Some of the biggest Internet enterprises in the world are built on the concept of having an e-commerce store front. (Amazon for instance).

This shouldnt surprise anyone. After all once an online store has been set up it pretty much runs itself. This allows very very low overhead compared to the traditional brick and mortar model.

Many brick and mortar stores also have a web based store to capitalize on a larger customer base. After all it has never been easier to reach a world wide audience than it is now.

Now here is some great news for you. You as an individual can set up a fully functional and automated online store at absolutely no cost using a free open source script called Prestashop.

Prestashop is an all in one solution that enables you to put together an on line shop and integrate it effortlessly with your payment processor(s). Now anyone from the biggest corporation to the smallest of businesses can have a professional looking shop set up in under an hour.

The great thing about Prestashop is that it is easy to understand and use, yet is extremely powerful. This means you dont have to be a rocket scientist to set it up once you know what you are doing. The learning curve is not steep at all..