OK, you researched your niche, registered a domain name, and are ready to build an e-commerce website. But first, you need to find a reliable web server provider that is e-commerce marketer friendly. Here are the key items you need from your e-commerce web host:

• Reliability – If your e-commerce web hosting company goes down, you’re out of business. Thus reliability and uptime are crucial! You must be sure your e-commerce website host has multiple web servers, preferably in different data centers.
• Technical Support – When things aren’t working, you need support immediately, not tomorrow morning. Thus your e-commerce host web provider must have technical support available at all times.
• Web Design Services- While not absolutely necessary, if your e-commerce web hosting provider also provides web design service, then it is more likely to understand your web issues when you have problems.
• Email & Autoresponder Services- Interactive and automated email will be your primary means of interacting with your customer. As such, you need a e-commerce website provider that understands this need or you will have to buy it as a separate package with an additional fee from another service provider.

Some additional features you may desire are:

• Web Site Monitoring Services- Some e-commerce web hosting companies provide a service which will email you if your site is no longer responding to connections
• Video Hosting- Video is one of the hottest marketing trends. If you wish to use it, you’ll need e-commerce web hosting that allows the larger storage and increased bandwidth video requires.
• Conference Room- Wouldn’t it be nice to invite your customers to presentations in your own, non-branded video conference room?

You can find all of these services from individual providers. However very few e-commerce website hosting providers bundle all these services together for one low monthly price. Because each service can cost you $10, $20, $50, or more per month, it is in your best interest to find e-commerce web hosting that conveniently provides them in one package, ensures they all work together, and does it for one monthly fee to save you money!