Shopping Cart Hosting Companies and Services

Choosing the best shopping cart hosting services

This is where things can get a little sticky. When you choose your website hosting company it's best to have all the parts you need at one place, domain name, website hosting, shopping cart and ecommerce, however, that may not always work the best for you.

An example would be to have your shopping cart and ecommerce, the checkout till, that may be simple and easier to use from another source, such as; your own shopping cart software or a provider that has been successful over the years in streamlining a easy to use method, yet may not have a satisfactory website hosting, like Paypal.

Shopping cart solutions

Your choice of shopping cart solutions, including ecommerce is endless. I don't feel experienced enough to give solid advice since I have never used a shopping cart or ecommerce on my website, however, I have helped clients set theirs up and have had placed Paypal on some websites.

The closes I've come to using ecommerce is Paypal on Ebay. Don't get my wrong, I'm not total ignorant regarding ecommerce, I just don't feel I have enough experience to be considered an expert in the area of shopping carts and ecommerce solutions.

Shopping cart software

Here is an area I think may be an answer to an affordable and reasonable method. A one time fee for a shopping cart and ecommerce software, and a hosting company that will allow you to upload it on your website. You will need a merchant credit card account and a secure website dedicated for credit card payments.

However, you will need to have a fairly good working background in computers and website development.

Pros and cons of a small business shopping carts

The small business shopping carts is where your money comes from, so use great care. Some are seamless and some are clunky, awkward to use. Another area to consider is that most credit card transactions have a no-fault set time that the customer can stop payment, sort of like a check.

Getting a stop payment straighten out can be a pain in the neck, especially the return of the merchandise and fair shipping costs. Also, use an ecommerce setup that has a limited period, like three days after the merchandise has been delivered and no response from buyer, there is no refund.

Internet small business resources

• United States Small Business Administration
• Counselors of America's Small Business (Score)