With so many online businesses failing, you may wonder, is it really worth considering the creation of an online business? The answer is yes, Internet-based companies are still on the increase of 25-30% annual rate. Although the economic slowdown in recent years has not prevented this increase.

According to an annual report on Internet trends by a superior market research company, nearly two thirds of Internet users in the United States now have to buy a product or service. That's a dramatic increase in 2000.

While the future is in the new economy is maybe more, one thing is certain: the Internet has changed the way we do business. Many companies are beginning to understand that their very survival may be at risk if they are slow in implementing its business model of Internet.

Yet the question remains - Is there an efficient way of doing business online?

Below I have noted some of the fundamental components of any online venture. While these may not be the only vital components of web-based business, properly understanding will significantly increase your chances of succeeding with your online business.

The main ingredient you need is a business plan that makes sense and has been fully researched.

A recent report by AT & T of successful entrepreneurs shows that businesses are more likely to succeed if they have a business plan. With a business plan to get a better picture of your business plan. Therefore, before you venture online, take time and write what you intend to do. Product or Service If you are a brick and mortar company simply trying to increase sales of your products or services on the Internet. You at least do not have to think about what to sell.

You can sell almost any product or service on the Internet, there are cases of people who buy corporate aircraft online!

If you are serious about starting a business online, to find a product or service that suits you should not be too difficult.

assets of the knowledge base, such as e-books, as the reports and hard to find good information on Internet issues, drop ship are also abundant in the network. Thanks to its customer base throughout the world of the Internet to find a manufacturer of any product to be imported to their country or the export of their country has become much easier. If you have expertise, online services related to web design, travel arrangements, etc. are also good areas. Internet gambling is also a very good area to investigate.

The appearance of your website is important because potential customers decide whether to do business with you or not based on first impressions of your website is vital to have a professional looking website with rich content.

You can decide what type of website you want according to your situation, there is a wide range of options. From a completely free website that you can spend thousands for a more advanced site.

Understanding SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is very important, the creation of your site that is fully optimized for search engines is vital. Many companies offer their services to optimize your site, however you can do for yourself researching the issue before developing the site.

There are many portals that allow you to have quality products and services on a single page web site for free. Many business web companies offer such services. However, for real time transactions that still need to e-commerce web sites.

For a small monthly fee you can have the necessary facilities to run an online store full of law and build yourself from easy to use templates.

If you go for these services, compare and see who has the most features at the best price.

Shopping carts are an essential part of e-commerce sites that allow you to accept orders for many products or services.

The term "Shopping Cart" is taken from real life shopping terminology to help users understand the actions available to them. Like in a supermarket in a person can add items to your shopping cart or remove items from the cart or adjust the amount of elements such as a requirement before you leave and make a payment.

Access to the shopping cart should be evident. There must be many entry points into the basket. Add, remove and adjust the amount of product characteristics should be high on the shopping cart page. The name of the article should have a link to the product description. You must be a way to save articles for future purchases. Shipping and other should be clearly stated before the checkout process begins. Order formS should be simple and clear. All payment options should be explained clearly. ordering process should be done through a secure server. You know you're using a secure connection when directing your browser indicates "https:". The s at the end of http stands for "secure." Merchant Account 90 percentage of all retail sales take place online through credit card transactions.

Even if you already accept credit cards for online transactions, which may not be sufficient. While it may take many precautions to reduce online fraud and credit card, credit card companies still consider Internet transactions to be more dangerous than online transactions.

There are many suppliers of Internet merchant account. Conduct a little research before signing with any of them as its terms and conditions vary significantly.

It is definitely nice to have a merchant account however, that does not mean you can not sell products or services without one! There are many other payment options available on the Internet. Most popular of these is PayPal, e-gold, e-bullion, etc.

If you would like to have an efficient online business, remember that the old values ??that count. Proper planning, uncompromising customer service, integrity, hard work and persistence over time will make your business successful.