Server for eCommerce

AStateOfTrance · March 25, 2015

Hey guys, my dad is starting up a eCommerce website and he is talking about he needs a server to run it. The website is not that big and I dont think he needs something huge, I dont even know what he needs. I see there are services online that will run your site on their servers, or am I bettter off building one. Any input is appreciated because I have no idea why he thinks he needs a server in the first place.

MatthewEnderle · March 25, 2015

Hey guys, my dad is starting up a eCommerce website and he is talking about he needs a server to run it. The website is not that big and I dont think he needs something huge, I dont even know what he needs. I see there are services online that will run your site on their servers, or am I bettter off building one. Any input is appreciated because I have no idea why he thinks he needs a server in the first place.

I would recommend a VPS from like DigitalOcean.com I used them and they have very nice tutorials on how to set webservers up. That's if he MUST require a server. However there are paid services that would be probably better for an entry platform like rackspace or google "ecommerce host" (honestly that's what I did). I run a few servers myself and have them in datacenters but it can be a pain to have to run, maintain, and make a profit from it with marketing. Unless you plan on servicing it and making sure that it is safe, secured, and efficient I would go for a cloud server (VPS). Plus I wouldn't order anything from a site without a SSL cert now. They are easy to self-sign, but it's not the same.

AStateOfTrance · March 25, 2015

I would recommend a VPS from like DigitalOcean.com I used them and they have very nice tutorials on how to set webservers up. That's if he MUST require a server. However there are paid services that would be probably better for an entry platform like rackspace or google "ecommerce host" (honestly that's what I did). I run a few servers myself and have them in datacenters but it can be a pain to have to run, maintain, and make a profit from it with marketing. Unless you plan on servicing it and making sure that it is safe, secured, and efficient I would go for a cloud server (VPS). Plus I wouldn't order anything from a site without a SSL cert now. They are easy to self-sign, but it's not the same.

So he was to sign up for one of the monthly plans on Digital Ocean, he can run his site through those servers?

MatthewEnderle · March 25, 2015

So he was to sign up for one of the monthly plans on Digital Ocean, he can run his site through those servers?

Yes. If you get a simple server forsay on debian you can follow guides to setup ftp/sftp, webserver, mailserver, database servers, etc. If you choose that route you'd have to use like magento or opencart of which I have used both. Magento looks superb, but it's like a bull is kicking you in the nuts every hour because it's a fun one to set up. And yes... I know what that feels like.