In this tutorial, you will learn about the various plans offered by five hosting providers, 1&1, GoDaddy, HostGator, Network Solutions, and DreamHost. Once you have chosen between the providers, you can use the contact information provided in this tutorial to sign up for hosting. At the end of this tutorial, you will find a linked index to the complete eCommerce series including online payment solutions and online shipping solutions.
A hosting provider stores your website on their servers and gives it a unique address. This makes it possible for your site to be found and viewed on the internet.
Hosting plan options
Hosting providers generally offer more than one plan to get your site up and running. Choosing a basic hosting plan should be sufficient for your website. However every company will offer you more expensive plans that include additional bells and whistles, for example, dedicated servers. We recommend sticking with the basic plan to keep from spending money on features that your website probably does not require. Even so, you will want to review the options presented in this tutorial and pick the plan that best suits your needs.
SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates can be purchased through your hosting provider or through WebAssist. Go to Online Payment Solutions to to learn when SSL certificates are necessary for eCommerce sites.
To compare SSL certificate providers and buy an SSL certificate, go to SSL Certificates: Secure your website and customer data.
Operating system options
We also recommend choosing Linux over Windows for your operating system if you are using PHP, Perl, or MySQL languages.
1&1 is a hosting provider tested by WebAssist tools to successfully display PHP pages and store MySQL databases. 1&1 offers three hosting plans, Basic, Unlimited, and Advanced.
1&1 hosts websites across multiple servers in two different data centers and geographic locations. With My Website, you can also choose from hundreds of customizable templates and have your website online in minutes. Many open-source applications work with 1&1 as one click installations, for example, Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, Type3, and Magenta. Domain registration and professional email solutions are included in the packages.
Read more about 1&1 and sign up for their services.
GoDaddy is a reliable hosting provider that offers three hosting plans, Economy, Deluxe, and Ultimate.
With GoDaddy's Website Builder, you can easily create your own professional website. Also included are domain registration, professional email solutions, and integration of social and business applications on to your site. Many open-source applications also work with GoDaddy as one click installations, for example, WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Zen Cart, and Simple Machines.
Read more about GoDaddy and sign up for their services.
HostGator is a world-wide hosting provider that offers three hosting plans, Hatchling, Baby, and Business.
Baby Plan
Business Plan
With HostGator's Easy SiteBuilder by Weebly you can easily create your own professional website in minutes. Also included is domain registration and options for transfer of an existing domain. Many open-source applications also work with HostGator, for example, WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Wiki, and Magenta.
Read more about HostGator and sign up for their services.
Network Solutions is a hosting provider with two hosting options, Small and Large.
Network Solutions features email marketing powered by Constant Contact and Facebook marketing solutions by North Social. Network Solutions will even build a custom website for you.
Read more about Network Solutions and sign up for their services.
DreamHost is a hosting provider who describes their company as WordPress on steroids. DreamHost may cost a little more, but look what you get.
Additionally, DreamHost offers three hosting plans.
Read more about DreamHost and sign up for their services.
With eCart technology as the cornerstone of the WebAssist eCommerce series, these in-depth tutorials will walk you through the steps of building an eCommerce site: product catalogs, shopping carts, product options (both static and dynamic), and checkout including payments. Completing the eCart portion of the series is help for setting up a back-end administration to manage your eCommerce business. Additionally, to be used with or without eCart, you will learn about payment gateway providers, hosting solutions, and online shipping accounts.
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danielsebas: 7 Years, 11 Months, 3 Weeks, 1 Day, 20 Hours, 53 Minutes ago
Hi Kate what's your opinion about bluehost? will you recommend it? between bluehost and 1&1 and godaddy?