Ecommerce continues to grow at a staggering pace. According to Insider Intelligence, global retail ecommerce sales will reach nearly $7 trillion by 2025. With the right ecommerce platform and hosting provider, anyone can launch an online store and grab a slice of this revenue.
One popular open-source ecommerce platform used by over 300,000 online stores is osCommerce. If you‘re looking to build an ecommerce store with this platform, choosing the right osCommerce hosting provider is crucial for performance, security, and scalability.
In this comprehensive guide, we analyze the top 4 osCommerce hosting providers to help you find the best fit for your online store.
An Introduction to osCommerce
Launched in 2000, osCommerce is one of the oldest and most widely-used open source ecommerce platforms. The software offers store owners an extensive set of features to manage every aspect of their online business out of the box.
Here’s an overview of some key osCommerce features:
- Product catalog management – Add unlimited products, product categories, attributes.
- Order management – Accept, process and track orders and payments.
- Customer accounts – Manage customer registration, profiles and order history.
- Marketing capabilities – Create promotions, discounts, coupons. Integrates with email marketing platforms.
- Site management – SEO-friendly URLs, multiple languages and currencies.
- Security – Protection against threats like SQL injection, XSS attacks etc.
- Reporting – In-depth sales, traffic, inventory and customer reports.
- Extend functionality – Choose from over 9000 addons and plugins.
Next, let’s look at why osCommerce is a great choice to power your online store.
Key Benefits of osCommerce
osCommerce offers store owners an enterprise-grade ecommerce platform on an open-source software budget. Some major reasons to choose this platform include:
- Completely free platform – You only pay for hosting, while the software is free.
- No transaction fees – No commissions charged on sales like other hosted carts.
- Own your data – Data remains with you unlike SaaS platforms.
- Highly customizable – Tailor the site to your brand with templates, design and addons.
- Self-managed platform – Complete control in the hands of store owners.
- Scales with business growth – Handles large catalogs and high traffic volumes.
- Strong community support – Active forums to help resolve issues.
Why Choosing the Right osCommerce Host Matters
While osCommerce already offers an impressive array of ecommerce site-building tools for free, the software is only one piece of the puzzle.
To launch a high-performing online store, you need to host your osCommerce site on a hosting provider optimized for ecommerce.
Choosing the wrong osCommerce hosting platform can severely impact your store’s speed, security and ability to scale. Issues like slow page loads, downtime and vulnerability to attacks can frustrate customers and cost you sales.
The good news is toplevel osCommerce specialized hosts make the platform shine by optimizing servers for peak performance. They also offer essential ecommerce-friendly features like one-click installs, built-in caching, secure backups and stellar support.
Next, we reveal the 4 best osCommerce hosting services for your online store and what sets them apart from the rest.
1. A2 Hosting – Blazing Fast Host Optimized for osCommerce
HIGHLIGHTS
- Up to 20X faster servers
- Turbo servers with NVMe storage
- Free site migration
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- Anytime Money-back guarantee
Kicking off our list is A2 Hosting{:target="_blank"} – an osCommerce specialized host known for its lighting fast servers.
Performance is crucial for ecommerce stores to deliver an exceptional shopping experience. A2 Hosting’s robust hosting architecture focuses on speed to help osCommerce stores load pages instantly.
They offer two types of high speed servers:
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SwiftServers – Up to 20 times faster than typical hosts via custom-built infrastructure including SSD storage, a powerful network backbone and hardware controlled by a custom kernel for optimized performance.
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Turbo Servers – Their fastest option yet, Turbo Servers feature NVME drives and the latest AMD EPYC processors resulting in even better response times. Benchmark tests show Turbo Servers perform upto 40% faster in terms of CPU usage than Swift Servers with 2X more visitors supported.
Besides pure hosting speed, A2 Hosting streamlines launching an osCommerce store via:
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One-click osCommerce Install – Instantly deploy osCommerce instead of manually uploading files.
