What to Look for in E-commerce Web Hosting Solutions

Looking to break into the E-commerce industry? Think you have a product that will fly off the proverbial shelves? Building a quality E-commerce site is easier and cheaper than you think. This is thanks to E-commerce website hosting solutions that offer everything you need to succeed including payment processing.

But with all those choices, it can be tough to know which option you should go with. Below we will discuss what to look for in an E-commerce web hosting solution including customization, speed and reliability.

Choose Carefully or Suffer Consequences

While E-commerce has become a very lucrative channel for retailers, the quality of the hosting services available to many small businesses often leaves a lot to be desired. A recent report showed that nearly a third of online shoppers have abandoned potential purchase due to poor E-commerce website design or functionality

In other words, if your homepage, product pages, images or – heaven forbid – checkout pages fall short of customers’ expectations, your e-store will suffer. Thus, choosing a robust E-commerce web hosting solution is a must. While your decision is up to you, your chosen solution

Templates that Simplify Customization

The best platforms offer multiple professional themes with plug-and-play implementation. They are mobile commerce ready and come with full blogging capability already built into the solution itself. However, within all of that, they should also provide the ability to brand and customize your store, even as you implement one of their pre-existing templates.

These templates make it easy to give your e-store a little personality or edge without the trouble of hiring a web designer or teaching yourself to code. These prefab templates should also allow for quick and simple changes. That way you can update your E-commerce website based on the season, to promote an especially important or to feature the launch of a new product line. Check out user reviews online to make sure that your chosen solution is nimble enough to roll with the punches.

What to Look for in an E-commerce Solution

While coding experience should not be a necessity, full access to the HTML and CSS of your store should be provided. Why? Because over time, you might want to make more significant changes to your e-store.

Another thing you should consider is domain transfer. If you have an existing domain name, the solution provider should allow for seamless transfer. If not, the platform provider should be able to walk you through the process free of charge. That’s just courteously.

Other desirable features include free SSL certificates to keep your website secure; credit card processing to complete sales; a variety of payment gateways including PayPal; and abandoned shopping cart recovery to convert customers who almost got away.

One last item to think about is international compatibility. E-commerce is borderless retail, so your ideal platform will support multiple languages; as well as multiple forms of payment. Even if the solution doesn’t offer these itself (most do), the platform ought to offer plug-ins and add-ons for easy conversions.

Flexibility Is Key

Consider these features offered by Shopify, whether you sell makeup, electronics, furniture or any other product online. one of the acknowledged leaders in the segment. Rather than work with a host, Shopify actually allows you to host your E-commerce site on their overall site in order to connect with various apps.

The rise in E-commerce is showing no signs of abating. In the coming years, online shopping will only become more prevalent thanks to the combination of innovative thinking and the broad diversity in E-commerce markets. If you want to get in on the action, you need to pick an E-commerce web hosting solution that works for you and for your customers!