How do I get started?

That's easy. Simply register and sign in. When you sign up for a FastCommerce store you automatically generate a professional web store, and a back-end management platform to build the store and run your business. You can watch the recorded seminar "Getting Started" which is located under "Webinar and Events" on the FastCommerce homepage.

Can I really get 2,000 items in my store for only $29.95 a month?

You bet. At FastCommerce, our goal is to get you started at a low price. But we want to accommodate your goal of growing into a significant on-line business. You get started with a low price; build a large store and a large web presence for your store, all the while keeping your costs to a minimum.

FastCommerce is inexpensive, but will it have everything I need?

FastCommerce is low-cost, but it's high-powered e-commerce that brings together everything you need to run a serious on-line business. It has all the features an e-commerce veteran would expect, but with the ease of use that helps new users get off to a quick start. FastCommerce is a complete, all-in-one solution.

Can I try it out before paying?

Absolutely: simply sign up for the free version. It is not a trial; you can actually run a free online store. It is free for the first fifty products, and you can accept credit card payment through PayPal. Run the free version as long as you want.

Is my store secure?

Yes. Both the customer check-out and your back-end management modules are in a secure, encrypted environment. No need to purchase an SSL certificate; we provide it free of charge.

Do I need to find a hosting company for my store?

FastCommerce is a hosted solution. It is web-based, so when you sign up for a FastCommerce store, there is no need to find additional hosting services. And the hosting is free.

Can I remove the Google ads from my store?

The $29.95 service level does not have ads. However, if you want to start slow, all you need to do is sign up for individual features like Google Check-out, or hosting your domain on FastCommerce, and the ads disappear. Or, for as little as $19.95 a year, you can host your domain on your FastCommerce store, remove the banner ads, and sell up to fifty items using PayPal for credit card payments.

If I sign up for the free store can I upgrade later?

Yes. You can upgrade to the next plan at any time, or sign up for the individual services. Simply go to MY ACCOUNT on your management page. There you will see service options, and your current payment information. This is where you would update your service level.

Are there any hidden costs?

No. There is no set-up fee, and no contract. You can cancel at any time. FastCommerce is all inclusive. For example, if you sign up for the $29.95 plan for 2,000 items, everything is included and there are no other additional fees, including no transaction fees. You simply grow and run your online business at one fixed, low price.

How can I accept payment on my store?

For the free store, you can accept credit card payments through PayPal. Simply go to SET UP on your management module, go to Payment, and click through to the PayPal section. Simply enter in your email for your PayPal account, save it, and your store will automatically work with PayPal for processing credit card payments.

Paying customers have the option of using PayPal Express Check out, Google check out, or both. To accept credit cards directly on the site, you need a payment gateway provider. FastCommerce partners with Authorize.net. If you have an Authorize.net account, go to the Payment tab in SET UP, click on the Payment Gateway tab: there you find two fields. Simply save your API login and transaction key into these two fields, and your store will be integrated with Authorize.net for accepting payments through credit card directly on your site.

Finally, you can set up traditional payment methods such as check, purchase order, or by phone.

Do I need to have programming skills to build my store?

No. You can build a complete and powerful e-commerce platform with no programming at all. It is a web-based application that is well designed, and easy to use. No knowledge of HTML is required.

Do I need to purchase and SSL security certificate?

No. FastCommerce provides a secure, fully encrypted check-out process at no charge.

Can I integrate my current site with my FastCommerce store?

Yes. You can simply create a link, or any number of links, to your FastCommerce store, and then create links back to the original site. You can even create direct links from product pages on your site directly to the same product page on your store. It is easy and quick to build a seamless interface between your web site and your store. You can even upload the same banners and logos to provide continuity for your customers.

Will my store URL be http://store.fastcommerce.com/mystorename?

Yes. But we recommend one of two options. If you currently have a domain, you can go to your registrar and have that domain forwarded to your FastCommerce store address. If you have a domain, you can also host that domain on your FastCommerce store. This means that your store address will no longer be http://store.fastcommerce.com but www.yourstorename.com. This is better for branding and search engine purposes. It is an affordable upgrade for your FastCommerce store, and it is also included in the $29.95 per month plan.

Will my store be search engine optimized?

Yes. FastCommerce has implemented all the best practices for search engine optimization. Most parts of your store will be automatically optimized based on the information you use. FastCommerce has also given you the tools to customize important parts of the site. This will enable you to fine tune your keyword optimization to boost your rankings.

Does FastCommerce charge transaction fees?

No. There are no fees charged per transaction. There are no fees other than the ones you have signed up for on a month by month basis.

Can I integrate Google Analytics into my FastCommerce store?

Yes, and it is easy and simple to do. Instead of pasting code into each page of your store, you go to SET UP, scroll down to ¡°Google Analytics¡± and install a WEB ID from Google. Once it is installed, you will have every part of your store integrated into Google's great analytics tool for tracking keywords and visits to your site. Go to your Google Analytics account to generate a Web ID.

Does the FastCommerce back-office management module have reports?

FastCommerce offers over a dozen reports to evaluate store performance, including sales for the month, or even for any customized date range. You can even generate a report that ranks all of your products by number of page views. FastCommerce gives you the tools to evaluate and boost your store's performance.

How do I get an order?

You will get an order email notification that an order has taken place on your store. Additionally, you get a powerful order management module that lists out your orders, lets you edit , even add products to an order, as well as generating a tracking code and pick list with invoice.

I already have my product data in an excel format. Can I simply load the data onto my FastCommerce store and get started quickly?

Yes. For those customers on the growing plan, we can provide you with two excel templates. Simply format your data according to these two templates, and we will upload the data. To get the templates, simply send an email to sales@fastcommerce.com.

FastCommerce seems easy to use, but I don't have time to set it up.

FastCommerce has third party companies that are experts in getting customers launched quickly with a well designed and completely installed FastCommerce web store. Simply call sales, or email sales@fastcommerce.com and we will get you in touch with reliable, low-cost vendors to help you get started.

Will my FastCommerce store be a success?

Yes. You do the branding, the logo and banners, and then provide information rich product data for each product in your store, and FastCommerce will do rest. We can't promise that people will like or buy your products, but your FastCommerce store has been designed to give you a highly professional web store that is search engine visible. And, this is important; we do it at a low cost. The rest is up to you.