How to Use a Web Host for Your Online Business

Not all web hosting services are meant to help you build your fully functional website. They come in different forms, depending on the type of business you want to run and how much control you want over your presentation. Here’s a look at some popular hosting options.

Large e-commerce marketplace as host
You can run an online storefront with your business name and a catalog full of browsable items if you sell regularly on eBay, Amazon.com, or any other big market. On eBay, you can create an “About Me” page or an eBay store; On Amazon, you can open a web store. Either way, eBay or Amazon itself is your host, and you pay a monthly fee to host your store.

Small niche market as host
Small markets can be a wise choice because they are smaller than the big ones, and you usually pay less for hosting and get more personal support. If you sell crafts, Etsy is an obvious choice. For artists, ArtFire is a good choice. These storefronts are excellent choices for businesses that already have a website and want to expand to improve marketing and reach more customers.

E-commerce “shopping cart” service as a host
Services like Volusion, Shopify, ZenCart, X-Cart, Ecwid, and others that provide store owners with shopping carts and related services also provide storefronts, hosting, and support for a monthly fee. The term shopping cart is somewhat misleading, because these services give you so much more than just a system of shopping, choices, and checkout. You get a full-featured storefront with design templates and phone or email support as well.

Dedicated web hosting service as a host
If you don’t necessarily want to create an e-commerce storefront, many hosting services are happy to help you create a homepage and web pages associated with it so that people can find you online.
What is the difference between a web host like HostGator and a shopping cart host? Not much. HostGator hosts an e-commerce storefront and gives you a shopping cart. The storefront hosted with Shopify looks exactly like the one hosted with HostGator.
You may get better customer support and more e-commerce options with a shopping cart host as it specializes in hosting for online businesses. But all these hosts give you space on the web server; URL so that people can find you; A way to publish text, images, and other content over the Internet.
You don’t need a storefront if you sell by placing ads on Craigslist or if you add items to Amazon.com marketplace listings, for example.
In all of these cases, the web host makes space on private computers – web servers – that are always connected to the Internet. Web servers are equipped with software that makes your web pages visible to people who connect to them using a web browser. The process of using a web hosting service for your online business works roughly as follows:

1. Decide where you want your site to appear on the Internet.
Do you want to be part of a virtual shopping mall with many other businesses? Or do you want a standalone site with its own web address that doesn’t appear to be affiliated with any other organization?

2. Register with the host.
Sometimes you pay a fee. In some cases, no fee is required. In all cases, you are allocated space on the server. Your website gets an address or URL that people can enter into their browsers to view your pages.
3. Create your own web pages.
You’d usually use a web page editor to do this step, although many hosts help by providing a “store builder” or other utility.

4. Transfer your web page files (HTML documents, images, etc.) from your computer to the host’s web server.
Generally, you need a special File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program to do the transfer. But many web hosts can help you through the process by providing their easy-to-use software.
5. Access your site using your web browser and check the contents to make sure all images appear correctly and any hypertext links you created go to their intended destinations.
At this point, you’re open for business – visitors can view your web pages by entering your web address in the “go to” or “address” box of a web browser.

6. Marketing and promoting your website to attract potential customers or clients.
Choose your web host carefully, because the host affects the software you need to use to create your web pages and get them online.
You can host your own site if you have a direct connection to the Internet, for example through DSL or cable, and are proficient with computers. However, turning your computer into a web server is more complicated than signing up for a hosting service.

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may not allow you to set up your server anyway; Check your user agreement first. You need to install server software and setup a domain name for your computer. You should also buy a static IP address for your device.
If you are interested in becoming a webmaster, check out MegaPath. The ISP encourages users to set up their own web servers and offers eight fixed IP addresses with a DSL line for $59.95 per month.
One of the best shortcuts to success is finding a good web service host or ISP and then using company software tools and service representatives when you need help building your website, processing forms, running scripts, and performing similar tasks.
A web host called pair Networks offers a typical set of hosting options. It also provides e-commerce services that go beyond basic hosting arrangements: secure server, shopping card, credit card authorization, and dedicated server. These services range from $10 to $50 per month.