I'm a newbie with a bunch of questions. Please bear with me, any helpful comments gratefully received! What I've done so far is largely based on info I've gleened from these excellent forums, but there are still gaps I need to fill...

Hosting:
I recently bought a reseller account from Dathorn and am so far very pleased with the service I've received. I'll host some of my sites on it and resell whatever is left over, much of it to my web design clients. So far, I have a 2checkout account and am planning to use clientexec for billing & support. I also have a secure certificate (Geotrust) which I've installed and can use for clientexec.

1) Am I right in assuming that I don't need the SSL certificate if I'm using 2checkout?

Domains:
I personally have about 20 domains, about half of which are actively being used. It makes sense for me to have a domain reseller account as I can register/renew my domains at better prices, and sell domains to customers too. So I've signed up for a DRAMS license and plan to host this on different site from the hosting site, although there will be links between the two.
I haven't installed DRAM's yet but have noticed in the documentation that I need a secure certificate. As mentioned, I already have a certificate and 2checkout account for my hosting site (hosted on the same reseller account).

2) What do I need now in order to be able to install and use DRAMS on a different domain - is another secure certificate necessary
3) How easy is DRAMS to install?

Thanks in advance!:)

Originally posted by timh

1) Am I right in assuming that I don't need the SSL certificate if I'm using 2checkout?

I would say Yes, you still need a SSL Certificate. It's important to keep your clients information confidential, and allowing them to signup using ClientExec via a secure URL would assure them of that. But for the Credit Card processing section, which is handle through 2CO, then no, you don't need it as 2CO provides one.


2) What do I need now in order to be able to install and use DRAMS on a different domain - is another secure certificate necessary


I assume you have an Enom account? If you don't, well you need one as Drams is setup to work with Enom's API. In regards to the SSL, you would need one if you wanted to provide security to your users. As the payment is handled through 2CO, you don't need a SSL.


3) How easy is DRAMS to install?


If you have an understanding of how to setup a mysql database and how to read the instructions, then you're ahead of most resellers. Drams is very easy to install and configure, and their technical support is fantastic.

Hope this helps! :D

Thanks VeroHost for those very helpful answers - much appreciated :D

So, an SSL certificate would be useful for the hosting site and since they're not too expensive, I think I'll get one for the domains site too!

Can I use my existing 2CO account (registered to hosting site) to handle transactions on my domains site too? Or do I need another 2CO account? Both sites are owned by the same company.

I believe that a $7.95 Enom account comes included with the DRAMS license but I much put some money in the account. Must I also ask for the Enom account, or is it automatically given? I'm glad to hear that DRAMS support is good - I will put that to the test!

WEll if your not sure about installing drams, The drams people will install for an extra $25.00

$25 sounds like good value for DRAMS installation - will probably go with that option to save myself from headaches!

And I see that I signup for my Enom account from the DRAMS member area - have just done so.

Does the DRAMS system use Enom to handle transactions or must I use 2CO? It seems the Enom CC processing transaction charges are lower?

I know it's great to offer the best security possible, but an SSL cert for your hosting website would not be needed if you're using 2checkout.com because 2CO has the SSL for when your customer fills out forms on their server.

One thing that is good about purchasing the SSL is offering it to your clients...

Just something to think about ;)

Thanks to everyone who posted replies!

I still have a few questions, but they're domains-related, so I'll start a new thread later in the domains forum.