Test, then test again before you go live. Imagine the anticipation as your million-dollar site is first unveiled to the public. Imagine the thrill as you watch orders begin to flow in. You're hitting on all cylinders. Now imagine your horror when the site collapses because you have overwhelmed your hardware, software or dedicated Internet connection.
Nothing loses business faster than a busy signal.
When you design your strategy, build in scalability. Plan in advance to move to higher bandwidth platforms if you expect transaction volumes to become significant. OK, so you have a well thought out market strategy, a brilliantly designed and fully tested website. Orders have begun flowing in from credit card purchases. Assembling a basic e-commerce website is relatively easy, but integration is fairly hard.