Hosting services that integrate site-building tools and e-commerce capabilities can simplify building an e-commerce site, but you can still take some steps to make the most of the opportunity. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Compare the costs.

Monthly hosting fees are just the beginning. You'll also need a merchant account if you intend to process credit cards. That often means another monthly fee, as well as a percentage "discount" on each purchase, and possibly a fixed per-transaction fee. Some hosts, like the Yahoo! Merchant plans, take a cut out of each transaction as well, and some merchant accounts withhold a reserve against charge-backs (disputed or reversed transactions).

2. Get your paperwork in order.

Secure your domain name, if you haven't already. Set up your merchant account. Even if your business has one for a retail location, you may need a different one to accept card-not-present transactions. And consider a visit to your accountant and attorney to find out if expanding your sales to new regions will have tax or legal implications.

When You Design Your Site...

3. Plan your site.

Know who your customers are and develop a clear vision of how your site will meet their needs. Devise a plan: Put together some simple mockups—even on paper—and decide what pages and sections your site needs before you jump into designing pages and uploading your product catalog. Remember that different users may prefer to find products in different ways: browsing by manufacturer or brand, browsing by product category, or using a site search, for example.

4. Apply best practices to your design.

Common principles of effective Web site and e-commerce design are well established at this point. Consult books and Web sites, like Jakob Neilsen's Alertbox (www.alertbox.com), for expert advice. Surf your competitors to see what they do well—and not so well.

5. A few basic principles: Keep it simple.

Don't make your customers work hard: Other sites are just a click away. Make sure your pages are slim and fast-loading (lots of users still have dial-up connections), but don't skimp on detailed product information that will help them make an informed purchase. Use tactics like creating thumbnail images that you can click to enlarge; this helps keep page size down but still lets customers see lots of detail if they're interested in a particular item.

6. Include critical information.

Almost every e-commerce site needs to provide contact information, payment options, shipping and return policies, and a privacy policy. If you also have retail locations, be sure to provide addresses, business hours, maps, and directions, too. Other types of content that are often useful include an About Us page describing the company and providing bios of key personnel. You can also have pages for customer testimonials, news and announcements, and order status.

7. Conduct informal usability testing.

Do a quick sanity check on your design and site organization. Show it to a friend or colleague who hasn't seen it before and is willing to give an honest opinion. Ask them if they can figure out how to find interesting products and place an order. Repeat this with a few different people and you'll quickly flush out major shortcomings and oversights.

8. Check your site carefully before you launch.

Nothing says unprofessional like broken links, spelling errors, missing graphics, and other obvious glitches. Make sure you catch them before the site goes live. And check again after you launch to make sure nothing changed when you went from preview mode to live site.

9. Gain visibility.

You don't necessarily need to pay for a search-engine submission tool: It's not hard to submit your site manually to the big players like Google and MSN Search. You can try to get a listing in directories like Yahoo!'s, but you'll have to pay for the privilege. Driving traffic to your site can be a major challenge, so consider cross-listing your products in high-traffic marketplaces like eBay or Amazon.

10. Keep it fresh.

Take advantage of seasonal opportunities, refresh content regularly, and consider running promotions and specials so that visitors get in the habit of returning to see what's new. Don't forget to remove dated material when sales or other special offers end.

11. Build customer relationships.

It's often much more efficient to service repeat customers than to acquire new ones. Entice visitors to sign up for e-mail notifications, offer promotions and discounts to your best customers, or find other ways to go beyond just fulfilling individual transactions.

12. Monitor your results.

What sections of your site are customers visiting? How many of them buy, and how many just leave? Which products are selling well? Use whatever reporting tools your host provides to learn as much as you can. Update your site often to serve your customers better.

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