As technology advances and the Internet expands, many businesses and individuals alike are taking advantage of the wide market by creating an ecommerce presence on the Internet. Ecommerce today is what makes our financial world go round as trillions of dollars are exchanged every day by people all around the world. As you may not be familiar with what ecommerce is, we have written this article to help you not only familiarize yourself with ecommerce but to also become an active member in the ecommerce world.

What is Ecommerce
Ecommerce generally refers to the sale of goods and services on the Internet as well the transaction of money. However, ecommerce also refers to specific software that helps users make money and disperse goods and service across the Internet. Ecommerce software almost always comes in the form of a shopping cart system, customer service software, or control panel. Ecommerce software can vary greatly in price depending on its functions and capabilities, although some ecommerce software is completely free while still providing its users with plenty of useful tools.

How Does Ecommerce Work
Ecommerce programs vary in type, functions, and capabilities. Because of this, some ecommerce systems have completely different models than other ecommerce software. However, the majority of ecommerce software has the same basic setup which includes a control panel, shopping cart system, payment system, support system, catalog system, and some extra room to describe your business. Ecommerce software allows you to add pictures, text, links, and sometimes even music to web pages and lets the user customize their own online store that is different from other online stores.

Popular Ecommerce Software/Services
As there are many different ecommerce systems that provide their users with different levels of support and functionality, we have compiled a brief list of ecommerce software that may appeal to you. Some of these programs are free and some are not, but all of them offer great mechanisms for designing an online store without requiring the user to know any technical knowledge or possess any web-based skills.

Volusion
Volusion boasts that they are the most awarded ecommerce system on the Internet and that over 100,000 entrepeneurs use their software to create high-powered, high-quality online stores. Whether there is any truth to that statement is anyone's guess, but Volusion does offer a 14-day free trial for anyone who wants to put their claims to the test. They have been in business for over a decade and offer several important features that seem to separate them from the rest of the crowd: a fraud protection program, an excellent customer support staff, and highly functional financial security.

LiteCommerce
LiteCommerce is built to be flexible and scalable to your specific needs. LiteCommerce includes both a guided tour and an online demo that allows you to interact with the software in a realistic fashion. LiteCommerce comes with a template manager that allows its users to choose how their online store looks and behaves while its open-ended programming allows for advanced users to change how the very nature of the ecommerce software works. This combined with an amazing control interface for store owners makes LiteCommerce a very lucrative program.

Magento Commerce
Magento Commerce is slightly different from other ecommerce systems because Magento is a software that you download rather than work with through the Internet. Magento Commerce is a sort of "web publisher" that allows the user to setup and make changes to their store before they even upload it to the Internet. This means that you can build and test your store without other people seeing a half-built web store where your business is supposed to be. While the Magento Premium Edition is based on an annual fee, there is a Magento Community Edition available for free.

3Dcart
3Dcart is a decent ecommerce system but has a rather expensive packaging scheme. 3Dcart charges a $40 setup fee with a starting monthly fee of $20, which only gives you the ability to add 50 products and 1 GB of storage space to your online store. The other packages aren't much better. For that price, however, you also get a list of free templates. Pre-built stores are also available for around $200 as well as online training.

Nexternal
Nexternal provides a web-based ecommerce solution that is customized to your specific needs. In fact, Nexternal does not even include a price on their website because they base their price on your specific type of ecommerce software. They do, however, offer both a free trial and a demo for you to see what Nexternal is all about. They also have live customer support representatives on standby for you to discuss your specific business needs.