These days, compliance with the industry's security practices is one of the most significant concerns regarding ecommerce hosting. In the year 2004, an association of credit card providers developed the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards. While they were at first only recommendations for keeping consumers' personal information secure, they now have the force of contract in most merchant agreements. And since customers are more willing to deal with a company which protects their credit information, these guidelines are helpful to everyone involved.

Currently there are 12 major requirements which include everything from technical guidelines to well laid out business practices. One of the technical requirements is the encryption of data for storage and transmission. Who has access to the data both digitally and physically must also be rigorously controlled

While adhering to the PCI standards is a must for any company storing, transmitting or processing credit card information, adherence can be difficult for small and medium-sized companies. The simplest way to deal with this is to purchase one-stop ecommerce hosting -- a package of ecommerce solutions that handles everything from transaction processing to online shopping cart software. This moves the problem of compliance off sellers, guarantees PCI compliance, and lets business get back to selling.

A small company trying to break into the ecommerce market will need a PCI-compliant hosting provider that is trustworthy. Often times, ecommerce hosting can be evaluated through third-party opinion web sites, but it is important to ask for references as well. Because of the intimate nature of this business relationship it is of the utmost importance to choose a hosting provider with good credentials.

Make sure to consider the other benefits available in ecommerce hosting, not just the security capabilities that are available in all ecommerce solutions. Most hosting companies will provide online shopping cart software to their partners as well. It is a great help when your hosting provider is familiar with the software packages that you use. This allows them to provide the best technical support, which results in less downtime and provides you a web site that your customers are comfortable with shopping there.

In creating a successful ecommerce store there are many things to face and solve. The easiest parts are to focus on product solution and what marketing strategy to pursue. However, to make your store more attractive to the buyer, you need to ease their mind in regards to their private information that they provide. You also need to comply with your credit card provider's merchant agreement. Therefore, it makes the most sense to partner with a secure and PCI-compliant ecommerce hosting provider.