Software skills: Web browser software

Business skills: Evaluating e-commerce hosting services

This project will help develop your Internet skills in commercial services for hosting an e-commerce site for a small start-up company. You would like to set up a Web site to sell towels, linens, pottery, and tableware from Portugal and are examining services for hosting small business Internet storefronts. Your Web site should be able to take secure credit card payments and to calculate shipping costs and taxes. Initially, you would like to display photos and descriptions of 40 different products.

1. Visit Yahoo! Small Business, GoDaddy, and Comcast and compare:

• The range of e-commerce hosting services they offer to small businesses
• Their capabilities
• The costs.

2. Examine the tools they provide for creating an e-commerce site. You will need to secure a domain name, setup a site, and have the site hosted.
3. Compare these services and decide which you would use if you were actually establishing a Web store.
4. In Microsoft Word write a brief report that includes:

• A well designed table that lists the strengths and weaknesses of each hosting service

• Your service provider choice and the total cost to get your site setup and live.

5. Include references for the sites you researched.
6. Include a three-part header with your name, section, and date.
7. Submit the file in Blackboard for evaluation.