Hosting Options for an Ecommerce Web Site

Deciding how to host your ecommerce Web site and what approach to take can be daunting. There are several approaches available, each with different advantages and disadvantages.

Storefronts

If you have a small business, you may want to consider a storefront or an online mall. For a fee, these services help you build a small Web site to sell your products. These "site in a box" Web site services include everything you need to sell online.

Features and support vary by program and can include options such as search engine placement, credit card processing, and advertising. These tend to be template services, however, with less flexibility than a custom site. Familiarize yourself with the current offerings in this area before making a final decision.

Custom Sites

If you have a business that is too large for or has outgrown the smaller storefront services, you may want to consider the more costly - but also more flexible - custom site. For the added cost you can have a unique site, receive greater support, and handle more traffic. You have the options of hiring the same company to design and host your site or using separate design and hosting services.

Hiring the same company to design and host your site.

This option involves the fewest logistics, but may come with trade-offs in design quality or host reliability. Be aware that designing and hosting require different sets of skills and expertise. When choosing a service, evaluate their experience and ask for references in both areas. Go to sites the company has designed and navigate them. Note how the sites look, how easy they are to understand, and how quickly they load into your browser.

To evaluate the company's hosting service, contact current customers and ask how pleased they are with the service. Find out how often the server is down and ask about help desk responsiveness. Also, consider how your site will be updated. Can you upload changes directly or do you have to wait for someone at the hosting company to get to it? If it is the latter, ask current customers about their experience with this process.

If you are still considering the design/hosting service after studying their design capabilities and talking to their current customers, you may also want to find out if there has been recent turnover in key personnel. An individual designer, coordinator, or account manager can make a large difference in support or design quality.

Using a separate design and hosting service.

By separating the design and hosting, you have more choices. Thus, you can have more control over both your budget and your site. Technical incompatibilities are a risk when taking this approach, however. Be sure your designer is familiar with your hosting service and it's technical capabilities. To help facilitate information flow and minimize technical problems:

Choose a short list of hosts with both the ecommerce capabilities you require and that pass "reliability" tests. Read "Don't Make These Hosting Mistakes", http://www.take-payments-online.com/ECommerceWebHosting.html , for questions to ask and other mistakes to avoid.

Find a Web designer experienced in ecommerce applications. Together, decide on the hosting service and ecommerce systems you will use.

Making the Decision

Deciding upon the right combination will take some research. One way to gather a list of hosting options is to first find ecommerce sites that you like and/or have ecommerce abilities similar to your needs, then ask about the sites' hosting and ecommerce providers.

Asking for referrals from business acquaintances is another. Many times, people are more than happy to share their positive experiences. For example, I use five different hosts and am generally pleased with all of them. When asked about hosting, however, I always recommend Lexiconn.com (my WebSiteMarketingPlan.com site host) because of the exceptional help desk service and support documentation.

Another way to develop hosting options is to look for online advertisements. The sponsored search engine ads and advertisements directly on Web sites are two places you can find these. While there's no guarantee all of the companies you find will be high quality, the willingness to pay for ads can be an indication of commitment.

Diligently decide upon ecommerce features and choose a host with those features in mind. By doing so, you are creating a smoother path to ecommerce success.

Copyright 2004 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.

About The Author

Bobette Kyle is publisher of http://www.Take-Payments-Online.com , an ecommerce information site. She is also proprietor of The WebSiteMarketingPlan.com Network, subject-specific Web sites designed to help you find the right information for marketing plans and marketing programs. Visit at http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com.

---

4 Critical Things To Look Out For In A Web Hosting Service

1. The reputation of the web hosting company.Most web hosting... Read More

Demand Unlimited Auto-Responders with Your Hosting Accounting

AutoResponders are nifty scripts that run in your web server... Read More

How to Choose a Web Host - Frequently Asked Questions

In this article you'll be provided with helpful information about... Read More

7 Key Points to Consider When Choosing a Web Host

With literally thousands of web hosting companies in the industry... Read More

Best Website Hosting is One Thats Reliable

If you are looking for a solid, reliable web host,... Read More

Reseller Hosting: The Good and The Bad!

Reseller webhosting can be a great way to earn some... Read More

The Web Hosting Industry 2005

For the "big things" to be build it was certainly... Read More

Battle Of The Hostings

There are literally thousands of hosting solutions on the internet... Read More

Top 6 Ways to Promote Your Web Hosting Business Part 2

Here are the following three methods that can help you... Read More

Unlimited Wealth Creation Through Reseller Hosting

Web hosting can be an exciting business start up for... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Web Hosting

What is web hosting? Whenever you visit a website, what... Read More

How to Find a Dependable Web Host

Your new website is ready to upload, and now you... Read More

How to Get Better Technical Support

Whenever you have a technical question that needs answering, you... Read More

Switching Web Host

Moving a web site to a new host is not... Read More

Web Hosting: 4 Factors in Choosing a Hosting Company

When choosing a web hosting company there are a whole... Read More

Web Site Hosting ? An Easy Guide

Web Hosting ? Made Simple What is web hosting... Read More

What to Look for in a Free Hosting Provider

The first thing that you must realize when looking for... Read More

How To Choose A Reliable Web Host For Your Website

A client of mine paid for a solo advert to... Read More

Reseller Hosting Explained

Reseller Defined:The term Reseller according to the dictionary means to... Read More

Transferring Your Existing Website to a New Hosting Provider

You've already got a website, but your current hosting provider... Read More

What You Should Know About Your Web Host

Yesterday I received a nice email in my inbox, I... Read More

How To Change Your Web Hosting Provider ? Step-By-Step Guide

Whether you are disgruntled with the level of service your... Read More

Fun with DNS: Three Useful Commands

The DNS is a distributed, hierarchical database where authority flows... Read More

Where to Get Cheap Web Hosting

First, to see if you can use cheap web hosting... Read More

Best Web Hosting Company - Find The Most Affordable Host

If you're creating a community web site or a business... Read More

Sender Policy Framework (SPF) ? How to use it to Fight Email Forgery

Spam is a real problem today. Forged email is a... Read More

Importance of Educated Choice While Choosing A Web Hosting Provider

There are many attributes that makes a web hosting provider... Read More

Free Web Hosting - Why Might It Be A Bad Idea

When talking about free anything the legitimate question that first... Read More

What Some Web Hosts Dont Want You To Know

Many start-up web hosts in their desperate attempt to get... Read More

What is a Web Host Reseller Account?

A web host reseller account is a web hosting account... Read More

How to Start Your Own Hosting Services

If your like many another webmasters you might be thinking... Read More

How to Transfer Your Web Site to a New Web Hosting Service?

There are various reasons why an online business owner like... Read More

Web Hosting: Shared or Dedicated - Which Should You Choose?

Before you begin your search for a web host you... Read More