What do I need to do to sell products from my Zip site?

All Zip sites have e-commerce capability (though adding a shopping cart necessitates an additional $99 setup fee). Beyond obtaining your Zip site, there are a few additional things you will need.

1. Digital Certificate

A digital certificate is what makes the small yellow lock appear on the bottom bar of your browser window. It means that the page is encrypted, and that credit card information can be entered without fear of it being exposed. It allows for SSL (secured socket layers) protection for a web page. A digital certificate is a small file associated with your domain name, and it is unique to a domain name. They can be obtained from a wide variety of vendors, and are licensed on a yearly basis, normally. You must have one to provide a safe environment for people to offer credit cards on your web site. Bulaworks can provide one for you for an additional $100 fee (this is separate from the $99 e-commerce fee) or you can obtain one on your own and provide it to us. If we provide it for you, it will be good for a year and then will require renewal.

2. Merchant Account

A merchant account is what allows you to accept credit cards. It is a special account with a bank, and it requires a special approval process. If you want to sell things from your Zip site, you will either need a merchant account or you will need to work through a third-party (like Paypal) who will accept credit cards on your behalf for a commission on each sale. We would be happy to connect you up with a partner who can provide a low-cost merchant account for you. If you would like your Zip site to integrate with Paypal, it won't be a seamless connection, but we can set that up for you.

3. Gateway Service

If you are selling high-volume from your web site, you may want to automate the transaction process. A gateway is the middle man between your Zip site and your merchant account. This service allows for the site to book a transaction in realtime, and validate a card. If the transaction succeeds, the money will be deposited into your merchant account. If you are selling a high volume of products, this would save you the trouble of processing each order manually. The Zip shopping cart supports two gateway services: Verisign's Payflow Pro and Authorize.Net. Your merchant services provider can help you secure one of these.