more about the eSellerCart Credit Card Services account.

If you already have a merchant account, you will need to verify that it is compatible with our integrated gateways.

Other Payment Gateways Accepted by eSellerCart:
In addition to the eSellerCart Credit Card Services gateway, eSellerCart will support Intellipay, Authorize.net, and LinkPoint Basic payment gateways. You must have a merchant account that supports these gateways.
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Do I need a security certificate for my site?
eSellerCart provides a secure environment for taking credit cards and other personal information. You will not need a security certificate for the order forms for the products you are selling from eSellerCart. If you need to collect secure information outside the specific products and the eSellerCart check out process, you will need a security certificate for those parts of your website.

Do I need to display a privacy policy?
Privacy is a real concern to internet shoppers. While it is not necessary to display a privacy policy, we strongly recommend that you do. You can view a sample privacy policy at the Better Business Bureau Website. The site is rich with information on the privacy concerns of internet customers and businesses. Click here to learn more: