By Risha Gotlieb

Choosing the right Web developer or e-commerce solutions provider can mean the difference between cyberheaven and cyberhell.

Rhondalynn Korolak, the owner of a Calgary boutique that sells maternity clothes, found her path to Internet retailing riddled with pitfalls.

"I sort of blame myself for not having researched my options," says Korolak, who is both a lawyer and a chartered accountant. "Instead, I left it in the hands of someone else." After spending big bucks advertising the launch of her maternity wear Web site, Fromheretomaternity.com, she discovered that, due to errors in the HTML programming code, her online customers could not complete credit card transactions.

"Many clients have come to us to fix things that have been botched by another company, a friend or a relative," says Brad Haima, owner of Circle Graphics & Design Inc. of Abbotsford, B.C. "We usually find problems with poor navigation, browser incompatibility, sizing that doesn't work for different resolutions and poor image optimization."

How can you avoid these pitfalls? First, familiarize yourself with the Internet. If you don't know how to use a search engine or how to navigate a Web site, then you're not ready to deal with a 21-year-old cyberwizard speaking technobabble.

Next, research the different options for building your online business. The approach that's right for you depends on your budget, the number and nature of your products, and how you want to tie your cyberstore to your existing store. Your choices include everything from do-it-yourself software programs to complex applications that only e-commerce solutions providers have the expertise to implement. Whether you author the site yourself or hire a team of professionals, you should first define the purpose and target of your online presence.

Control is a key issue in choosing a Web developer. Make sure that you, not they, retain ownership of your domain name, otherwise, it may become impossible for you to sell the site later. Once your Web developer has converted your company information to Web language and designed the graphics and page layout, you should be the owner of the content.

BlackBear Company Store http://www.blackbear.net
Circle Graphics & Design http://www.circle.bc.ca
From Here to Maternity http://www.fromheretomaternity.com