Web Hosting
GUIDE

Web Hosts For Ecommerce Websites

Description: Ecommerce websites are at the very pinnacle of what websites are capable of. If you need your website to be able to handle lots of visitors on a daily basis, many of whom are ordering goods from you then you will need to find a web host that can accommodate those needs.

Ecommerce websites are designed to handle the vast majority of their business online. Sales can be made twenty four hours a day, and as such the webmaster and business owner needs to be sure that the web host they choose can handle the site receiving a lot of traffic and having to process secure orders.

Some web hosts are tailored more towards personal websites and small businesses, and are not necessarily equipped to deal with the requirements of a large ecommerce website. That's why its vital that you explore the market properly before making your choice - the success of your business could depend on it.

As a general rule, the more services you want from your web host, the more you will need to pay them every month. Each tariff depends on the amount of bandwidth you will be granted, the amount of web space you can have, and the various other services that you will be offered with each package. If you have a dedicated ecommerce site, you will need to look at the top end packages to find what you are looking for.

The overall level of service provided by a web host is also an important factor however. An online business will need to know that they aren't living in fear of their website becoming unavailable due to downtime by the host. Look for one that offers 99.9% uptime. It's also worth researching their track record. How long have they been around for? Are there any testimonials you can read? Do they have any contact numbers? Can you speak to someone who is able to answer any questions you may have?

Once you have narrowed your choices down to two or three, you will need to compare the services you will be entitled to. As an ecommerce site you will need to have a fairly large website - find out how many web pages you can have and whether or not you will be provided with website building tools as part of your package.

All professional packages should come with access to a secure server, but you can opt for either a shared SSL certificate or a dedicated one of your own. It's up to you whether a shared one is sufficient for your needs. Email addresses shouldn't be a problem as you will normally find professional business web packages come with plenty more than you will ever need.

Some web hosts also provide additional tools which, while not essential to actually building and hosting a website, do come in extremely handy and can tip the balance in favor of one particular host. Traffic building tips and tools are one such item that can really make a difference to launching your website.

In short it's vital to consider all the possibilities and work out your needs before you select the web host you are going to go with. Try and keep one eye on the future as well; it's often better not to try and save money by getting a package that you may soon grow out of.