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E-Commerce Hosting Basics
Filed Under (Web hosting) by on 03-08-2009
The Overview
This is the service that is provided for most companies that sell goods or do business on the internet. This type of service is basically the same as other basic hosting plans such as shared, dedicated and the like. What makes this different is that this plan includes the added dimension of a Secure Socket Layer or SSL which companies need to secure their customers privacy.
Basically a customized web hosting service, E-commerce hosting is designed for companies that operate E-commerce websites. These companies are provided software, tools, and other solutions that are required to operate an E-commerce website by the web hosting provider. These tools allow these online merchants to create catalogs, do inventory tracking, and accept orders and secure payments for goods and services offered online.
Keep in mind however that not all hosting plans that are suitable for e-commerce are specified as such. There may be several plans to choose from which includes some or all the features that an E-commerce website would need. There are other hosts as well who operate purely on E-commerce web hosting.
Define Your Needs
It is always important to define what your website needs first before setting out to look for a host or a plan. If you have a one page site where you’re trying to sell a book, then you won’t need an extensive plan. Just enough for one page with modest traffic.
You might need a more definite amount of disk space though if you’re looking for a website that can handle a long list of items to be put on sale. The amount of disk space will be able to dictate the number of pages or sites that you can host. Under these specifications, you will be required a different kind of web hosting package or even a different web hosting provider.
The basic things your website will need would be a shopping cart, a merchant account, a payment gateway, an SSL certificate, a web analytics program, and a mailing list program to send out newsletters and announcements.
Determine the Required Tools and Services
It is important that you identify your needs from an E-commerce hosting plan. Knowing what you need will give you a good idea of what plan you need for your site. There are several questions to ask in order to know what you will require.
1.Type and cost of the services that you will be expecting from your web host
2.Preset template or custom-made template
3.Start with a basic website design and upgrade later
4.Tools, software, features of the website
5.Added services like guestbook or a blog
Common E-commerce Hosting Terms
Here is a list of the more commonly used terms in E-commerce hosting:
Shopping Carts – It is a piece of software that operates like an online store’s catalog and ordering system. It is the interface between the company’s website and its deeper infrastructure. It allows customers to pick out merchandise from the list of items sold online and purchase the merchandise.
SSL, Secure Socket Layers – This is a unique feature of ecommerce web hosting that allows you to safely carry out credit card transactions on your website.
Disk Space and Bandwidth – Your chosen hosting package must provide you with adequate bandwidth and disk space or provide you the option to upgrade when the situation requires for it.