E-Commerce FAQ

Simply put, Electronic Business (E-Business) is any business transacted electronically. Electronic business is the buying/selling of product and/or services over the Internet.

To conduct business on the Internet you need an e-business website. An e-business web site can be as simple as a catalog with an order form, or it can be a complex multi-media enabled website with real-time credit card processing capabilities. The Internet has enabled merchants to offer their goods and services to potential customers around the world 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year. E-Business offers customers the opportunity to browse, select and pay for goods in real time from the comfort of their own home or office.

E-Business supplements the traditional selling channels and attracts customers that you never knew existed. The Internet revolution is affecting every company, no matter its size. Business of all sizes can equally share in the benefits of e-business, but they are all equally vulnerable to being left behind if they do not adopt the new business models.

The Web Commerce Lite comes pre-configured with Miva Corporation's Miva Order shopping cart. This cart is designed to handle less than 25 products all of which must be in the same category and on one displayable page. If you are looking for a beginner e-business platform to test Internet commerce with, the Web Commerce Lite package is perfect. However, if you run an existing online store or wish to deploy a store with more than 25 total products, Miva Merchant, which comes with Web Commerce Pro is the only choice for you.

No. Each of our bundled shopping systems come with built-in store builders. In addition, all C I Host enjoy unlimited access to SiteMonster, our custom website design utility that will build any website, simple or complex for you after inputting basic information and clicking on a few buttons. You don't need to know any HTML or programming.

You do not need anything more than a personal computer with Internet access. IF you do not have an FTP program installed, no need to worry there are plenty of free ones out there or you can use the built-in FTP program available in C I Host's web-base administration tool MonsterControls.

C I Host is one of a select group of web hosting firms that allow you to signup for a month to month contract on e-business packages. No commitments, no contracts.

Once you place your order online with a credit card, you can start building your store within 1-2 minutes. However, the time needed to activate your domain name and for it to propagate to Internet sectors around the world can take up to 72 hours.

C I Host will list your new website and storefront with 2500 of the most visited search engines on the Internet.

All transactions on your online store will be encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. Any shopper using a browser supporting the SSL protocol can shop with confidence, knowing that their credit card information is being sent safely and securely over the Internet. Almost all browsers nowadays support SSL.

Yes. You can have customers place orders through your website and process them only after receiving payment by any means you desire, either by check or by wire transfer.

You will need to submit a domain modification/transfer request to the registry you originally registered with. Within 72 hours your domain name will be transferred to our servers. But in the mean time you can upload all your files to our servers using the IP address you receive once you have signed up for an e-business plan. The best way to avoid any downtime for your store during the transfer is to make sure that you don't cancel your account with your current hosting provider, until all your files have been uploaded to our servers and your site is live and ready to go. Incase you need assistance with uploading, you can use our 24/7 Support Desk. For assistance with Domain Modification contact our Sales Department.

• An ordinary website presents prospective customers with only information and the only purchasing options available are off-line. On the other hand an e-business website not only presents all the required information but also provides secure options to complete the sale right there.
• An ordinary website is like a copy of your printed catalog, only presenting information, whereas an e-business website is a new business unit that complements your existing traditional selling channels and accentuates an entirely new sales/distribution channel.
• An ordinary website offers limited security options. On the other hand e-business websites provide options for high levels of security by encrypting data and transferring it over secure servers.
• An ordinary website operates entirely outside your existing business system. All orders have to be manually entered into the system and processed off-line. Whereas an e-business website integrates into your existing system for inventory control, order processing and order fulfillment. A fully integrated e-business website automatically ties into your existing business process and acts like an extension to your existing sales force

No. Our web hosting services only provide a home for your website and online store. If you wish to take credit cards through your website please visit our Merchant Accounts page.