Well I've been browsing these forums for a while now and some things are very confusing to me. What I want to do is find a host for an online store. I already have the pages ready and a shopping cart to go(webgenie's). I still need to get an online merchant account and whatever else I need to accept CC. Also need to buy an SSL certificate. I'm not sure what I need for a host now? There are eccomerce solution hosts but I don't think I need all the tools?

what you will need of a web host will depend on what your shopping cart needs.

you can get a merchant account from 2checkout.com or revecom.com, of course there are others.

certain hosts will buy a SSL cert for you on request and install them.

just shop around and see what you like :)

I just checked the webgenie shopping cart you are using, they seem to offer 2 options. Either you host on their already "secure" servers or get your own.

any reason your not hosting with them?

If your online store is new and you only have a few products then I suggest using a third party CC processor like 2checkout or revecom. It will cost you much less and you can be setup in minutes. You also won't need a SSL certificate to use them, they provide the sercure server and order system.

Just my 2 cents

I have to look into webgenie's servers again, at the time we didn't need it. Host will need to have Perl capabilites. We have a lot of items to be listed. Just looking for some options for hosts, gives us a better view of things.

what's the problem?:confused:
Just post your requirements in "Web Hosting Requests" forum, and we, the hosters will give you our quotes gladly :stickout

Then you'll just have to chose the most convenient for you...
Good Luck!

:) I didn't know that was the option most people used. It seems webgenie's hosting is too expensive for our small upcoming business. Any other reccommendations?

Well now you should post a "request for quote" in the [web hosting requests] forum. So i can shamelessly promote my company. :D

but before you do that, outline what your needs really are. You already know you need CGI. What others things do you need? How much space do you think your site is going to need? Data Transfer? Email accounts?

Just give it some thought and i'm sure we WHT folks will spring offers on ya. :)

Cheers...