What is required (P6)
There are many factors that need to be considered to create an e-commerce website, starting with
hosting. Hosting means where the live copy of the website’s data will be held in servers, this means the
domain name and IP address from the web servers every time someone request site’s URL. In-house
hosting would mean having servers inside the business; purchasing a dedicated server is very expensive (in
the thousands of pounds) or you can consider renting a server, and you must make sure your location
would ensure the server is safe and secure as the whole business relies on it. A dedicated server allows the
business to choose and control the software, what sites to host and the chance to rent out any extra space
to other company’s sites; these are best for sites that are highly used and for control of the security, but
perhaps not the best choice to start up an e-commerce business unless the budget allows it. Another
option is a shared server, where you can cheaply store the site’s information on a server belonging to a
professional service, averaging £3 a month, but have to change and pay more as the website grows. Finally,
a virtual private server (VPS) is also shared but gives you the ability to control more factors of the server at
bit more expense, examples of hosting sites include ‘eHost’ and ‘123.reg’. Before choosing a host, not only
the price should be considered but also the security of the host’s servers to prevent hacking and losing
control of your site, the control you have over the domain, space and bandwidth, and the support of
customer service to rely on if something goes wrong.
To create the website itself, the site will require a domain name, which can highly differ in prices
depending on popularity and age as high demand names can cost millions, while new names only cost a
few pounds per year. The name should be memorable, while obviously connected to whatever the site is
based on (GreenRonin.com). These titles can be claimed on websites such as ‘GoDaddy’ and ‘123-reg’.
Multiple extensions can also be purchased (.com/.org/.uk) to maximise traffic to the site and make it easier
to find. A website can be made on web authoring tools such as Microsoft Expression Web and Adobe
Dreamweaver, with a range of tools for designing a web page such as ready-made templates and the use of
CSS. This allows sites to be produced without the full necessity of having to know HTML and other
languages so anyone with basic IT capabilities can create one. On the other hand, a web designer can be
hired and given details on what the business wants the site to be like and its capabilities. E-commerce
websites will have a database that is needed to store customer details, the catalogue of products, and
other business information so it controls the data in various ways. This can be created through applications
and software like Oracle or coding languages such as MySQL.
As said before, the server and website’s security is the most important part of e-commerce, multiple
security software must be utilised to ensure customer and business details are not available to anyone, the
following are essential. HTTPS stands for hypertext transfer protocol, which is a protocol for websites that
uses encryption, this is used when customers enter their financial details, to protect their data. SSL, secure
sockets layer is also a protocol, that provides secure communication by identifying and confirming
users/servers are who they say they are. This involves certificate-based authentication, which only allows
the correct people to decode the data; very similar to RSA certificates. Meanwhile, RSA certificates verify
the identity of the sender and recipient, through a method of coding with a digital signature. This prevents
data and files being received from or by the wrong people. A highly esteemed anti-virus software should
be downloaded on all of the business’s systems such as Norton and an effective firewall to prevent hacker
and viruses from entering the systems and stealing personal information which can permanently destroy
any customer trust in the site. This software must be regularly updated to keep up with the consistent
creation of malicious malware.
A strong password is often overlooked as a serious protection method alone, but it is vital for all e-
commerce systems. Passwords should be a combination of letters, numbers, cases, and symbols while
There are many factors that need to be considered to create an e-commerce website, starting with
hosting. Hosting means where the live copy of the website’s data will be held in servers, this means the
domain name and IP address from the web servers every time someone request site’s URL. In-house
hosting would mean having servers inside the business; purchasing a dedicated server is very expensive (in
the thousands of pounds) or you can consider renting a server, and you must make sure your location
would ensure the server is safe and secure as the whole business relies on it. A dedicated server allows the
business to choose and control the software, what sites to host and the chance to rent out any extra space
to other company’s sites; these are best for sites that are highly used and for control of the security, but
perhaps not the best choice to start up an e-commerce business unless the budget allows it. Another
option is a shared server, where you can cheaply store the site’s information on a server belonging to a
professional service, averaging £3 a month, but have to change and pay more as the website grows. Finally,
a virtual private server (VPS) is also shared but gives you the ability to control more factors of the server at
bit more expense, examples of hosting sites include ‘eHost’ and ‘123.reg’. Before choosing a host, not only
the price should be considered but also the security of the host’s servers to prevent hacking and losing
control of your site, the control you have over the domain, space and bandwidth, and the support of
customer service to rely on if something goes wrong.
To create the website itself, the site will require a domain name, which can highly differ in prices
depending on popularity and age as high demand names can cost millions, while new names only cost a
few pounds per year. The name should be memorable, while obviously connected to whatever the site is
based on (GreenRonin.com). These titles can be claimed on websites such as ‘GoDaddy’ and ‘123-reg’.
Multiple extensions can also be purchased (.com/.org/.uk) to maximise traffic to the site and make it easier
to find. A website can be made on web authoring tools such as Microsoft Expression Web and Adobe
Dreamweaver, with a range of tools for designing a web page such as ready-made templates and the use of
CSS. This allows sites to be produced without the full necessity of having to know HTML and other
languages so anyone with basic IT capabilities can create one. On the other hand, a web designer can be
hired and given details on what the business wants the site to be like and its capabilities. E-commerce
websites will have a database that is needed to store customer details, the catalogue of products, and
other business information so it controls the data in various ways. This can be created through applications
and software like Oracle or coding languages such as MySQL.
As said before, the server and website’s security is the most important part of e-commerce, multiple
security software must be utilised to ensure customer and business details are not available to anyone, the
following are essential. HTTPS stands for hypertext transfer protocol, which is a protocol for websites that
uses encryption, this is used when customers enter their financial details, to protect their data. SSL, secure
sockets layer is also a protocol, that provides secure communication by identifying and confirming
users/servers are who they say they are. This involves certificate-based authentication, which only allows
the correct people to decode the data; very similar to RSA certificates. Meanwhile, RSA certificates verify
the identity of the sender and recipient, through a method of coding with a digital signature. This prevents
data and files being received from or by the wrong people. A highly esteemed anti-virus software should
be downloaded on all of the business’s systems such as Norton and an effective firewall to prevent hacker
and viruses from entering the systems and stealing personal information which can permanently destroy
any customer trust in the site. This software must be regularly updated to keep up with the consistent
creation of malicious malware.
A strong password is often overlooked as a serious protection method alone, but it is vital for all e-
commerce systems. Passwords should be a combination of letters, numbers, cases, and symbols while
