The Difference Between “Standard” and “eCommerce” Web Hosting Plans

EarthLink Web Hosting now offers two main web hosting plans: Traditional and eCommerce Web Hosting plans. One of these plans will fit your online business needs perfectly.

Both plans (the “web hosting” and “ecommerce web hosting” plans) can be either Do-It-Yourself (you either code your own site or use our easy-to-understand template-based site builder) or Do-It-For-Me (an EarthLink professional web designer builds your site for you).

(Check out our comparison article if you want to learn more about these options)

EarthLink’s ecommerce hosting plan includes the features of a web hosting plan with one main addition: ecommerce plans also include an online store (also called a “shopping cart”) that allows customers to buy products within your website using a credit card.  This is a wonderful choice for businesses that sell hard goods (like mugs, keychains, teddy bears, etc).

A standard web hosting plan does not include an online store, and is good for service-oriented businesses (such as a counselor, dog groomer, or other appointment-needed business model).  The website promotes your business (and it will probably generate calls that eventually turn into sales), but is not a web “store.”

Ecommerce hosting plansare priced higher than standard hosting plans, but being able to sell online can quickly offset that cost, especially when the following features are also included:

• StoreCreator Pro – Easy-to-use shopping cart builder.
• Rapid SSL Certificate – Secures online transactions; increases customer confidence
• One-Page Mobile Website *
• Call Tracking – Call-tracking and analytics service helps you improve your online and offline marketing. You get a unique toll-free or local phone number so you can track and record customer calls. Includes click-to-call and other features.
• Advanced Website Template Gallery – More than 5,000 templates to chose from.*
• OneList – Enhances SEO with directory listings submissions to 60+ North American-based online directories.*
• Announcer Pro – Send your customers engaging email newsletters using graphic-rich HTML email templates.
• 1,000 Business-Class Email Accounts – Allows for comprehensive email system as your business grows.
• 500 GB Website Storage – Standard website hosting plans include up to 300 GB of storage.

(* above designates features that are not included in our standard Website Plus hosting plan but are included in both Business Website Plus and eCommerce Website Plus.)

And if you want an eCommerce package with the Do-It-For-Me option, there are even more features in that website design eCommerce package.