There was a time, not that long ago, when the very thought of making any kind of a living from the Internet was scoffed at as a pipe dream. Who would take the risk to buy online when all you had to do was go to the nearest store for a secure financial transaction? Of course, all of that changed as the technology for making secure Internet payments became commonplace. Online payment solutions such as Altapay have not only taken the worry out of online payments, they have made it a smart choice. But how did we get from dangerous to easy in just a decade or two?

The Booming Nineties

The first inkling of true ecommerce possibilities began in the 1990s when ecommerce moved from simply being simple commercial exchanges such as electronic transfers of funds to true online shopping options. By the late 1990s the development of security protocols made transactions on Websites secure and introduced new technologies that could open up the world of online shopping to millions of Internet visitors.

A New Millennium for Commerce

With the turn of the millennium, more and more businesses were discovering the net and we saw a tremendous growth in Websites and business representation on the Web. As protocols became more secure, the meaning of the word e-commerce changed to represent actual buying and selling online. Even with the dot com collapse in the early 2000s, businesses of every type began to recognize that the Internet as a place to sell goods and services was here to stay. It also had become a growing force in the world of business and commerce.

The Introduction of Web Based Businesses

One of the biggest innovators for the growth of commerce on the Web was the establishment of Web-based businesses that went beyond simply representing brick and mortar businesses. Companies such as Webvan that delivered groceries through online ordering showed that a new type of commerce could be developed. This new commerce was based on the Web and connected goods and services to their visitors that were convenient to use and a real competition to traditional businesses. The change to e-commerce had begun in earnest.

The Giants of the Net

Of course, you can’t have a discussion of the growth of e-commerce without talking about the two biggest success stories in this business, EBay and Amazon. Rivals for the hearts and wallets of consumers everywhere, the sites have grown to dominate the online landscape, especially when it comes to e-commerce dollars. Even though Amazon wasn’t able to turn a profit from it’s inception in 1994 until 2003, it continues to be the largest seller on the Internet to this day.

Although the two companies had completely different models for their businesses the lesson remained. A company that solely existed on the Web to sell products could succeed, as long as it threw out the book on business rules for physical retail and concentrated on what the Web delivers best.

That is the convenience of doing your shopping at home, even perhaps in your pajamas, and having it delivered to you quickly. Where these two giants will go from here is anyone’s guess. But it is obvious from the many successful businesses online, from Etsy’s (News - Alert) handmade goods marketplace to CarsDirect’s revolution for selling autos directly to consumers, that e-commerce as a business model is here to stay.

About the Author: Will is an Indoor geek, loves football and dogs. He spends most of his life blogging, or absorbing other blogs' insights