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It seems everyone I meet lately wants to set up an online store. "It would be great if I could sell my handmade Barbie doll dresses or sell ties, direct, on the Web!" The e-store is hot and the fire is spreading.

Most people, even developers (yes, we're people too), lack the experience needed to create and maintain an online store, or the time and capital to invest in hiring a consulting company. Others want to test the e-waters before sinking thousands of e-bucks into a store.

If you're starting to feel like this review is being written for you, then EZwidget from Webdriver Corp. may be your e-wish come true. Using EZwidget, you can add a real store to your Web site, complete with item photos and pricing within five minutes. Would You Like Fries with Your E-Store?

EZwidget is a clever, wizard-driv-en interface for creating an online store. (A wizard interface guides you step by step through the process.) It's intuitive and easy to use. I'm confident that users at any level can successfully create a store. I was able to create a coffee shop with three items in less than five minutes. If you have images associated with items, they can be uploaded via your browser. In fact, the entire store can be maintained from a browser - a key feature many expensive systems lack.

Each step shows you what the store will look like when it's complete. For example, the selections for menu styles and colors are displayed as if in a browser, which makes it easier and more interactive to configure.

Figure: 1 The category creator screen

If you want to accept credit card orders in real time, you can opt for the live credit card authorization feature at around $50 per month with a $250 initial setup fee. If you select this option, your shoppers will automatically be directed to a secure page where they can enter their credit card information. After the order is verified, you're e-mailed a form with a list of the items ordered. Imagine that: a site that takes orders for you while you sleep! Even if you don't use the real-time billing option, you still get copies of all the orders. In addition, all sales are logged and stored on the EZwidget server so you can retrieve them at any time.