To respond to the common request to provide maps, directions and other information we have created a "Locations" page type for the Website Forge system. This page type allows you to easily list physical store locations or locations where your products may be available.

To pay "hosting" is to rent space on the worldwide web to make your web site available to anyone around the world. Hosting usually includes e-mail service, disk space, database services and something called "bandwith". Bandwith is the amount of traffic or visitors allowed to view your web site each month. Most hosting companies host your web site on one server shared by many other customers. Also many hosting companies have one or two "backbone" (large) connections to the internet.

One disadvantage of shared hosting is poor performance. This poor performance is often an indication of "oversold" servers or perhaps one particular web site is using too much of the server's resources. More often this happens with hosting services priced under $35.00. Hopefully the web developer you choose should provide a reliable host. Be ware of anyone who uses "low cost" hosting as a selling point. You get what you pay for.

I have worked with commercial web site customers for over 10 years. Over the years we learned from our customers what it takes to assure their web site is always available and as fast as possible. Every web site we provide runs on at least 3 servers. This means that even if 2 servers fail, your web site will still be available to your customers. And our consists of five HUGE OC-12 connections provided by AT&T, UUNET, Qwest, Time Warner, and Sprint. Our network has been up 100% of the time for the last 2 years.

Not only do we provide the best quality "hosting" available. But the monthly fee you pay for a Website Forge site includes Virus protection, spam protection, unlimited bandwith, unlimited space, no page limit, no product limits, unlimited e-mail and call back phone support and more. That's STILL not all. You also receive FREE upgrades for your monthly fee. Let me give you an example. Just recently every credit card has a 3 or 4 digit security code on the back. ALL of our Website Forge customers received FREE upgrades to their shopping carts. This means that you shouldn't have to pay any more for addtional pages, or upgrades we provide..... EVER. Your monthly fee is all you need to pay.

Shane Merem
Website Forge
shane.merem@magnusoft.com

I am asked almost daily what is the best method to accept credit cards. Nearly everyone knows of Pay-Pal and there is always a 50/50 split when it comes to popularity.

Paypal became popular when E-bay attracted millions of individuals that wanted to buy and sell to each other. Since there really was not a good way to transfer funds without mailing checks Paypal provided a way that individuals could move some money into a "virtual account" and then exchange money for goods. Funding this account with credit cards was just ONE method you could fund your Paypal account. You could draft money directly from your checking account if you desired. My point is that Paypal was not originally intended to become a credit card merchant. Does Paypal try to make it easy to quickly create an account and use your credit card to make a payment? Sure they do... In fact they are now starting to compete with real credit card merchants by lowering their 4% transaction fee based on volume.

What is a "Merchant Account" ? A merchant account is what I would consider a business banking service of a sort.. You would contact a merchant (we like www.posprocessing.com) and fill out an application. Once approved you will receive something called a "Virtual Terminal". A virtual terminal is a web site that provides all the functionality of that little black box that you see on the counter of many stores. The only difference is you type in the credit card number instead of swipe the card.

True merchant accounts charge less per transaction.. Closer to 2.6% (don't quote me on that) but do have some charges that Paypal does not. For instance you may pay monthly fees to keep the account much like a bank account. You usually also pay a setup fee anywhere from $99.00 on up depending on what type of business you have.

My personal opinion is that a merchant account is the way to go. The biggest reason is that it requires less time from your customers. If a customer wants to buy your product and doesn't have a Paypal account then they will be forced to create one. This can be annoying. Most true merchant accounts can be integrated so that your customer never leaves your web site. This is also more comfortable for the customer.

Are there good points of Paypal? Yes, to be fair.. Most web sites can easily integrate Paypal to your web site and you can be running in a day or two. Also you don't have to pay setup fees or monthly fees to use Paypal.

Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
www.magnusoft.com
shane.merem@magnusoft.com

I wanted to create this Blog as a way to communicate useful information about web site design, e-commerce systems, and marketing techniques.

Enjoy.
Shane Merem
www.websiteforge.com
www.magnusoft.com
shane.merem@magnusoft.com