E-commerce Hosting: 8 FAQs Answered

We answer 8 important questions about e-commerce hosting in 2021

If you run an online store, it is more crucial to go with some of the best e-commerce hosting providers than you might imagine. Loads of businesses fall flat due to poor security, terrible loading speeds, and erroneously handled web servers.

While you are looking for the ideal e-commerce hosting provider, it is best to choose based upon the factors that matter to you the most. Worry no more. This guide will help you find the answers to some of the most important questions associated with e-commerce hosting.

1. What is hosting in e-commerce?

All websites and online stores need one vital aspect to go digital – an e-commerce hosting platform. Hosting delivers a server for your website to ride on, offering it the ability to connect to the internet and enable users to visit it.

In simple words, you are buying the right to somebody else’s untapped server space and receiving service from a firm that is well aware of the security and optimization of their servers.

That is what e-commerce hosting is

2. How does e-commerce hosting work?

A company calls in the best e-commerce hosting provider to buy a hosting space on its server. This space usually is billed monthly or yearly, along with any renting of computer software to process online orders.

To ascertain secure payment transactions, these providers help in setting up Internet merchant accounts, which are bank accounts created to process debit or credit card transactions.

E-commerce hosting firms generally handle every technical aspect of building and maintaining a website for their customers. Besides, they may offer services such as ED (Electronic Distribution), transactions between businesses, or other insights.

3. How can I host my e-commerce website?

If you want to host your own e-commerce website, you need to have your own physical servers. While larger companies might store these in a large space or data center, this option does not make sense for most online retailers.

Self-hosting offers you full authority over what you do with your servers. That said, if you lack IT expertise, you will not be able to leverage that flexibility.

You are taking care of everything from software glitches to hardware malfunctions. By the time you buy the equipment and rope in a team to handle your dedicated server hosting, you will perhaps end up loosening your purse strings more than you would if you used another hosting option.

So, to answer your question, you can host your e-commerce website by signing up for an e-commerce hosting service provider.

4. How much does it cost to host an e-commerce website?

This depends on many factors, like the type of e-commerce website you’re building, the amount of traffic you’re getting, and more. For instance, an e-commerce website that gets thousands and millions of visitors pays more for hosting as opposed to a website with a couple of thousand visitors.

MyResellerHome offers shared hosting at just around a dollar a month and VPN hosting at around US$60 a month. Our plan scales with your needs. Different service providers will have their own plans and pricing.

All said though, today, e-commerce hosting isn’t as expensive as it once was. The starter packs are fairly affordable to get you going.

5. What are some features of e-commerce hosting I should look for?

While you are looking for an e-commerce host that will be a perfect fit for your online store, keep your eyes on these crucial features:

• High Performance: As an e-commerce website, your top priority should be searching for a host that is reliable and fast. 57% of users will leave your website if the load times exceed 3 seconds, and 80% of them will never return. That is a huge lost potential.
• Bandwidth and File Storage: E-commerce websites consume a great deal of storage space as well as attract the most traffic. You will need a host that has plenty of resources for you unless you wish to end up paying huge overage costs.
• Full Security: Look for a web host that provides robust security features such as:
• SSL certificates and integration to protect sensitive data
• Proactive monitoring to catch and fix issues
• Automatic back-ups (daily, weekly, or even hourly)
• Software Compatibility: Many hosts offer clustered software and integrations. Better look for those that provide the cPanel interface. It comes with the Softaculous installer that covers over 400 software, meaning you will be pretty well-covered.
• Scalability: If you are a small/medium or new e-commerce business, shared hosting is usually the way to go. It is perfect for capping costs when you are just kicking off, as resources are shared with other websites on a server. However, once your traffic begins to grow, you may want to turn to cloud solutions or a VPS dedicated server.

6. How do I build an e-commerce website from scratch?

Setting up an e-commerce store does not have to be too complicated or time-taking. Follow these steps to develop your e-commerce website from scratch.

• Decide the product you want to sell
• Choose your business model
• Decide on a business/domain name
• Rope in your website builder
• Choose e-commerce hosting
• Design your e-commerce store
• Set up payment methods
• Select your shipping partner
• Secure your site by installing an SSL certificate

7. How do I make my e-commerce site secure?

As a typical e-commerce business, do not leave the front door of your website wide open. Follow these measures to stay on a safer side:

• Make sure your e-commerce site has one or more layers of encryption.
• Installing an SSL certificate is one of the best and easiest ways to protect your e-commerce site from hackers.
• As payment is a key aspect of your e-commerce business, make sure your payment gateway is secure.
• Use antivirus software and firewalls to scan for and keep malicious attacks at bay.
• Keep your e-commerce website up to date.
• Run regular back-ups to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

8. Which is the best e-commerce hosting provider?

This strictly boils down to your needs. You can find a managed eCommerce hosting solution if you are a novice or need some guidance. A cheap hosting package is a good choice if you have a limited budget. If you already have an established brand identity and your website is expected to get a lot of traffic, you want to pick a hosting that has a state-of-art infrastructure and can support large websites. So, first, establish your needs and requirements, and then do some research to find a good e-commerce hosting provider.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these FAQs answered all your queries, from the basics of e-commerce hosting to knowing various aspects before choosing a host, and from top web hosting providers to create your own site from scratch.

If you still have any questions, feel free to connect with us.