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"Ecommerce" is an excellent buzzword: it can cover almost as many possibilities as "Paradigm Shift". However, it is not really about having particular things on your web site; indeed, it may be easier to define what Ecommerce is NOT. Essentially, Ecommerce is about process rather than content. Ecommerce is having a focused strategy to exploit new technology to further information delivery, support and services in imaginative and innovative ways.

By offering services and products on the web and placing these data on a hosting company, you simply need call it ecommerce hosting. Here are some helpful tips in find a good ecommerce hosting solution.

1) Simplify and use an all-in-one ecommerce hosting service
There’s a lot of work involved in setting up and managing a business-class Web site and these tasks are not to be taken lightly. Companies need to see a return on their investment from their Internet efforts; and given the level of staffing and expertise required to manage a business-critical Web site, it’s very hard to see that ROI if you have to do it yourself. I strongly suggest that you find an all-in-one ecommerce hosting service to simplify your online business system. In another words, the ecommerce hosting company that you intend to sign up must the ability to provide you a shopping cart, a simple products management system, a credit card merchant system to and other relevant marketing & web page design tools to help you create a viable ecommerce site.

2) Get a shopping cart system that suit your products systems.
A shopping cart is a piece of software that acts as an online store's catalog and ordering process. Typically, a shopping cart is the interface between a company's Web site and its deeper infrastructure, allowing consumers to select merchandise; review what they have selected; make necessary modifications or additions; and purchase the merchandise.

There are over hundred shopping cart available on the web. Research and use a shopping cart that suits your product requirements. As part of a shopping cart you must set up an online order form containing fields for contact data (name, address, e-mail address) and credit-card information (card number, name of cardholder, expiration date). This form is then sent via secure SSL connection to the a payment gatway, which processes the order in real time. Whatever type of solution best fits your online business strategy, be sure to choose a product that supports standard shopping cart features, such as secure servers and automatic shipping and tax calculation.

Next you'll need to address issues of user friendliness. Test your ecommerce shopping carts yourself. Get friends and relatives to test drive them too, and let you know what they thought. All online shopping cart companies say that their products are easy to use, make sure that the company you choose delivers on this promise. Your business success could depend on it.

Many features of online shopping carts are configurable, which means you can change them to suit you and your customers. Do ask lots of questions about features that can be changed before you go ahead and commit yourself. Because many ecommerce companies operate on a short-term agreement now, you can still change your mind later on if you find that you made the wrong choice of ecommerce shopping carts. It's a simple matter of taking that software out and slotting in a new one.

Below are the few requirements to determine the shopping cart you need:

• Easy for customers to choose and pay goods from your website
• Web-based based setup and configuration to manage your products.
• Gives you the options to customize to your site design.
• Provider secure server
• Compatible with your website's server and scripts like ASP, PHP or Cold Fusion
• Ability to view orders by browser, e-mail, or fax.
• Multiple payment options and support for multiple currencies.
• Allow you to choose and connect to several real-time payment processing system.
• Provide Automated tax and shipping calculation.
   

3) Research and ask the ecommerce hosting provider to provide referrals
There are many hosting providers they may be offering ecommerce hosting without proven techniques and solutions. Make sure that you research and get more users reviews before you sign up with that particular host that you are interested. Ask the host to provide at least 3 working ecommerce websites that are hosting in host's servers, and then, check how these websites connect each of the their own shopping cart to the payment gateway.

The easiest way to arrange for your ecommerce hosting and ecommerce applications is to find a company that can supply everything you need. A firm that offers solutions to all your ecommerce needs can not only simplify your life, but can probably offer you financial savings too. There are other advantages though, to getting your hosting plan, shopping cart, payment solutions and more all from the same place.

You will be certain not to encounter compatibility problems, which can occasionally occur between ecommerce hosting and the applications that people need to run online businesses. Although all companies generally assure us that their ecommerce applications can be used with any other software, this is most certainly not always the case, and it can sometimes take a while to identify issues and incompatibilities. Incompatibilities and software glitches can cost you money online, and are to be avoided at all costs. If you get all your ecommerce software from your ecommerce hosting provider, you will be assured of bypassing those particular problems.

4) Sign up an affordable credit card processing company
If you are looking for ways to accept credit card online without using any merchant account, consider the few companies in this article. Be prepared to pay a few percentage commissions to the company from your sales. 

Browse the websites below and research carefully before you consider them as part of your ecommerce website.

PayPal
If you are a Premier or Business account user, you get charged US$0.25 for transactions of US$15 and below, 1.9% plus US$0.25 for transactions above US$15 when your customers pay by credit card. They require your customers to sign up for their services before they can pay you. This can be a deterrent for your customers.

ProPay.com
A new competitor to PayPal (see elsewhere on this page) that currently only caters to US residents. You have to pay a $35 fee to sign up, but there are no monthly charges.

RegNow.com
Designed for software authors to sell their ware, this merchant deducts 20% of your sale price with a minimum of US$2.00 for their commission. There are also other charges for sales generated by your affiliates, etc.

Verza.com
There are no setup or monthly charges. Transaction charges range from 4.9% to 6.9% of your sale price plus US $0.99.

CardPay.net
One of the competitive credit card processing companies in the internet industry yet without compromising quality.