In order to have an online presence, all websites need to be "hosted" by a web hosting company or "platform provider". When choosing a web hosting company, there are a number of things to consider including cost, reliability, bandwidth, server speed, technical support and very importantly, security.
Shopcreator have been developing and providing ecommerce software for over 11 years and are renowned for their first class hosting environment. All of the their ecommerce software solutions are hosted on state of the art fully redundant infrastructure which is managed 24/7/365. Shopcreator's data centres are attached to the internet backbone providing the highest levels of speed and uptime ensuring that all of the ecommerce websites are available all of the time.
Good techincal support is often hard to come by and that is why Shopcreator are proud of the high levels of positive feedback that our support team constantly receive. Not only is it first class support but it is also free! We don't believe in charging our customers when they require help building and running and growing their online businesses.
A good web hosting company should offer industry-standard security products and services such as firewalls and SSL certificates to protect the websites they host. As a more cost-effective solution, unless your site is to have very large amounts of data, you will probably look to share a server with other companies. In this case there is a certain amount of disk space available for each of the hosted sites – you should be aware of how much space you are allocated and also find out how many email addresses you can have, keeping future growth in mind.
Shopcreator take security very seriously. Not only is our hosting environment protected by the best hardware but all Shopcreator customers benefit from the best SSL certificates (EV) available so that your customers can buy online with confidence.
The following terms are important to understand when thinking about website hosting:
Bandwidth: Also referred to as data transfer, this is the amount of data that your host allows visitors to access during a month. As a general rule, 500 MB of data equates to around 20,000 page views. Although it is not usually a problem for smaller online businesses, if you exceed your allocated bandwidth limit then you will incur an extra cost – so you should check the arrangement with your host. None of the Shopcreator products are limited on bandwidth, Shopcreator believe that your site should be visible all of the time no matter how many people want to visit.
Disk space: Also known as web space, this is the amount of space your site is allowed to take up on your web host’s hard drive or server. Shopcreator don't believe in limiting disk space, when you setup your store rest assured you can add as much as you want.
Downtime: This is when a website becomes temporarily unavailable due to server issues. You should find out what guarantees or service level agreement your web host will offer to compensate for downtime, as this can of course leads to potential loss of business for your site.
Firewall: A firewall is a dedicated appliance, or piece of software running on another computer, which inspects network traffic passing through it, and denies or permits passage based on a set of rules. Firewalls are designed to protect your website.
SSL certificates: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology is a secure web protocol designed to ensure cardholder information is kept safe during the ordering process so that customer transactions are secure. SSL certificates can be purchased from Verisign, a PayPal partner. To make things smoother, it is also best if they can offer an e-commerce package with a pre-installed shopping cart. Shopcreator Transact offers a shared SSL certificate.
Domain names are intellectual property, which belong to their registered owners. It is essential to do a thorough search of existing domain names before making a decision, so as not to infringe on another company's copyright. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) allow users to register a domain name, however make sure the domain is registered in your name so you're in control of it if you ever change ISPs. Also check whether you need to pay a monthly or an annual fee for using the domain and whether it can be kept indefinitely.
It might seem obvious but if a web address is easy to remember, it’s more likely to be found and used. A simple URL is key to driving traffic to a website, particularly if it is to be featured in printed advertising for example, where customers are invited to visit the site as a call to action – but also so that those who do visit are able to find their way back.
A good web address should not be too long and it is generally better if it does not include hyphens, underscores or full stops as this just makes it more awkward to type.
Ideally your URL should include the name of your company, to help raise awareness and recognition of your brand. However, due to high demand, an exact match is not always possible. Think about using words that will help make your web address be meaningful to customers, such as the products you offer or the area you serve. For example "richmondcatering", "giftsforall" or even things like "chillimonkey" for very niche markets! This can also help you stand out and appear higher up in search results (see step 7 Driving traffic).
Domain names are intellectual property, which belong to their registered owners. It is essential to do a thorough search of existing domain names before making a decision, so as not to infringe on another company's copyright. Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) allow users to register a domain name, however make sure the domain is registered in your name so you're in control of it if you ever change ISPs. Also check whether you need to pay a monthly or an annual fee for using the domain and whether it can be kept indefinitely.