E-commerce hosting

1 What is e-commerce hosting?
2 What e-commerce websites need
- 2.1 General web hosting needs
- 2.2 E-commerce web hosting needs
3 E-commerce hosting plan features
- 3.1 Common features
- 3.2 Additional features
4 See also

What is e-commerce hosting?

E-commerce web hosting is a web hosting service designed for the needs of e-commerce websites. E-commerce web hosting plans, also known as business hosting plans, offer software, tools, and other solutions for online merchants in addition to web hosting. These allow merchants to create online catalogs, track inventory, and accept orders and secure payments for goods and services online.

Not all hosting plans suitable for e-commerce hosting are specified as such. Many web hosting plans include some or all of the features that e-commerce websites require, while other web hosts specialize in e-commerce web hosting.

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What e-commerce websites need

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General web hosting needs

E-commerce sites have basic web hosting requirements as well as specific ones:

A domain name
A website that displays the products or services for sale
Databases
Technical support

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E-commerce web hosting needs

Most e-commerce websites also need:

A shopping cart
A merchant account
A payment gateway
An SSL certificate
A web analytics program
A mailing list program to send out newsletters and announcements

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E-commerce hosting plan features

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Common features

In addition to typical web hosting plans, the following are common features of e-commerce hosting plans:

Pre-installed shopping carts
Specific commercial shopping carts, sometimes at a reduced price (and often the expertise provide technical support for them)
Free shopping cart installation (if shopping carts aren't pre-installed)
SSL certificates (for an additional fee or free if shared)
Dedicated IP addresses (for SSL setup)
Free merchant account setup
Payment gateways (for an additional fee)

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