Articulate Web Design

2Checkout.com vs. Authorize.net vs. Paypal Website Payments Pro – Which is the best?

Administrator — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:01:57 +0000

As most of you web designers know, payment processing and merchants that process online payments are a royal pain to set up. The main question is: Which merchants work best?

We’ve used several, and we’re going to show you some of our results.

2Checkout.com vs. Authorize.net vs. Paypal Website Payments Pro

2Checkout.com

Account Establishment Fees:
	To open an Account		$49.00
	To open each Additional Account		$30.00 (Paid as $49 minus $19 refund or special adjustment after account review)

Transaction Fees:
	Each Transaction		5.5% of the transaction total, plus $0.45


Changes:
	Change URL or Domain Name		$19.00

Fees for Payment Options:
	U.S. Suppliers
		ACH deposit	$0.00
		Check	$4.00

	Canadian Suppliers
		Direct ACH/DEFT Deposit	$0.00
		Check	$4.00
		CAD Wire	$6.00
		USD Wire	$15.00

Paypal Website Payments Pro

With no extra fees, Website Payments Pro is on average 16% less expensive than other credit card processors.¹

$30 monthly fee
No downgrade fees
No gateway fee
No early termination penalty
No monthly minimum
No fees on refunds

Pricing

It’s important to look at the TOTAL cost of processing credit cards. Other companies often publish discounted “show” rates, but you still get hit with setup fees, cancellation charges, extra fees for accepting reward cards and corporate cards, and so on.

YOUR MONTHLY SALES YOUR FEE PER TRANSACTION

$0 to $3,000 2.9% + $0.30

$3,000+ to $10,000 2.5% + $0.30*

$10,000+ 2.2% + $0.30*

$200,000+ Call 1-866-836-1648

*Merchant rate qualification required.

When your monthly sales exceed $3,000 and you’ve been a PayPal member more than 90 days, please fill out a one-time application, subject to approval.

The pricing table above applies to domestic payments in US dollars. There’s an additional 2.5% charge for any currency conversion and a 1% charge to receive payments from another country.

View Full List of Fees

If you’re using Virtual Terminal with the Website Payments Pro package, it has different transaction rates, but you still only pay a $30 monthly fee. Learn More

Micropayments

If your transactions typically average less than $10, you could save money with our “5% plus 5¢” rate. Here’s an example for a business that usually accepts $2 payments. The savings really add up.

The pricing table above applies to domestic payments in US dollars. There’s an additional 2.5% charge for any currency conversion and a 1% charge to receive payments from another country.

Authorize.net

Gateway Setup Fee	$99.00*
Monthly Gateway Fee	$20.00*
Transaction Fee	$0.10*
Batch Fee	$0.25
Virtual Terminal (to process phone orders)	FREE
Customer Support	FREE
Fraud Prevention Tools Address Verification Service (AVS) Card Code Verification (CCV)	FREE
Connection Methods Advanced Integration Method: customer pays on your Web site Server Integration Method: customer pays on Authorize.Net Web site Simple Checkout: customer pays on Authorize.Net Web site	FREE
Advanced Fraud Detection Suite™ (identifies suspicious online orders)	$9.95 monthly (optional)
Automated Recurring Billing™ (ARB) (subscription billing tool)	$10.00 monthly (optional)
Customer Information Manager (CIM) (simplifies storage of sensitive customer data)	$20.00 monthly (optional)
eCheck.Net® (to accept electronic checks)	Contact Us* (optional)

Note: The information below has been taken from the merchant’s websites and is subject to change at any time. We do not guarantee any information shown.

10 Things You Should Know About Web Design

Administrator — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:35:11 +0000

1. You will GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Low budget websites do more harm than good. If your website lacks quality and professionalism, your customers will think your business does too.

2. A good website TAKES TIME.

A website that works on all computers, performs quickly, at the top of search results, easy to use, and looks professional takes a lot of time. But it’s worth every penny.

3. A GOOD DESIGNER must know code.

It’s not just the outside that matters, know what you have under the hood. A Ferarri body on a Volkswagen frame won’t perform like a Ferarri. Looks aren’t everything.

4. You need to PLAN AHEAD.

Make a list. Look at your competitors’ websites. Write down what you do and don’t like. Write out some descriptions about your business, including what you do, about your business, and contact information. We can help you format it later.

5. GOOGLE is your key to success.

Friends and relatives are truly unique when they offer their help to get your business off the ground. But really, you’ll save time and money by doing it right the first time.

6. A website must be EASY TO CHANGE.

People will most likely find you by searching the internet, which most popular is Google. You want them to find your business first when they search for your services in your area. If you’re not on the top for the correct keywords, you’re missing out.

7. It’s really just more ADVERTISING.

Expensive web design software is a thing of the past. Modern content management systems (CMS) allow for easy modification from any computer anywhere. Even if you don’t edit your own content, a CMS will save editing time.

8. Websites help ANY BUDGET.

Yellow Pages, Newspaper, Radio are all forms of advertising. How many people use the internet to look for your business? More than you think. Almost every home has at least one computer. Get the market before your competitors do.

9. Just because you don’t use computers doesn’t mean your customers don’t.

10. Your nephew is NOT a web designer.

Don’t let your fear or dislike of computers deprive your business of needed advertising. 49% of people are introverted, which means they prefer not to talk to people. That’s a large chunk of customers who won’t be calling you.

Real Estate Agents

Administrator — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:10:17 +0000

If you’re a Real Estate Professional and would like to have a presence on the internet but don’t know where to begin, we have a solution for you. AgentBlogs.org is a website and/or blog platform designed with real estate professionals in mind.

Anyone in the real estate industry can easily set up and maintain a website for only $10 per month. It’s super easy and extremely professional. And the best part is that you don’t have to have any web design experience to operate it yourself. There’s no fancy web design software to download or learn, it’s all right on the web and accessible from any computer.

Online Invoicing Software

Administrator — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:51:29 +0000

For service oriented businesses, you may be interested in finding a web-based billing software. Of course, we always recommend using the Web Invoice plugin for Wordpress, but this may not be enough to meet your needs.

So if you want a more fully featured billing solution that also offers project management, time tracking, and online billing, we highly recommend Freshbooks. Freshbooks billing, invoicing, and time tracking solution, as an online service, is by far the best available on the web. We’ve tried many different platforms and software, but Freshbooks takes the cake.

You can sign up for a free account by clicking any of the Freshbooks links on this page. With a free account, you can manage up to 3 clients. If you like the solution, add up to 25 clients by upgradigng to their lowest billing solution, which is only $14/mo. They will even customize a package that’s just for you.