While some websites are designed for informational and lead generation most are setup to sell something. And in selling things you'll need a merchant account which processes the credit cards. In this arena there are two different types of merchant accounts; third party processors and your own merchant account.
Third party processors make it easy to start accepting credit cards online. You really don't have to do anything other than signup and put some code on your website. The way they work is that when a customer is ready to place an order they are transported to the third party site to make payment. The third party handles all transactions in a secure environment and deposit the money in your bank account (less a fee to you).
Third Party Processors
PayPal
PayPal, now owned by eBay, makes it easy to start accepting credit cards. You just sign up for free and PayPal keeps 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. They offer some of the best rates and are becoming very popular among consumers as a reliable payment method. PayPal also offers a ton of features that make it really easy to integrate into third party programs like shopping carts. Definitely go this route to get started and to add as an additional payment option to your clients.
Google Checkout
Google came on the credit card processing seen just recently and are great if you're selling tangible goods. They also offer an incredibly low per transaction fee of only 2% + $0.20. Not to mention that you get all sorts of credits if you're also an AdWords customer (Google's Pay Per Click advertising program). Google Checkout is free to sign up for.
2Checkout
2Checkout (2CO) is similar to PayPal but they charge higher per transaction fees. They charge a one time setup fee of $49 then 5.5% + $0.45 per transaction. The thing I like about 2CO is that they let you manage all your products through a back end interface which makes it easy to add code to your site and go in and make updates to the product.
Your own merchant account
This is by far the most professional option. Your own merchant account allows the visitor to stay on your site all the time without having to go somewhere else to complete the sale.
CDG
This is the company I use and I love them. It's really easy to get up and running and besides a $10/month standard fee, they don't charge the monthly fees usually associated with other merchant account companies. Other companies require startup costs and other monthly fees and minimums that CDG doesn't offer.
If you want CDG offers Authorize.net emulation which is an extra $15/month (same prices os Authorize.net themselves) and allows you to integrate more easily into any type of third party script you might have.
As an incentive to get you going with CDG if you sign up using the above link I'll give you 3 months of free web hosting. Just let me know when you sign up and once verified I'll provide you with a coupon to use for the hosting plan.
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