Hosting TutorialPlease use this tutorial to resolve any myths or questions you may have regarding hosting before continuing your search for a hosting provider.Chapter One - Overview Chapter Two - Relative Pricing Chapter Three - Space Requirements Chapter Four - Bandwidth Requirements Chapter Five - Email Information Chapter Six - Counters and Statistics Chapter Seven - Real CGI-Bin Chapter Eight -Control Panel Chapter Nine - Mailing Lists/News Letter Chapter Ten - E-Commerce Chapter Eleven - FTP Chapter Twelve - Connection and Reliability Chapter Thirteen - Support E-CommerceOverviewSecure Server Shopping Carts Merchant Accounts Cyber Cash Visa Versa Overview Either you don't need it or you need the best. Hosting that is e-commerce friendly pretty much means having SSL available, many hosts will add the infamous shopping cart to their more expensive e-commerce accounts. For sure just having the word "E-Commerce" anywhere near a hosting account means it's going to cost plenty more. The average cost for an E-Commerce ready site is $99.95 per month, the budget hosts average is $34.95. All of our accounts except our budget "Price is Everything" account will do the job, just pick the one that's the right size for you. Many so called e-commerce sites do not offer a shopping cart as part of the price, you must buy and install one of your own. Make sure your hosting system and merchant account can co-exist, it takes too long to setup a great site, just to find out that the bank won't approve transactions from your host. Rosserver.com has it all, Ross was into E-commerce on his own sites even before he got into Hosting. Secure Servers, Shopping Carts, Merchant Accounts, even Cyber Cash, we have it all. Back to the top Secure Server There is no E-Commerce without security. SSL encryption is required by all banks for online transactions with their merchant accounts. SSL secures the page but the link back to you with the credit card numbers should be secure also, we offer PGP formmail to do this. Similar to SSL in that it uses private/public key sets but its designed for e-mail. Better Back to the top Shopping Carts Shopping Carts were not all created equal, nor are they all easy to setup or intuitive for shoppers to use. We offer a choice of our own cart, which is much, much easier to set up and has a familiar look and feel, and the ever popular Miva Merchant (sold separately) which we can turn on in your account at the press of a button. You are never limited because you may always install a different one like a model you are more familiar with in own CGI-bin. Back to the top Merchant Accounts We are an approved host and re-seller for Full Merchant Accounts, free merchant services, and Cyber Cash. Merchant accounts are quite a responsibility and they will cost between 30 and 40 dollars a month even with no charges. There are lots of forms to fill out and documents to send in, but owning your own merchant account is a ticket to higher profits. We can make it easier by getting you an advisor, and providing the bank with the information about your Secure Server. Back to the top Cyber Cash A merchant account does make you able to take credit cards, even online, but not in "real time." The bank requires an additional secured connection that very few people have. An additional service is required, from an outfit like Cyber Cash, our Bank works well with Cyber cash, many do not. The Cyber Cash software or cash register allow you to get Real Time approval of credit cards, within seconds, so that you can immediately give your customer access to your services or send shipping instructions to your fulfilment house. Back to the top Visa Versa The easiest, and for starters least expensive way to take credit cards online would be a so called Free Merchant Service. We can get you in touch with Visa Versa, and even host their software for you, so that you can re-direct your customers to their service so that they can collect the money for you. The installation and set up are free, there is NO monthly fee, but the discount fee is much higher than a real merchant account. Great for low volumes, ease of startup, and even recurring charges, like membership fees. Very nice people and highly recommended. Back to the top
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