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Free Site Migrations – Their technical team helps move your existing store with minimal downtime.
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Anytime Money-back Guarantee – Unconditional refunds anytime make it risk-free.
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99.9% Uptime Commitment – Compensation provided if this SLA is not met.
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CDN Integration – Add a content delivery network to cache site elements globally.
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HackScan Protection – Free server monitoring that blocks hack attempts before they happen. No need to install security plugins.
With packages starting at just $2.99 a month, A2 Hosting provides an amazing combo of performance, security and support for your osCommerce store.
2. TMDHosting – Reliable osCommerce Specialist Since 2001
HIGHLIGHTS
- 16X faster page loads
- Free SSL certificate
- Daily malware scanning
- 1-click installs
- USA or India-based support
TMDHosting{:target="_blank"} is an ecommerce-focused hosting provider with a stellar track record. With over 20 years of hosting experience, they offer 24/7 expert support and scalable servers fine-tuned for osCommerce performance.
TMDHosting combines premium grade hardware, a highly optimized tech stack and an advanced caching layer to achieve lightening fast load times. An independent audit found TMDHosting delivered up to 16X faster page response times compared to top-tier shared hosting rivals like Bluehost.
Their osCommerce infrastructure includes:
- SSD-accelerated servers
- Varnish Plus front-end cache
- LiteSpeed web server w/ caching mechanisms
- CloudLinux for security and resource optimization
- OPcache PHP accelerator
This results in incredibly fast osCommerce stores with the resources to manage growing product catalogs and traffic volumes.
TMDHosting also focuses on security out of the box via BitNinja anti-malware scanning, high availability storage, CloudLinux isolation and server hardening. They offer a 99.99% uptime SLA with financial guarentees and 24/7 real-person support assistance.
Packed with features plus worry-free management and scaling, TMDHosting eliminates hosting-related hurdles in your ecommerce journey.
3. AccuWebHosting – Fast, Secure and Scalable osCommerce Hosting
HIGHLIGHTS
- SSD-accelerated servers
- Free osCommerce migration
- Multi-layer DDoS filtering
- Daily offsite server backups
- Money-back guarantee
Operating since 2001, AccuWebHosting{:target="_blank"} brings almost two decades of hosting optimization to offer lightning fast and ultra-secure osCommerce hosting solutions.
They leverage a enterprise-grade tech stack fully optimized for osCommerce performance:
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LiteSpeed web server – High-performance alternative to Apache
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SSD RAID-10 Disk Arrays – Faster reads/write than standalone SSDs
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CloudLinux OS – Resource isolation for stability
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cPanel – Simplified server management
This architecture allows AccuWebHosting to acheive up to 200% faster osCommerce page loads compared to hosts lacking similar performance enhancements.
Besides speed, AccuWebHosting also focuses on lockdown security including:
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Hardware + software firewalls – Thwarts DDoS, SQL injections etc before reaching your store
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ModSecurity Web App Firewall – Tracks and filters requests for malware patterns
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KernelCare – Auto-patches vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
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1-click SSL certificates – Free PositiveSSL cert with unlimited sites
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Daily offsite backups – Disaster recovery from data loss scenarios
With packages starting from just $3.49 a month, AccuWebHosting delivers an uncompromising blend of higher-end features reserved only for pricier managed hosts – all while keeping within the budget limitations of most smaller businesses. This makes their osCommerce hosting plans a complete package without cutting corners.
4. Cloudways – Managed osCommerce Hosting With Global Infrastructure
HIGHLIGHTS
- Managed services for osCommerce
- Google Cloud, AWS and DigitalOcean infrastructure
- 1-click auto scaling
- Free SSL, CDN, backups
- 24/7 support via 3 channels
If you need fully managed osCommerce hosting backed by tier-1 cloud infrastructure, Cloudways{:target="_blank"} fits the bill perfectly.
