| To collect payments from people you need a few things:
1) If you're using PayPal, just use PayPal. No secure stuff needed at all as payments take place on their secure system. Just login to your account and get the buttons you need for payment. Additionally, you can use their IPN system to be notified of payments and integrate that directly into your system. I also recommend using Google's Checkout as processing fees are free through the end of this year (at least in the US) and normally you get free processing on a multiple of your Adwords spend.
2) If you're going to collect money from credit cards directly then you will need a dedicated IP and a secure certificate and a payment processor. The payment processor will assess a fee for collecting the money as well as a few other things. PayPal and Google are usually cheaper. When getting a secure certificate do not generate your own or your users will get messages about the certificate not being issued by a trusted certificate authority (CA), instead buy one from GoDaddy. No need to get the expensive ones at all - they provide no greater security. Depending on the payment processor you choose you'll have to code something to interface with their API. For these sales it may be helpful to use a shopping cart like Zen Cart and customize it for your needs. Any of these options will require some decent PHP skills so check things out and make sure you're not getting in over your head.
And, good luck on the venture! |