Getting an e-commerce solution from your Web host

You should be aware that most Web hosting services offer e-commerce capabilities. For example MindSpring and Verio offer specific plans for businesses that want to create an online store. These plans make it easier for you to set-up your store than simply using a traditional Web hosting plan, and usually offer additional services like secure connections and credit card processing.

One of the main differences between these e-commerce packages and the hosting plans is that your Web site design is already developed. You simply need to add pictures of your merchandise with appropriate descriptions, and the e-commerce package takes care of the rest of the details, like adding a shopping card and incorporating credit card processing.

The pricing for the MindSpring and Verio e-commerce solutions is also different from their Web hosting plans. While the pricing for their hosting plans was mainly driven by disk space usage and Web site traffic, pricing for their e-commerce solutions is based on the number of products you want to list. For instance, Verio has different prices depending on whether you want sell from 1 to 300 products, or from 301 to 2,000 products.

MindSpring Biz E-Commerce solutions

In the table below you will see three e-commerce solutions that are currently being offered by MindSpring. Notice that the main difference in pricing is driven primarily by the number of products you can display on the site. For instance, for $79.90 per month you can display up to 50 products, and for $209.90 per month you can display an unlimited amount of products.

Verio E-Business plans

Like MindSpring, Verio also offers three levels of e-business plans that are priced according to the number of products you want to display. As shown in the following table, you can create an e-business site with up to 300 products for $199.00 per month, and up to 5,000 products for $399.00 per month.

If you select Verio for your e-business solution, then you can use their software tools to create a Web site using only your Web browser, like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.