Athena Internet offers a range of e-commerce hosting services designed to meet the specific needs of your online commerce aspirations. From small catalogs of just several products, to enterprise-level e-tailers handling tens of thousands of SKUs, we can put together a solution that's tailored to you!

Getting started with E-Commerce

A lot of folks set out with an idea in mind and an intention to start their own online shop. The fact of the matter is that as with any business, preparation is key, and there are certain preliminary questions the prospective e-commerce entrepreneur must answer before attempting to set up shop.

Shopping Cart or Catalog Software

The first requirement is a system that allows the customer to input products, issue invoices, and track sales and payments.

E-Commerce hosting clients may choose from hundreds of commercial and open-source e-commerce shopping carts and catalog systems; our servers can handle every e-commerce solution we've seen! For those customers who are looking for a recommendation, we recommend X-Cart, a commercial e-commerce solution, as well as Magento OS, Zen Cart, or osCommerce on the free/open-source side.

You'll also want to be aware of whether the shopping cart or catalog software is sufficient to your personal bookkeeping needs, as well as your jurisdiction's requirements for taxation recordkeeping. If the package you want to use is not, you'll want to also look into an appropriate piece of billing, invoicing, or accounts-receivable software.

Payment Processing

The next thing you'll need is a payment processor. Here, we have a question-within-a-question: if you want to use a full Merchant Account and personally handle credit card transactions (meaning, you want the full processing handled by your website and server, and the customer's credit card data stored on your assets) you'll need to be compliant with Payment Card Industry standards. As a practical matter, this means that you'll need a dedicated or virtual-dedicated (VPS) hosting solution, and you'll need to have personnel on hand who are competent to manage that server securely. (We can handle that for you, if you wish, subject to strict compliance on your part with PCI Best Practices.)

Alternatively, if you wish to use PayPal or Authorize.Net, where the actual payment processing is done on external servers, the restrictions of PCI compliance are shouldered by those providers, and you are free to choose a more affordable hosting solution.

SSL Certificate

Finally, you'll need a SSL Certificate. This is simply an encrypted set of files that authenticate your website on authority of the issuer of the certificate. In plain English, this means that your SSL Certificate provider is vouching for your identity, ie, that you are exactly who you say you are. If you do not presently have a certificate, we can obtain one for you via our partnership with eNOM.com, a leading provider of domain registration and SSL certificate services.

Have Questions?

Operating a successful e-commerce operation takes a lot of preparation and hard work, and is the type of website most prone to confusing misconceptions. If you have any questions regarding e-commerce website design or hosting, please feel free to contact us!

Pricing

Pricing for E-Commerce Hosting is as follows; click "LEARN MORE" under the appropriate service type for more information.

Personal Website Hosting

Business Class & Reseller Website Hosting

Enterprise Hosting Solutions

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