- Certificate Authority (CA): A CA is an organization that verifies website information and provides encrypted certificates for use in Secure Socket Layer (SSL) transactions. Thawte and Verisign are two of the most popular Certificate Authorities, and MA WebCenters, our Boston firm’s Web hosting affiliate, utilizes Verisign CA services.
- Common Gateway Interface (CGI) Programming: Specialized scripts are required to process information passed to and from a website. CGI programming offers scripts—usually written in Perl—that reside on the merchant’s server alongside the Web server software.
CGI scripts are generally placed in the cgi-bin directory and will run on a prompt from a Web page form—a credit card number verification request being a good example. This custom programming solution can become quite complex, and it’s often avoided by individuals who prefer a pre-packaged alternative such as MA WebCenter’s online catalog, which performs the same scripting function. - Gateways (LinkPoint, Cybercash, Authorize.net): A gateway forwards information received on the internet to a merchant processor via leased connections that are not accessible from the internet. The gateway accepts connections from your website using an encryption scheme (separate from that of the Web server) and returns transaction results to your website. The gateway collects a fee from the merchant processor, who in turn sells their services to Web merchants. Cardservice International offers an excellent application programming interface (API) solution through its affiliation with Linkpoint, who in turn implements their API through Miva Merchants.
- Web Server: A Web server reads files from your directory and delivers the information to Web browsers for display. A secure Web server uses encrypted communications, and MA Webcenter delivers state of the art encryption security for your website data through its use of the Apache Mod_Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Secure Server.
- Merchant Processor: Any company that submits credit card information to a credit card company or financial institution is a merchant processor. Once a Web seller has established an account, a merchant processor will initiate and complete all funds transfers between a credit card company or financial institution and the merchant.
These merchant processors will typically monitor the merchants they work with, including credit checks, to determine the ongoing financial stability of the merchant. Not all businesses will be accepted by all merchant processors, and many merchant processors will not accept credit card traffic generated on the internet. Our Boston Web Design and Development Company
Works with MA Webcenter and Cardservice International AQ Websites, through its affiliation with the global Web hosting company, MA Webcenter, offers its clients the opportunity to establish a merchant processor account via MA Webcenter’s affiliation with Cardservice International. The preceding partnerships allows our Boston firm’s clients to receive a discount on fees, which may include initial account setup fees, a percentage of monthly charge revenues, and a minimum monthly fee—gateway fees are already included in the merchant processor’s assessments. Information is a Good Thing
AQ Websites is an industry leading Boston-based Web design and development shop that keeps its many satisfied clients well-informed about everything we do. Since 2003, smaller-sized companies have looked to our firm for exceptional internet services with a difference: unlike many of our competitors, we don’t cloak the countless e-Commerce successes we have achieved in secrecy. To learn more about what AQ Websites does and how we can benefit your business, call us toll free at (781) 937-3531 for a no-cost consultation or email us for a prompt response to you inquiry. | 
