"If you're looking to sell products online or move paper-based transactions online, e-commerce web hosting is the perfect solution. Outsourcing your web store is a time and money saving decision. Packages typically start at $35 per month but can reach several hundred dollars per month for more advanced e-commerce hosting. Prices of hosting packages differ because of such factors as disk space, number of e-mail accounts, and data transfer, as well as the amount of distinct items you are allowed to sell. You will also find different hosting provider varying in terms of the transaction software that they employ. Consider the following samples of common e-commerce hosting packages:

Budget Packages ($35/month, 10-15 items, 30-40MB of disk space, unlimited data transfer.)

If you're looking to sell products for the first time this is where to start. These types of budget packages allow you to sell around 10-15 unique items, with about 30 to 40 megabytes of storage space, and an unlimited number of visitors. What's great about budget packages is that you can usually upgrade easily as your store grows. A cheap and realiable host would sell their product for under $7.00 a month. One example of this is http://www.weblinkhosting.com and http://www.midphase.com. For companies that expect to succeed, the ability to upgrade quickly and efficiently is extremely important..

Moderate Packages ($70-$100/month, 100-115 items, 100MB of disk space, unlimited data transfer.)

This type of package is great for a growing store, with a moderate variety in terms of number of products. It would allow for a range of 100-115 products to be sold, and you receive much more capability for a marginal increase in price. For many companies, middle of the run e-commerce packages are much more efficient starting levels than budget packages. Once again, the ability to upgrade allows you to adjust to the success of your business by expanding into a high-end e-commerce package.

Professional Packages ($150-$200/month, unlimited products, 250MB of disk space, unlimited data transfer) These types of packages are quite affordable considering the ability to sell unlimited products. This factor allows your business to grow it's online presence to whatever scale required. While 250 MB of disk storage is impressive, most plans will allow your company to upgrade with time if need be. High-end e-commerce packages are occasionally associated with dedicated server solutions. Ideally, serious e-commerce endeavors should start at a high-end e-commerce plan, as even at a monthly rate of several hundred dollars it is more affordable than offline ""retail space."" Media 3 Media3: Premium Business Web Hosting

It's apparent that web hosting providers are able to adjust their e-commerce solutions accordingly to your company's needs. This flexibility and customization is likely to continue, as e-commerce becomes a natural step for business moving online or expanding their current Internet presence. When starting an online storefront, a web host will be able to guide you through the hosting process effectively. Ask the host about upgrade options so you can have an upgrade plan in place for when it is needed.

When looking for e-commerce providers, be certain to pay attention to these factors - bandwidth (data transfer), cost, disk space, and the amount of items you can sell, etc. These are basic parts of a web hosting plan and will be similar to those found in non e-commerce plans. There are a number of software applications that allow you to setup your online store. The dominant software solutions used by hosting companies include Mercantec SoftCart, iCat Commerce Publisher, and Icentral ShopSite. Make sure your web host provides for transactions online to be made securely through SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption. If you also plan to accept credit card transactions online, you'll need payment processing services, from a reliable company such as CyberCash or CardService. Most hosting companies have the ability to set-up complete payment processing systems, including the actual merchant account (which you will need to bill customer's credit cards.)

Starting an online store is an exciting opportunity, and your web host will impact the success of your store. For this reason, take the time and effort to compare several e-commerce web hosts. Shown below are some links here at HostIndex.com that can help you get started. "