Commerce Site Design

One option for your commerce site is to rely on service providers such as Web developers or local ISPs with hosting capabilities. There are companies that will work with you to design your site. Costs will vary depending upon the services provided. Examples of such companies include the following:

• Pegasus Internet, Inc. (http://www.pegasusnet.com)
• NMP, Inc. (http://www.nmpinc.com/)

While many organizations rely on ISPs or Web site developers to design and host their site, some organizations find that they can effectively host their site in-house. All-in-one packages are available from many companies, including Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com) and iCat Corporation (http://www.icat.com). These packages allow you to easily set up an online storefront or a simple ticketing form without needing to know complex CGI scripting or how to configure application servers.

If you have outgrown these all-in-one packages and you wish to design your own commerce site, you will need the following:

• A Web server. This is the program that receives incoming Internet traffic, generates Web pages, and returns information to the Web browser (e.g., Netscape's Enterprise Server 2.0)
• An application server. This is a fairly recent type of server that allows data stored in a relational database to be easily accessed using the Web (e.g., Netscape's Kiva Server)
• A relational database, such as Microsoft Access.
• A security mechanism, such as SSL.
• A payment system. See Internet World Daily's article, " Click Here to Pay" for additional information.

For more information on the above steps, see ZDNet's series of articles entitled " Buying into e-commerce". These articles are designed to step you through the process of setting up your own commerce system.