You know Joe right? Joe lives down the street from you and runs a little comic book store downtown. Joe doesn’t know much about the Internet but he does know that he would like to expand his business.

What should Joe do? Joe should look into getting into ecommerce.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 93!
Running Time: 13 minutes | File Size: 5.81 MB

Now first things first, what is ecommerce? Ecommerce is the conducting of commerce with goods and services over the Internet. It includes: consumers using the Internet to purchase goods and services online; as well as businesses selling and communicating with other businesses through the Internet.

There are a lot of “Mom and Pop” stores all over the world that want to get their goods and services Online. How do they do it? Well there are a few things that Joe is going to need.

1. Joe Needs a Domain Name

The first thing Joe should be looking for is a good domain name. It should be something that is short, yet gets the job done when it comes to telling people what they are coming to see or buy. Take my domain name for example. When you type in WebHostingShow.com you automatically know you are getting a show about Web hosting. Now do you have to be that direct? No - but it doesn’t hurt any.

2. Joe Needs an “Ecommerce Friendly” Web Hosting Company

The second thing that Joe needs is a Web hosting company. Now there are millions out there to choose from, so finding one should not be that big of an issue. Find the best hosting deal for your budget and go with it. Now will just any Web host do? No. You want to look for the one that offers the other things on the list as well. That is where the term “Ecommerce Friendly” comes into play.

The Web hosting account that Joe chooses should have:

• A Dedicated IP Address
• Shopping Cart Software
• Shared SSL Certificate
• Dedicated SSL Certificate

Now the dedicated IP address and the SSL certificates kind of go together in the same group. I will explain more about them later. The shopping cart software will be where the fun begins.

3. Joe Needs His Online Store Setup

Now when it comes to setting up the basic building blocks of an Online store you will need a script or service to run the interface. Now like you might use WordPress or MovableType for blogs and driving content - you will need to find another Online script to run your virtual store front. Here are some of your options:

• osCommerce Shopping Cart
• Cube Cart Shopping Cart
• Zen Cart Shopping Cart

Now some if not all of these will come pre-installed with your Web hosting account. That is one of the devilish details you will need to look into when you go shopping yourself for a Web host.

4. Does Joe Need a Dedicated IP Address?

Answering support questions, every so often I get the guy who tells me he doesn’t know what a dedicated IP address is but he wants one! Now where a dedicated IP address plays a part in the Web hosting world is when you need it for setting up your own dedicated SSL Certification.

Now I could get into all the details about how it works and why you need it, but both of use would probably just end up being more confused than when we started. The thing to remember is - is that if you want your own dedicated SSL certificate, you need a dedicated IP address. If you want to use the shared SSL (if it is provided by the Web host) then you usually don’t have to have the dedicated IP address.

5. Joe Wants to Know the Differences Between Dedicated and Shared SSL Certificates

Now we get into that gray area that seems to confused a lot of people. Before I tell you the differences between shared and dedicated SSL certificates - let me share with you what exactly a SSL certificate is.

SSL certificates give a Web site the ability to communicate securely with its Web customers. Without a certificate, any information sent to a Web site can be intercepted and viewed by anyone. You know that little padlock you see in your address bar when you have a secure connection to your E-mail, banking or credit card company’s Web site? That is created by the SSL certificate. Think of it as the security checker on the server. It’s job is to encrypt any information sent from yourself to the server so no bad guys can steal your information.

Shared SSL Certificates

Now a shared SSL certificate is usually one provided by your Web hosting company. It is the one that everybody and anybody on the server you are on can use.

The advantage of using this is you don’t have to pay for a dedicated SSL certificate of your own. The disadvantage is that when people go snooping around to see your verification it is going to show your Web host’s information and not your own.

Dedicated SSL Certificates

For those that want the more professional touch, you should go with a dedicated SSL certificate of your own. Now at this point, I am not sure which way Joe might go - but there is nothing wrong with paying a little extra to get your own SSL certificate.

The advantage is that it gives your company and Web site a more professional look. Dedicated SSL also shows that the SSL certificate is in your company name and dedicated to your Web site. The disadvantage is that it usually costs some of the green stuff, and you have to pay your dues on a subscription type basis.

6. Joe Needs a Credit Card Processor

Now that Joe has a domain, hosting account, shopping cart software, and an SSL certificate - what comes next? Well a lot of folks do not think of the credit card processing that an Online store must do to turn those products into dollars. This is the one area you might have to shop around to get a good deal on. Most Web hosts do not do credit card processing because it would be another headache that they don’t want to deal with.

So with that said, what should you be looking for? Well after you type “credit card processors” into Google you should look for a company that will:

• Work Well With Your Shopping Cart Software
• Doesn’t Take Too Much Off the Top of Your Sales
• Has Low or No Annual Fees

If you want to go down the easy road when you start out, you might look at PayPal or Google Checkout as a payment processor.

7. Does Joe Want to Shop Around?

Now that all the basic have been covered and Joe has everything he needs to know, should he shop around for all these various things or get them all in one spot? I would say Joe should get as many of them as he can at one spot. This makes managing things a lot easier.

Your Web hosting company maybe able to point you in the right direction and get a lot of these services for you cheaper than it would be to go out and do all the shopping on your own.

Now you know Joe, the guy that lives down the street? He has turned his little local store into a world wide market leader by placing himself on the Internet. Where people in his local area used to be the only ones that could get his goods - now everybody can. This is as good as opening a store in every city across the world. You don’t have to be a Walmart to become a success. All you need is a good idea and the tools of the trade I have provided you here.

Related Hosting Posts & Podcasts:

• Web Hosting Job Hunting Guide - Episode 122
• Don’t Backup There! - Episode 154
• Web Hosting Mailbag - Episode 151
• Troubleshoot Your Hosting Woes - Episode 148
• The Hosting Express - Episode 147

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