Your web performance is a priority for your business or organization. Making the right decisions around eCommerce web hosting often seems complicated, but we’re here to help you make sense of it all.

Like any good story, let’s start at the beginning. The first step to eCommerce web hosting is to understand exactly what hosting is and what it can do for your eCommerce website. 

These functions range from database support, shopping cart software, payment processing services, and additional eCommerce software to ensure that your website runs smoothly and efficiently. There’s also the integral aspect of security for your eCommerce website. The last thing you want is a security breach when you’re dealing with customer financial information.

You’ll need a template for your online store. Once it is set up, customers are able to complete their purchases in a secure environment. This path-to-purchase needs to be as frictionless as possible to avoid abandoned shopping carts. At the end of the customer journey, you’re able to access valuable data that can help you plan your future eCommerce strategy.

Following us so far? Let’s move on.

Understanding how eCommerce web hosting works

Now that you have an understanding of the basics of eCommerce hosting, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of how it works. 

Think about your website as a brick-and-mortar store. 

Just like a physical store needs a physical location to conduct business, your eCommerce website needs to be hosted with an application. Just like finding the right building is integral to your success, finding the right eCommerce solution is very important.

One of the most popular eCommerce solutions is Magento. They offer a range of features for your eCommerce website to suit small businesses to larger companies, and everything in between.

Your website’s eCommerce information is then stored in the cloud. When we say cloud, we mean a network of servers that helps to spread data over a larger network. Managing your eCommerce website via cloud hosting is one of the most reliable methods of storing data because it combines several virtual storage sources together to avoid any faults or disruptions.

Once you’ve selected your eCommerce platform for your website you’ll need to think of a name for your shop. This will be your domain. Your domain is a URL that is used to help identify your website online. Think of it as the big sign that’s featured in front of your shop. You want it to be easy to remember, catchy, and relevant.  

After that, you’ll need to set up some cashiers to make sure payments go through quickly and efficiently. This is your payment processing, which allows you to collect funds from your customers. It’s crucial that these payment processes are secure and as seamless as possible to avoid high rates of cart abandonment.

As we’ve mentioned above, the functionalities of your eCommerce website are also important. Now it’s time to think of the decor of your website (web design), information available to consumers (content), and additional features (plugins) that will differentiate you from the competition. 

How to optimize your eCommerce website

So, now that you know what an eCommerce platform is and how it works, let’s make sure it’s optimized. You’ve selected your eCommerce platform and you’re all set up, so now what? You need to be looking at what factors can make your website the very best it can be.

Let’s have a closer look.

Monitor web performance

Your website provides a wealth of data right at your fingertips. From the speed of all your landing pages, to insights into the customer journey—you need to be monitoring web performance to help you plan your future eCommerce strategy. This can help your business see where visitors are dropping off on your website or better understand cart abandonment rates. You have the data, now keep your eyes on performance. 

Take note of server resilience

It’s not enough to say that your server resilience is important, because it is important. This is something to keep in mind when you’re selecting a web host for your eCommerce site. Server resilience is the ability to store data, network, and recover data quickly in the wake of a power outage or disruption. The last thing in the world that you want is to have gaps in your web service or security breaches. 

Keep it attractive

There are so many design options available with eCommerce web hosting platforms, so there really is no excuse when it comes to having an attractive website. Customers want to spend time on a beautiful website that provides alluring visuals alongside compelling content. Ensure that your website is running quickly and taking very little time to load and you’ll be set for a winning user experience. 

Looking to take the plunge into eCommerce web hosting? Trust Artifakt to elevate your business with reliable Magento hosting. The migration of your web project can take as little as one day. We can help your business by implementing the very latest and greatest Cloud technologies and providers like Amazon Web Services.

Want to provide the very best user experience for your customers? Book a demo today.