Hi there,
I want to create a website similar to escrow.com. To give a brief idea about the concept, the website basically acts as a third party between a buyer and seller. If for example a buyer wants to purchase an item from seller, he will submit the funds + transaction fees (decided mutually between them) to my website. On submitting the funds a notification will be issued to the seller that the amount is safely deposited with us and will be released to seller once the buyer is satisfied with the product. When the buyer notifies us on website that he is satisfied the money will be released to the seller’s bank account minus the transaction fees. This concept is new to my country and i would like to introduce it for the first time through my website. However i have a few questions
1) What are the prerequisites for such websites?
2) Can i as individual run such website or do i need a team for such a wesbite?
3) Are there any legal restrictions to such websites by the international laws/ national laws?
4) Do i have to register somewhere to provide such a service?
5) What sort of technique would i need to create such a system? (efg PHP, joomla, wordpress?)
6) Can I create such a website using templates available online?
I hope to get a detailed answer. Thanks in advance.
Escrow.com is a business, not just a website. Can you build a website like this yourself? Sure. However you need to have extensive knowledge of html/css/js/asp. Even if you did possess the know how, you would still need to do market research, as well as have a marketing strategy.
Before you do anything you need to do market research, size up your competitors i.e. paypal, escrow, etc. Once you feel confident in your venture, you need to validate your idea to see if anyone will even use your service over your competitors. When you have successfully validated you business, then you can outsource the necessary development (html/css/(asp/php)/javascript/MySQL).
Ready-made scripts for any type of business are generally available online for free and for sale (hotscipts.com one example). But the first thing is to consider your business aims, structure and model as well as market analysis, web site could be a helpful tool afterwards.
[FONT=Verdana]It’s difficult to know how to answer your post, as you are asking such a wide range of questions.
You might be better off asking in the Business & Legal Issues forum for advice on setting up your business e.g. questions 2, 3 and 4. Then, when you have those issues clarified, come back and ask about the practicalities of setting up your website. After all, you don’t want to waste time working on your website, only to discover a major legal difficulty at a later date.[/FONT]