Chapter 4: Electronic Commerce Project


Comparing Online Storefront Hosting Services


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. Visit Yahoo! Store and Freemerchant.com and compare the range of e-commerce hosting services they offer to small business, their capabilities and costs. Also examine the tools they provide for creating an e-commerce site. Compare both of these services and decide which of the two you would use if you were actually establishing a Web store. Write a small report indicating your choice and explaining the strengths and weaknesses of both.