In e-commerce is easier than you think part 1 and part 2 we discussed the steps to getting started with your new commerce business.

This is part three of the series.  In this post we are going to be looking at choosing a web host for your commerce site and an engine to power your store.

Choosing a web host for your commerce site is a critical piece of the puzzle. You want to look fo a reliable hosting partner that will provide you with the maximum amount of up time and support.  When you are comparing web hosts for a commerce site some of the things you should look for are:

• Easy to use control panel (cPanel)
• Secure Server (SSL Certificate)
• Dedicated IP address
• My SQL databases
• 24/7 Support

Web hosts that provide cPanel web hosting also provide an easy script installer called fantastico.  With fantastico you will be able to make a couple of clicks and install a fully working commerce website like OScommerce, Zencart, and CubeCart.  All three of these options are great for ecommerce websites and are commonly used and free.

There are also other options available like Magento, OpenCart, and Prestashop.  You can demo all of these mentioned carts at opensourceCMS.com and choose the one that is right for you.

For this demonstration we are going to use OpenCart, it is a fairly new product but it is very simple to use and install.  You can download the cart from http://opencart.com.  There are installation instructions in the zip file that you download.   Basically you have to create a MySQL DB in your control panel, Ftp the OpenCart files to the server, go to yourdomain.com/install and follow the instructions and fill out the form.

Open cart has a very intuitive admin interface without most bulk and extra features you probably wouldn’t use. My philosophy is to keep your business as simple as possible and focus on providing superior products and support.

You can see the working installation of the cart with the default template that I have installed at http://energysmartpc.com.  When this tutorial is complete the fully working and templated website with the domain name will be for sale.  I haven’t decided on price yet but I will start accepting bids.