The platform takes hosting completely off your plate and handles all osCommerce optimization and management tasks like:
- Weekly security updates
- Daily off-site backups
- Server and app configuration
- Scalability management
- 1-click caching and CDNs
You simply launch your server, install osCommerce with one click, then focus on your store while Cloudways handles everything in the backend.
The real magic of Cloudways lies in their infrastructure consisting of leading cloud networks like Google Cloud, AWS, DigitalOcean and more. By granting you access to the same enterprise-grade global cloud infrastructure relied on by tech giants, your osCommerce store gains:
- Faster page load speeds via worldwide datacenters
- Ability to scale seamlessly without downtime by adding cloud RAM, CPU, SSD storage etc with a few clicks
- Higher security provided by private servers and cloud firewalls
The package also includes attractive bonuses like 1-click staging environments for testing, SSH and SFTP access for coding modifications and instant application clones to launch new stores rapidly.
Pricing is around 30-40% cheaper than the underlying cloud networks if accessed directly without Cloudways due to their wholesale rates. Plus managed services ensure hassle-free hosting even if you lack in-house tech skills.
While the hosts covered here represent the absolute best osCommerce hosting services, you may want to evaluate additional options based on your unique needs and budget.
Here are key criteria to assess any host for osCommerce compatibility:
Ecommerce-Optimized Architecture
The web host should use an infrastructure designed for the resource demands of high traffic ecommerce sites using technology like:
- SSD storage for faster access times
- Optimized databases like Redis for caching
- CloudLinux, LVE resource isolation
- HTTP/2 web servers like LiteSpeed
- CDN integration for static files
One-Click osCommerce Installer
The control panel should allow instant osCommerce installation instead of needing to manually upload osCommerce files.
Security-Hardened Servers
Proactive security solutions like firewalls, malware detection, KernelCare patching, DDoS protection, CDNs to absorb attacks and SSL encryption support.
Reliable Support Options
Responsive 24/7 customer service via tickets/phone/chat. Knowledgebase help guides.
Daily Backups
Automatic daily backups to safeguard from data loss scenarios.
Money-Back Guarantee
A 30 days or longer refund period provides a risk-free way to evaluate them.
Yes, osCommerce works decently on shared hosting but can suffer from sluggish speeds during high traffic surges. For best performance at scale, optimized managed VPS plans are recommended.
How Much Does osCommerce Hosting Cost?
Shared hosting can cost between $2.99 to $10 monthly based on resources and management services provided while managed cloud VPS usually ranges from $20 to $100 monthly.
Is osCommerce Hosting Better Than Shopify or WooCommerce?
- Shopify is the easiest option but costs more over the long term due to monthly fees. WooCommerce needs managing WordPress as well.
- osCommerce provides the most control and customization for advanced users on an open-source platform.
Which CMS is Best – Magento, PrestaShop or osCommerce?
All three are extremely capable ecommerce platforms. Magento has the steepest learning curve while osCommerce is the most beginner-friendly. Prestashop strikes a balance between simplicity and features. Evaluate their unique merits to pick the best fit.
osCommerce remains a popular open source ecommerce software 20+ years from launch. The self-hosted platform offers store owners an enterprise-level toolbox of features without costly monthly fees associated with SaaS alternatives.
To build a successful osCommerce store that converts visitors into happy customers, a specialized hosting provider enhances performance, security and support significantly. Evaluating hosts using criteria like optimized architecture, security, backups and osCommerce auto-installers streamlines growth.
Out of available options, A2 Hosting, TMDHosting, AccuWebHosting and Cloudways stand apart as the best osCommerce hosting services. Blazing fast speeds, ironclad security, expert support and hassle-free management ensure you focus solely on crafting an exceptional buyer experience – not hosting operations.
So power up your osCommerce store today with one of these recommended partners primed to scale your ambitions without obstacles. Feel free to reach out in comments if you have any other questions.
