Ecommerce Hosting for WordPress – The Basics

WordPress is the world’s most popular website publishing platform, and it’s the perfect choice for anyone looking to set up an online store. With thousands of extensions available, and the core platform being free, there’s an abundance of choices for those seeking to set up an ecommerce store.

But, if you’re looking to build an ecommerce store on a platform that you don’t have extensive experience with, where do you start?

This article will discuss the various choices available to those seeking an ecommerce host for WordPress. We’ll cover topics such as platform features, pricing, and much more.

Choosing an Ecommerce Host For WordPress

When developing an ecommerce store on WordPress, the first decision you’ll need to make is which host to use. There are numerous well-known hosts offering ecommerce solutions, but not all of them are created equal. So, before committing to one, make sure you research their offerings, reviews, and support capabilities.

When selecting an ecommerce host for WordPress, you’ll need to consider a number of factors. These include but are not limited to:

• Security
• Features
• Pricing
• Additional Services
• Customer Support
• Platform Flexibility
• Additional Software Needed
• Ease of Use
• Reliability
• Support

The first consideration you’ll need to make is whether you want a free or a paid hosting plan. If you decide on the paid plan, you’ll need to consider the pricing structure, as well as the features that are included with the plan you choose. 

For example, do you want a free domain, or will you purchase one yourself? What about storing your products in a P.O. box versus a datacenter? These are just some of the many questions you’ll need to ask yourself before selecting a hosting plan.

Paid Vs. Free Hosting Plans

Deciding between a free or paid hosting plan isn’t always easy, especially if you’re new to building web stores. In fact, it’s often a matter of money and convenience. If you want to build a simple store that won’t require much maintenance, you’ll probably want to go with the free option, as there’s no cost to doing business on a free website hosting platform. 

However, if you have a substantial income and you want to spend a little more on your store’s infrastructure, you can opt for the paid plan. These types of plans usually offer greater scalability and additional perks for those willing to pay for them. But, as with any type of financial commitment, there are pros and cons to choosing either option.

Pricing

When deciding on the pricing for your hosting plan, you’ll need to consider a number of different factors. For example, do you want to price your products based on the size of the package, or do you want to set a fixed price for each product?

One of the things that makes WordPress so great for ecommerce is the fact that it’s extremely flexible when it comes to pricing. You’ll have the opportunity to set a price per product, per month, or per year. You can even create a discount for those purchasing a certain amount of products. It’s easy to create special offers and discounts for products that are tied to specific times or events (e.g., holidays, weekends, etc.).

Depending on your specific needs and goals for the site, you’ll need to decide on whether you want to go with a paid or a free hosting plan. But, whatever you do, make sure you’re not committing to a plan that isn’t suitable for your needs.

Security

When selecting an ecommerce host for WordPress, it’s important to consider the security of your site and the store’s credit card information. If you decide on the paid hosting plan, you’ll need to consider how secure your site is with respect to third-party applications and plugins that may be installed on it. 

To give you a better idea of how safe your site is, your ecommerce host will provide you with a detailed security analysis, which will show you the vulnerabilities that exist with respect to third-party applications and plugins that may be installed on your site. This way, you can be sure that you’re making the right decision in terms of choosing a hosting plan that’s suitable for your needs. 

There are numerous hosts offering ecommerce solutions, with different levels of security and features. Before making a decision, do your research and choose a hosting plan that offers the features you need while ensuring your security requirements are met.

Additional Services

If you decide to go with the paid hosting plan, you’ll need to consider the additional services that you require. Additional services, such as a free domain, premium support, or a free shopping cart will be included with your plan. So, if you have a specific need for one of these additional services, you’ll need to decide whether you want to pay for them or not.

If you don’t need or want any additional services, you can select the free hosting plan and be on your way to building your online store.

Customer Support

Even for experienced website and ecommerce builders, setting up an ecommerce store can be tricky. If you go with the paid hosting plan, you’ll need to consider the level of customer support you require. 

There are various types of support you can get, ranging from basic questions to specialized troubleshooting, depending on how much you pay for the plan. If you decide on the free hosting plan, you may get limited support from the website’s owners, who may or may not be able to help with technical issues.

If you need specific assistance with a product you purchased or are having trouble using, you’ll need to contact the vendor directly for support.

Platform Flexibility

One of the great things about WordPress is that it’s extremely flexible when it comes to selecting an ecommerce host. It’s a common misconception that WordPress is limited to just blogging platforms and word processors. On the contrary, with its diverse collection of extensions and themes, as well as the built-in functionality, it can be used to build pretty much any type of website you can think of. 

This is one of the major reasons why so many people choose it for ecommerce development. By selecting WordPress, you’re guaranteed to be able to use a ton of the available extensions to customize your site’s appearance, as well as integrate various functions, such as online stores, booking systems, and more.

Additional Software Needed

If you decide on the paid hosting plan, you’ll need to consider the additional software needed to set up your ecommerce store. You’ll need a payment processing solution to accept payments via credit card, and you’ll need a separate module to store and display your products. 

As a store owner, you’ll also need to purchase various plugins to extend the functionality of your site. Some examples of these are shopping cart, mailing list, and forum plugins.

If you don’t want to run any custom scripts or programs, you can select the free hosting plan, and you won’t need to purchase any additional software to run your store. But, if you want to take your store’s functionality to the next level, you can opt for the paid hosting plan and get all the necessary extensions and software to make your store shine.

Ease of Use

One of the major reasons why WordPress is so popular is because it’s incredibly easy to use. Anyone can pick it up and learn how to use it in no time at all, and once you do, you’ll wonder why you didn’t choose it sooner.

As a store owner, when setting up your ecommerce store on WordPress, the first thing you’ll need to do is log in to your dashboard. From there, you’ll need to create a new blank page, give it a unique name, and upload a logo for the page.

After that, you can start adding content to your new page, whether that’s product listings, blog posts, or anything else you might think of.

Once you’ve got content on your new page, you can preview it in a variety of ways, including in a mobile-friendly format, on the web, or even print out a preview for later reference.