If you've decided a turnkey solution can offer the services you need, your next step is to compare features and costs among the available providers. Some turnkey providers appear to offer free services, but this is not always the case. Some options may fall into the free category and others may be subject to large fees.

Ask About Features

No two turnkey packages are exactly alike, so carefully assess what's included and what's provided at an additional fee. As with any hosting service, check to see how much site storage and bandwidth you are entitled to, and what the fees are if you exceed the maximum limits. In addition to storage and bandwidth, fees may be based on the number of catalog items your store features. E-mail accounts, domain name registration (not including InterNIC fees), merchant account approval, usage logs, and search engine registration are other items often (but not always) included in a package. Content limitations may make an otherwise attractive solution option unworkable.

Research Price Ranges

Prices range from free to a few thousand dollars per month for a turnkey solution. When it comes to the cost of a turnkey Web site, free is a loosely used term. There are some truly free options, but many so-called free hosts charge extra to add functions such as online credit card processing. Fees can be imposed either on a monthly basis, per transaction — or both. Take a careful look at which features come free of charge and which don't.

Following are some examples of the types of charges you may see:

Bigstep.com offers a highly rated free solution, with storage space limited to 12 megabytes (MB). To accept credit cards, you'll need an online merchant account from Cardservice International. For this you'll pay one of Cardservice International's partner banks $14.95 (U.S.) per month, plus 15 cents per transaction, 5-cent address verification charge per transaction, and a 2.67 percent discount rate for your merchant account. The partner bank will charge these fees to you directly, and Bigstep.com doesn't profit from these fees.

VirtualSpin.com's Qcommerce Internet Store packages start at $39.95 per month plus merchant account fees. It offers a choice between two merchant account providers — Cyber Cash or GoReal Time. Their fees are comparable: $250 to set up your account, a monthly fee between $40 and $70, and a transaction fee of 10 cents to 20 cents each.

Yahoo! Store charges $100 per month for a small store with up to 50 items for sale, and $300 per month for a large store with up to 1,000 items. All stores are featured in Yahoo! Shopping.

Find out what other features cost. Chat rooms and other community-building tools, newsletter e-mailing services, affiliate programs, banner ad exchanges, and banner ad serving are features that may be available through a turnkey provider. Again, what is included in your package and what constitutes an additional fee varies widely, so ask about specific features you're interested in adding to your site.

Determine and Compare Other Costs

Consider these addtional costs.

Hardware Costs

Most turnkey solutions don't require you to have any special hardware beyond a computer system that allows you to connect to the Internet.

Software Costs

You will want to use a newer browser to view your pages while you are building your site (or entering your content into the turnkey-provided templates), and you may need new or additional database or spreadsheet software if you plan to upload product information to or download inventory management records from a turnkey provider. Ask prospective turnkey providers about software compatibility.

Content Cost

Web hosting and design costs are covered in fees paid to a turnkey provider, but the content is your responsibility. You'll need high-quality GIFs or JPEGs as graphics and product descriptions to build your catalog. (These items may be readily available from your product's manufacturer.) However, you'll probably need to figure in the costs of creating content for your site, such as the time to write your own content, and the cost of obtaining digital images of your products, or hiring a graphic designer and writer.

Consider Banner Ads

You might want to use banner ads as a way of offsetting your costs. Some turnkey solutions accommodate banner advertising on your Web pages, if you want to include them. freemerchant.com not only allows banner ads on pages, but will also put them on your site, if you like, and pay you when people click on them.

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