When you're building a website using WordPress, you have a variety of options available to you. One of those options includes using their .com server to host your site and the other is to use an ecommerce domain hosting server to support your site.

Parking Allowed

One option that you can use is to park a domain with a hosting service and have that domain 'point' to your supported blog. While this can be ideal for individuals, businesses that plan on conducting transactions will benefit best from using an ecommerce domain hosting service.

What You Need

There are a few things you will need in order to effectively setup and run an ecommerce WordPress site. They are:

* Domain name and hosting service,
* The WordPress application that is downloaded to your hosting server,
* A payment processing service, or gateway,
* A secure server to ensure the safety of your clients and customers' information,
* A delivery service (for electronic transfers such as downloads).

Domain And Hosting

There are many domain hosting ecommerce options available, though one of the best and most highly recommended for WordPress applications is Bluehost. WordPress with Bluehost is easy to install and configure and they offer inexpensive monthly packages ideal for small businesses.

For most domain hosting ecommerce sites that support WordPress, this process is fairly straightforward, requiring one of two clicks of the mouse to complete. It's important to note here that this aspect of WordPress is from its .org operations and not from the .com side. While you can download WordPress from their .org site, most hosting companies will have it on their site already for simplifying the process.

Accepting Payments

In order to accept payments through your website, you will need a payment processing service, or a gateway. The best way to do this is through a service, such as PayPal or Google Checkout.

When your customers have found an item they would like to purchase from you, then they are redirected to the payment processing service where the transaction is completed. From there, they can be sent back to your site for more information or instructions on receiving their products.

You can forgo third party gateways and accept payments directly, but this will require you to have a merchant account with a bank. The initial setup costs for this are higher than using a third party gateway, but the fees charged per transaction will be less, assuming you conduct a fair amount of business.

By using a merchant account, you will avoid redirecting your customers to the third party site. However, with a merchant account for domain hosting ecommerce, you will need to have a secure server, which can also raise monthly operating expenses.

Delivery

Once a transaction is completed, you will need to have a way to deliver the product to your customer. If you are selling downloadable items, such as software, ebooks, etc, then you will need to have a service the manage this. E-junkie and Zipidee are two examples of companies that provide this service.

You can also use email to send the items, but this may cause a delay in delivery for your customers who will want to download the item upon purchase.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that setting up a domain hosting ecommerce site is one of the simplest and best ways to build a business on the Internet.