Web hosting ecommerce merchant services are the key to selling your product or service on the Internet. A simple website informs; an ecommerce website is an online store where visitors actually buy your products or services. There are many steps involved in finding affordable ecommerce hosting and building an ecommerce web site. Plan ahead and choose the best web hosting and ecommerce solutions to make your web site a profitable online business.

Most web hosting plans include the cost of a domain name, if you do not already have one. If you have one already, you may need to transfer it to the new hosting company or reset the DNS settings so it points to your new business ecommerce hosting company. A shopping cart program will also be included with your ecommerce web host, or perhaps more than one. Choose the one recommended by your web designer or your merchant account provider.

Steps to opening an ecommerce website:

1. Pick a domain name for your ecommerce web site.

2. Find an ecommerce web hosting service.

3. Choose a shopping cart program compatible with your business ecommerce hosting.

4. Sign up with a merchant account in order to receive credit card payments.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find the best ecommerce hosting site for your business

Choose a web host that is reliable and provides excellent support, using recommendations from other business owners who have ecommerce sites, or choosing from the list below. If you are only selling a few products, a simple hosting plan will probably meet your needs. A large online store will require more disk space, more bandwidth (also called traffic) and an easy-to-use online store configuration to simplify getting the products listed.

I recommend: Ecommerce web hosting sites that have received good reviews include MochaHost, HostMonster, Yahoo! Small Business and StartLogic.

Obtain design and maintenance services for your ecommerce web site

Find a professional web design service if you don't have a web designer on staff. Some web hosting companies have professional templates you can choose or designers you can hire for an extra fee. Or choose an independent web design company to design your online storefront.

I recommend: iPower has design and maintenance services for ecommerce sites for an extra charge beyond the standard hosting fees. Affordable Web Design will design and maintain your online storefront for you.

Set up a web hosting ecommerce merchant account

A merchant account allows you to receive credit card payments. If you don't already have one, you can choose one listed below or one recommended by your ecommerce web host. Sometimes you can obtain web hosting ecommerce merchant services from your web host.

I recommend: IX Web Hosting offers web hosting ecommerce merchant account services. AuthorizeNet is a commonly-used merchant account solution. Learn what's involved in creating an ecommerce site and setting up a merchant account from the E-Commerce Planning Guide at Acquired Knowledge Systems.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Once you've built your ecommerce web site, make sure the search engines know about it. Read a book or online tutorial on search engine optimization, or hire the services of an SEO expert.