> About E-commerce Hosting

- Top 10 E-commerce Hosting Companies -

As of

Web Host		Description / Features	Price
1	visit host - read review	Yahoo Hosting - Shared/E-commerce Hosting - Starts with 5 GB Diskspace / 200 GB Transfer - PHP, Perl, E-commerce, Site-design tools - 24 hr. toll-free support	Starts at $7.77
2	visit host - read review	iPower - Unix, Windows, E-commerce, and Dedicated Plans - Starts with 3 GB Diskspace / 50 GB Transfer - PHP, Perl, ASP, E-commerce - Money Back Guarantee, 24 hr. phone support	Starts at $3.95
3	visit host - read review	Host Gator - Shared, E-commerce, and Dedicated Plans - Starts with 3.5 GB Diskspace / 50 GB Transfer - PHP, Perl, ASP, E-commerce Shopping Carts - Money Back Guarantee, 24 hr. phone support	Starts at $6.95
4	visit host - read review	Host Excellence - Shared Linux, WIndows, E-commerce Plans - Free domains with most accounts - PHP, Perl, ASP, E-commerce - Money Back Guarantee, 24 hr. support - Price Freeze Guarantee	Starts at $2.95
5	visit host - read review	iPowerWeb - Shared, E-commerce, and Dedicated Plans - Starts with 10 GB Diskspace / 250 GB Transfer - PHP, Perl, ASP, E-commerce - Money Back Guarantee, 24 hr. support	Starts at $7.95
6	visit host - read review	Website Source - Shared, E-commerce, and Dedicated Plans - Starts with 1.6 GB Diskspace / 40 GB Transfer - PHP, Perl, ASP, E-commerce - Money Back Guarantee, 24 hr. support	Starts at $6.85
7	visit host - read review	Vendio - Shared Business Linux Plan - 6 GB Diskspace / 150 GB Transfer - PHP, Perl, ASP, E-commerce Shopping Cart - Money Back Guarantee - Free Domain	$17.95
8	visit host - read review	StartLogic - Shared Linux and Windows - Dedicated server plans - Starts with 5 GB Diskspace / 100 GB Transfer - PHP, Perl, ASP, E-commerce - Money Back Guarantee, 24 hr. support	Starts at $6.50
9	visit host - read review	Aplus.net - Shared Linux and WIndows Hosting - Starts with 20 GB Diskspace / 600 GB Transfer - PHP, Perl, ASP, E-commerce - Money Back Guarantee, 24 hr. support	Starts at $5.95
10	visit host - read review	IX Webhosting - Shared Linux and WIndows Hosting - Starts with 2.5 GB Diskspace / 100 GB Transfer - PHP, Perl, ASP, E-commerce - Money Back Guarantee, 24 hr. support	Starts at $4.95
Simplified E-commerce Solutions
1	visit host - read review	iPage - Browser based management tool - Ecommerce shopping cart - 150 Free Web templates - Build your own logo	$6
2	visit host - read review	Bizhosting - Shared E-commerce Hosting - Up to 1000 products - Free Merchant Account	$21.95 - $39.95

About E-commerce Hosting
The term E-commerce Hosting is used to refer to any plan that offers the tools necessary to host an E-commerce site. The typical components needed to run an online store / E-commerce site are:

1. A shopping cart system: Most hosts offer either the OS Commerce (open source) PHP-based shopping cart system, or the Miva Merchant system. Both plans are robust and highly recommended. You may also buy more sophisticated shopping systems and install them on your host's server, but it's best to check with your host first to make sure the software you are buying is compatible with their hosting service.
2. A method of payment: This can be anything from your own merchant account, to services such as Paypal. Typically, the shopping cart system you use will have a way to support merchant account transactions from most merchant account providers. When obtaining your merchant account, you should make sure the provider supports your chosen shopping cart system.
3. Secure Socket Layers (SSL): SSL is the standard technology used to create secure transactions. Any transaction occuring over SSL cannot be viewed by third parties. SSL is not required to run an E-commerce site, but all legitimate businesses employ SSL in order to protect the information a client provides. A "shared SSL," if provided by your host, will allow you to use an SSL certificate owned by your host, at no cost. Most online stores prefer to get their own SSL, which requires you to pay an annual fee to a certificate authority (a company that issues SSLs). Having your own SSL makes the site appear more professional, since SSL transactions are conducted over the same domain as your Web site.

When selecting E-commerce hosting, make sure they have a way to support all three of these components. Try to select a host that already hosts many E-commerce sites, and offers support for E-commerce related issues, such as shopping cart and SSL installation. Setting up an E-commerce site is complicated, and you are bound to run into some issues. You want a host that will work with you in resolving these issues, so good customer support is a must for E-commerce hosting.

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