E-Commerce (electronic commerce) refers to the buying/selling (or exchange) of goods and services through the Internet. Generally speaking, there are four basic components to an e-commerce enabled Web site: A shopping cart, a secure environment, a payment gateway and a merchant account (although this list can vary).

A shopping cart is an essential component for most e-commerce Web sites, as it allows users to browse for and purchase products online. Some Web hosts provide free (usually more basic) shopping carts, while others provide a shopping cart for an additional fee. Different shopping cart programs range greatly in usability, functionality and features.

A visitor uses the virtual shopping cart to choose which items (and how many of each) to buy. The transaction then begins over a secure connection (SSL). The payment gateway enables the authorization, processing and managing of online transactions, while the merchant account enables the processing of credit cards online.

There are many different levels of e-commerce integration — the more customized the system, the more complicated (and costly) the process can get. If you are in need of a complex e-commerce solution, you must be willing to pay a bit more for a reliable, flexible hosting plan.

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Posted in Web Hosting, Small Business

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 29th, 2006 at 4:29 pm and is filed under Web Hosting, Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.