Commerce Hosting
Overview
Commerce Web Hosting is a category of services primed for the needs of those businesses who are selling goods and/or services over the internet. Perhaps you need a merchant account for processing online credit card transactions, or a shopping cart setup that makes buying from your website as intuitive as grabbing something off the shelf at a local store. Maybe you need a database backend that is capable of delivering images and information to consumers in a manner that will ease the e-commerce shopping experience and facilitate the flow of your inventory. The host list below is a good place to start.
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01. 1&1
(http://www.1and1.com) 02. Apollo Hosting (http://www.apollohosting.com) 03. Media3 (http://www.media3.net) 04. Hostway (http://www.hostway.com) 05. SiteTurn (http://www.siteturn.com) 06. Midphase (http://www.midphase.com) |
07. Aplus.Net
(http://www.aplus.net) 08. Web.com (http://www.web.com) 09. Superb Hosting (http://www.superb.net) 10. StartLogic (http://www.startlogic.com) 11. Lypha (http://www.lypha.com) 12. IX Webhosting (http://www.ixwebhosting.com) |
E-Commerce Web Hosting Company Reviews
01. 1&1 Internet
Offers a turnkey e-commerce web hosting solution called "e-shops," which includes website building
tools, order processing capabilities and marketing resources. There are three packages: the smallest
plan delivers 50 MB storage and 10 GB bandwidth for $10/month while the largest plan provides 1,200
megabytes of storage and 60 gigs of monthly transfer.
02. Apollo Hosting
Apollo has two e-commerce web hosting plans. The "Business" plan features 5,000 MB storage and 150
GB bandwidth for $14/month while the "Ecommerce Pro" package provides 10,000 megs of storage and 200
gigabytes of data for $21/month. Both plans include a shopping cart, merchant account and marketing tools.
03. Media3 Technologies
This host provides a nice overview of the 5 components to an e-commerce website and organizes their services
accordingly. Hosting packages are limited to one option for either UNIX or Windows 2003 that costs $50/month
with a $50 set-up fee.
04. Hostway
Choose from 6 different commerce hosting plans, starting at $20/month for 12 GB of web space and 250
gigs of monthly bandwidth. If you've got a mob of online shoppers, check out the "Diamond Plus" package
which affords 100 gigabytes of storage as well as "unmetered" bandwidth and unlimited hits (we all know
that's BS, but it sounds good).
05. SiteTurn Networks
They keep it simple with two commerce web hosting plans for either Windows or Linux. The
"Commerce Basic" plan costs $13/month for 500 MB storage and 5O GB bandwidth. For a little
more than double the cost, the "Commerce Pro" package gives 4x the storage and "unlimited"
monthly transfer (translation: call to get the true bandwidth cap).
06. MidPhase
The two shared hosting plans effectively serve as commerce hosting options since they both provide
e-commerce features. If your website needs are basic, the price is right at $8 and $12/month with no
set-up fees. Customer service is also emphasized, if that's your hitch.
07. Aplus.Net
Reduced the prices on most commerce plans - they now range from $15 - $35/month. The base plan
provides 190 GB storage and 2,500 GB bandwidth. All packages come with key e-commerce features like
MIVA merchant, merchant accounts and secure server certificates.
08. Web.com
Choose any one of their Windows or Linux web hosting plans and add e-commerce functionality
with MIVA merchant and VeriSign Payment gateway. Hosting plans start at $12/month, with the
MIVA and VeriSign add-ons costing $9/month and $35/month respectively.
09. Superb Hosting
Two of the three hosting plans come with Zen Cart, a popular and robust open source shopping cart system,
as well as SSL. Packages with e-commerce capabilities start at $6.50/month and deliver 750 gigabytes
of storage and 50 GB of monthly bandwidth.
10. StartLogic
Very cheap host if you commit to a prepaid contract and are comfortable with open source e-commerce
programs such as OS Commerce and Agora Cart. For the monthly equivalent of $6/month, you get the
software plus 200 gigs of storage and 2,000 GB bandwidth, as well as other features such as website
building and marketing tools.
11. Lypha
All web hosting plans are e-commerce enabled with multiple billing cycle options. Choose from a
variety of shopping carts: those with merchant accounts typically require an extra set-up fee
while those without are free. The cheapest hosting plan starts at $7/month with 250 GB storage
and 6,000 gigabytes of data transfer.
12. IX Web Hosting
Another low cost host with SSL and free open source shopping cart software, but you
will need a merchant account in order to process credit cards. With a two year commitment,
you get everything else for $7/month along with 400 GB storage and 2,500 gigs of bandwidth.