Guide to Ecommerce Application Service Providers

If you have decided to enter into business on the Internet, but don't have the know-how or time to host your own ecommerce site, you need to chose from the many reputable application service providers for e-commerce.

A application service provider (ASP) will publish your website on its own server, so that your site is available to the world. These ASPs will assist your business by providing the hardware, technology and expertise to run a professional and reliable ecommerce site for your business. Choosing the right ASP for ecommerce will improve your business exposure and increase your business's credibility and profitability.

The ASP for e-commerce you choose should be able to:

1. Accept multiple forms of payment including all major credit cards, PayPal and ACH transactions.

2. Confirm receipt of payment and store the payment information in a secure manner.

3. Guarantee a certain up-time once your site is live.

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

Define what you need from ecommerce applications

Your ecommerce site will have some key requirements that the ecommerce application service providers must offer. Estimate your required bandwidth, number of transactions you anticipate, the security you want in place for your customers and, of course, the price you can afford. Determine if you want to sell advertising on your ecommerce site. Use these parameters to choose the ASP providers that best fit your needs.

I recommend: Read expert advice on ecommerce options at Sourcingmag.com or WebSiteMarketingPlan.com. Thesitewizard.com contains useful details about choosing the most effective hosting service.

Choose the ecommerce service provider that works within your parameters

Once you have defined what is most important to you, compare ecommerce application service providers to find the best partner for your business. Avoid going with the lowest cost if it means sacrificing important service aspects to your ecommerce site.

I recommend: Compare ecommerce solutions such as Microsoft Office Live Small Business, and Yahoo! Merchant Solutions. Both provide easy and reputable ecommerce applications. Review the plan difference on Yahoo using their easy plan summaries. Check out the Ebay eCommerce Merchant Solutions Center or Volution as other ecommerce service providers.

Understand the ins and outs of ecommerce

You must do more than simply pay the bill of your application service providers for e-commerce. Be sure you understand the details of an ecommerce site to get the most of your Internet business presence.

I recommend: Review NetworkSolution's white papers for valuable information on applications of ecommerce such as basic ecommerce business rules, how to optimize ecommerce sales and ecommerce market research. Carefully read and understand security compliance requirements for accepting Visa transactions on your ecommerce site by visiting EnvisionWare.com or Visa.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Consider making your website far more than just an Internet portal for your customers. Interacting with employees, partners and suppliers gives you power and flexibility as your business grows.

The official source of Ecommerce Application Service Providers is
the Ecommerce Application Service Providers page at Business.com