Ecommerce hosting is used when you want to display your products or services on your website, while providing a way to accept payments for the services or products.

Ecommerce web hosts, offer the ability to design and employ a fully-featured, fully-functional website for selling these products and services. Therefore, when you select an eminent ecommerce web hosting provider you do not need to worry about any of the technical details of web hosting, the software, etc.

Ecommerce hosting providers offer plans with preset bandwidth limitations and storage limits.

Everyday more people perform business on the Internet. Consumers are opting to avoid going out; choosing to save money on gas; and wanting to reduce the paper generated by mailings. They are using the internet for their shopping and bill paying.

Your business must afford this solution to consumers.  The only way to accomplish this is by having a resource that accepts payments, and guarantees the consumer’s information is secure and private. Ecommerce web hosting is the answer.

When deciding on an ecommerce hosting provider you should consider all the requirements you will need. Here are some significant necessities regarding ecommerce:

Security— Your customer’s personal information has to be protected. Credit card numbers, addresses, usernames, and passwords are customarily the types of information you deal with on an ecommerce website. Since you can risk the identity theft of your customers, it is imperative the maximum security options are available.

Uptime— If your website is slow or unavailable your customers will leave because they are aggravated. They will view you as unreliable. Your ecommerce web hosting account should have an uptime guarantee. 99.9% uptime is the standard and you should look for this range.

Email Addresses and Sub-Domains— Each ecommerce hosting package will offer you email and additional sub-domains. Make sure they are providing enough to meet the needs of your business.

Ecommerce Tools — Ask your potential provider which languages their platforms support. Will there be an auto-responder on your email accounts? Do they use a reliable shopping cart?

SSL and Encryption — Which security solutions are offered?

Technical Support — Reputable ecommerce hosts provide 24/7 technical support.

Shopping carts –These allow your customers to choose your products or services and then provide a checkout when they are finished. If you already use a shopping cart make sure your new host is compatible with the one you have. If you do not yet have one, see which shopping carts are available.

Payment systems– Make sure to verify your payment gateway is compatible with the payment means you accept. As an example, American Express is not always compatible with certain ecommerce packages. Your chosen ecommerce hosting company must be compatible with the major payment gateways so you can accept PayPal and all major credit cards.

Purchasing an ecommerce hosting plan is a fantastic way to become more visible. Remember, professional web hosting providers allow many customers to save money by providing the tools you need – hardware, software licenses, bandwidth, backup systems, and more – GET STARTED TODAY!

*Did You Know— The term “ecommerce” was first coined in approximately 1996, shortly after the internet opened for public use. In the pre-historic days (pre 1996), the internet was mainly used by universities and other non-profit organizations to share research, general information, and for email.  It is believed IBM’s marketing department coined – (or at least popularized) the term.