Online shopping or eCommerce Business has exploded in the past five years. Almost every major brands have an eCommerce platform for their products. And with the continuous expansion of giants like Amazon, we can easily foresee that eCommerce is a future.
So if you, too, are planning to start an eCommerce, you need to fulfill certain prerequisites. For eg, you’ll need a unique name for your online store, suppliers, reliable eCommerce website development services & other IT infrastructure to manage your business efficiently.
But above all, you need a reliable E-commerce Hosting Platform. Now there are many options available in the market, making the selection a bit difficult. But that’s the reason why we came up with this article.
We’ll go over some of the top eCommerce hosting systems for you to employ while setting up your online store. Let’s start with the fundamentals.
What is the Definition of eCommerce Hosting?
eCommerce hosting is an end-to-end hosting service & support offered by a hosting provider to help you build your online store.
Confused? Let’s say you want to construct an office in your city. What is the first thing that you will need? Space or land, right?
Similarly, if you consider your office as your eCommerce store, you’ll need a Digital Space. And that Digital Space is a Hosting.
How Does eCommerce Hosting Work?
Once you have decided to start an eCommerce store & everything else is in place, you need to reach out to multiple Hosting providers. They will offer their Hosting plans & you’ll have to choose the one that best suits your needs.
Once you choose a provider, they will offer you a shared or dedicated server based on your plan selection. Once you buy the Hosting plan, all the technicalities will be managed by the Hosting Provider.
How to Choose the right eCommerce Hosting Platform?
Now there are hundreds of options available, so you need to make sure that you choose the right one. Below are the points that you should take into consideration.
Secure Sites: Security is a primary concern for every website nowadays. With the rising number of cyberattacks by malicious hackers, people are afraid of even opening an unknown website, leave alone shopping from them.
Your website must have an SSL certification that proves it is a trustworthy website. So make sure your hosting provider offers you an SSL certification too.
No Downtime: Downtime or outage is a period when your users can access your website as the hosting company’s server is not working. This can be a fatal blow to your Business. Even a minute of downtime can cost your online business.
So make sure you choose a hosting provider that offers maximum uptime. Many out there claim to offer up to 99.99% UPTIME but double-check before you choose them.
Fast Loading Sites: We live in an impatient world. Everyone wants everything right now. The same goes with your online store. So your eCommerce website performance needs to be superfast or else, your potential customers will ditch you & move to your peers.
So make sure you choose the Hosting provider with dedicated infrastructure who can provide optimum load speed.
Features and Needs: Every hosting provider comes with different features. So make sure you choose the one that offers caters to your specific need. But some common features that every eCommerce Hosting provider should offer are Multiple payment process options, a Shopping cart, analytics, multiple plugins & templates.
So if any Hosting provider is offering these features & fulfills all your needs, that’s the one you need.
Upgrade Options: Every Business grows with time & so will yours. So while choosing the eCommerce hosting platform, make sure it offers high scalability & upgrade options. This will allow you to accommodate more features as & when your Business grows.
Cost: This can be one of the primary factors for selecting the eCommerce Hosting provider. You will see a large variation in the price of multiple hosting services, depending on their features & type of services.
But do not fall for the trap of cheap service providers as choosing them might not be a good idea. Instead of saving some bucks initially, you might end up losing a lot more. So make sure you select the cost-effective yet efficient Hosting provider.
Customer Support: This is a very crucial factor. If you are stuck at some point or facing any technical glitches, you must have easy access to your eCommerce Hosting service provider. So choose the one with dedicated & multi-channel customer support.
Platforms for E-Commerce Hosting:
Now you know what to look for before choosing the right eCommerce web solutions provider, let’s take a look at some of the best eCommerce Hosting platforms available.
Kinsta: If you are looking for a superfast woocommerce web-hosting provider that is SEO friendly & delivers an exceptional user experience, Kinsta is the way to go. Powered by C2 Machines & Tier 1 network of Google Cloud, Kinsta is well known to offer amazing load speed.
Hostinger: Hostinger is arguably one of the most popular eCommerce Hosting services, with a guaranteed uptime of 99.9%. In addition to Woocommerce, they also provide a Prestashop platform on which you can create your website. If you have no experience with coding, Hostinger is the best option. Hostinger provides all the necessary support to help you build & launch your ecommerce website quickly.
Bluehost: If you are new to eCommerce, you should prefer Bluehost. Bluehost provides excellent service and can assist you in creating an appealing eCommerce website. With many customizable options, secure payment gateways, & free SSL certification, Bluehost is one of the best platforms for newbies.
GoDaddy: If you are looking for a provider that offers a lot more options & flexibility in terms of themes, Godaddy should be your choice. With 10,000+ themes & 50,000+ plugins, GoDaddy offers exceptional services across all the fields. Whether it’s speed, security, or customization, GoDaddy is a great option to consider.
Shopify: Specifically built for eCommerce businesses, Shopify comes equipped with more than 6000+ applications that can make your website super powerful. You can create an amazing store, drive more traffic & build a successful eCommerce Brand using Shopify. It also offers hassle-free migration from your previous store.
Cloudways: If you are using Magento to develop your eCommerce website, we recommend you go with Cloudways. Easy installation, Free SSL certification & Speedy provisions are some of the primary benefits of using Cloudways. Cloudways’ biggest feature is its “Pay-as-you-go” plans, which are ideal for novices.
HostGator: If you are looking for a cost-effective eCommerce hosting provider, HostGator is the way to go. With feature-loaded basic plans, you can start building your eCommerce platform easily & quickly.
Conclusion
eCommerce is the future, and to build a future-ready E-commerce website you need a dependable & reliable hosting provider. We hope the above list will help you in selecting the best eCommerce hosting platform for your online shop.