There are quite a few things that you need to do to set up your online business, before you could open your online store to trading community online. The most important thing is to identify a suitable ecommerce hosting service for your business website. There are companies who provide web hosting or ecommerce hosting services along with Internet connectivity and related application software.
First of all, do not sign on to the first ecommerce hosting service you come across. There are many and it is better to enquire around and ask those who are running online businesses before selecting the ecommerce hosting service for your online store. Narrow down your list of preferred hosts and check out the features each offers. First of all, compare the bandwidth offered by the host. What is the minimum bandwidth offered and is there a provision for providing more bandwidth, as your business increases?
Another important feature is the shopping cart software. Ask the web host what are the different shopping carts offered, shortlist those that are widely used by others and try them out through demos provided by the host. Take time to select the one that is suitable for your intended business and ensure that it is scalable so that you can later increase the number of products or services. Please note that it is often very difficult to change to another shopping cart in mid-stream after your business up and running.
Web hosts usually provide two types of databases based on compatibility with the operating system. The first type of database is that which is compatible with Windows operating system while the second type (like MySQL) is compatible with the open source operating system Linux/Unix. You should also check the scripting provided which could differ from windows supported ASP and .Net to PHP which is compatible with Linux. Most of the online shoppers choose the cost effective and competent php shopping cart.
Some of the other things to take into account are enough disk space, design of the web site, cooperation with a variety of payment transfer services, email accounts functional both for incoming and outgoing mail, an autoresponder service, assistance with domain registration plus web mail facilitating checking the email from anywhere. You should also determine if backup versions are available by contacting the host and asking about procedures in the event of his server misfunctioning.
If you have checked the full list of features and facilities offered by each, consider the reliability and competency. Go through the fine print and check out the technical support and payment options. You will naturally want your business set up quickly and it helps to select a host which offers you a package deal that includes everything your business needs in technology rather than opting for several vendors who provide you different parts of ecommerce solutions, as integrating the piecemeal parts into a complete package is bound to be expensive and time consuming.
Source http://www.goarticles.com
