In the past it was a costly affair to have a web site set up for ecommerce. It entailed hiring a professional to help you and to get everything you needed put in place. Today it is easier than ever to set things up but you do have to make sure that you get all of your bases covered so that you don’t let your customers down or lose them as customers.

Here we will briefly discuss what elements you need to implement into your ecommerce web hosting.

• Shopping cart software – these programs help your shoppers easily gather merchandise and go through the check out process. They also generally come with tools to help you manage your product information and other features to help you in your business. You should choose a shopping cart that will work well with your accounting system and can integrate into all facets of your business.
• SSL certificates – When you conduct transactions online you have to be very careful. The information of your customers can become vulnerable to identity thieves or other things if you aren’t careful. You have to have a layer of security to protect them as well as you. There are different levels of security you can choose. Cost can depend on the security level as well as other features.
• Merchant accounts – You will definitely need a merchant account in place and you need to be careful that you aren’t taken advantage of when it comes to fees. When you choose wisely the money you do spend is well worth it because you will not lose customers due to not being able to take various payment types.
• Payment Gateways – This is the software that is between your shopping cart and your merchant account. This is necessary as it facilitates the transaction. Your merchant account may offer a payment gateway but you should really look at it and make sure that it has all the capabilities and features that your specific web site needs.