Hostinghosting.co.uk guide to the strategic links of Turnkey E-Commerce Hosting!

Establishing an Internet E-commerce presence is quickly becoming a must for businesses worldwide. The practices that govern E-commerce -- the infrastructures that support it, the institutions that manage it and the programs that run it -- are still developing. Web hosts and ISP's are the primary providers and managers of the hardware that link the threads of the Web together: They are at the heart of defining the direction E-commerce will take in the next century; and, they have discovered that they are perfectly positioned to provide a whole range of services beyond their central mission.

E-commerce credit card processing is a natural value added service for Web hosting companies to offer. Until very recently, the process of managing the disparate elements of an Internet presence could be complex and frustrating. Creating an E-commerce Web site and locating it on a server could take less time than arranging the various services needed to quickly and safely make a transaction; negotiating the creation of each could take many months and the functionality of the system could be impaired by lack of integration. To solve these problems many Web hosting companies offer what are called 'real-time' Turnkey E-commerce packages, which boast fast credit card processing, end-to-end service and quick installation -- sometimes within a few days!

Introduction to 'real time,' Turnkey E-commerce hosting

There are four basic links in any credit card E-commerce transaction: The Web site 'shopping cart'; the Web host; the 'Payment Gateway' (or credit card processing agent) and the Merchant Account (the financial institution that credits the E-commerce vendor). There are many ways that these links can be joined and these services and products can be purchased as packages or individually. In order to achieve what is called 'real-time' credit card processing, each link must be able to successfully transmit information down the chain to the next, almost instantly. However it is done, the buzzword is integration.

When a Web host offers a Turnkey E-commerce solution they are offering an off-the-shelf, meshed package of parts made to work with each other. When they say 'real time,' they mean that they can confirm or deny a credit card within a few minutes!

The Hostinghosting.co.uk guide to secure Turnkey E-commerce links

Your Shopping Cart

Like most retailers, an E-merchant has a display window for their products. In E-commerce this is know as the 'Shopping Cart'. It is the first link in an E-commerce transaction. In a Turnkey E-commerce package, the Shopping Cart is provided for you by the hosting company and is designed to smoothly integrate with their system.

The Shopping Cart is split into two parts, the 'storefront' and the 'cash register'. A good shopping cart allows customers to select several items from the storefront and purchase them as a group when they reach the cash register. The cash register will present the purchaser with an order form that will collect all of the relevant credit card information for processing. This information is then transmitted through what is known as a Secured Socket Layer (SSL), a sophisticated encryption system, to the credit card processing agent ('Payment Gateway' in E-commerce terms).

Your Web host: SSL, the key to securing consumer confidence!

When your customer has entered their purchase order the relevant information travels the link between your site and the Payment Gateway. It goes directly from their computer to your Web Hosts server, on which your site is hosted or to a server maintained by the Payment Gateway. If it goes to your server the Web host re-routes the payment information to the Payment Gateway. These transmissions of confidential information must be secure. Securing consumer confidence is one of the foremost struggles of E-commerce merchants today. Over the last few years, Internet experts have been working hard to create standards and systems to protect consumers from fraud. With the invention of SSL and Security Certificates the Web has become a much safer place to shop.

Providing SSL is one of the primary functions of Web hosts and is included in Turnkey E-commerce packages!

For more information on winning consumer confidence, SSL and Security Certificate, see the Hostinghosting.co.uk Guide to Secure Credit Card Processing.

What is a 'Payment Gateway?' What does it do?

The Payment Gateway, or credit card processing agent, is the agency responsible for verifying credit card information and affirming that there are sufficient funds to cover a purchase. The most known of these 'links' are companies like CyberCash, I-mall and PaymentNet. These companies pass the information to their Merchant Bank that in turn contacts the credit card issuer, which approves or denies credit. Notice of approval or denial is then forwarded back down the chain to the Payment Gateway and to the E-merchant.

For more information, see the Hostinghosting.co.uk Guide to Merchant Accounts.

Merchant Accounts

The last link in the chain is your Merchant Account. This is an account held for you by the Merchant Bank that credits you for your approved E-commerce transactions. Before the invention of end-to-end Turnkey E-commerce solutions, this could be one of the most irritating services to acquire. Because of the relative youth of E-commerce, banks and other financial institutions had trouble integrating their systems with E-commerce businesses, and, unsure of the security systems they sometimes required collateral against fraud and other losses.

For more information, see the Hostinghosting.co.uk Guide to Merchant Accounts.

Summary:

Web hosts are on the leading edge of the drive for E-commerce and as with any new technology problems arise. Imagine a train sitting, crowded with passengers impatient to go forward, immediately ahead, engineers and railway workers lay the track that will carry the train to its destination. For the average company, Turnkey E-commerce packages are a convenient way to take the problems out of E-commerce.

Rapidly these systems are being streamlined and new techniques are being devised to carry E-businesses forward. Those who get there first, will have the best chance to secure the new E-commerce terrain!