Miva Merchant

I guess since this is a web-related thing... maybe it would work in this forum...

I decided to get a dedicated UNIX server from CI HOST, but i wasnt sure about e-commerce. It claims that it comes with Miva Empressa. Ive worked with Miva Merchant before. It seems to be pretty good for e-commerce setups.

I dont quite understand what i need for multiple domains however. If I have more clients in the future who need Miva stores, how does this all work?

What is Miva Empressa?
Miva Merchant?
Miva Marketplace?
Miva commerce server?

What do I actually need to get my unix server to host multiple domains w/ e-commerce on some of them? kinda confused. Thanks!

Well - I don't know anything about MIVA - but *any* e-commerce sites needs quite a few things to get going:

• SSL Certificate (128-bit preferred)
• Merchant Account (a gateway through which a payment processor can transfer funds to your business's bank account)
• Payment Processing Service (a service to validate/charge credit cards in real-time - see VeriSign Payment Services, they're the biggest and most trusted provider)
• Software installed on the web server to interact with the Payment Processor

...I'm pretty sure that's it. So for multiple domains, each site will need the above list in order to negotiate transactions safely and securly over the internet. The 4th bullet obviously only has to be done once - since each site can utilize the software to communicate with the payment processor.

There are other, more simplistic, services where your site will "seamlessly" link off to some other host's web space during the payment process of your shopping cart, where they provide a customizable form through which your customers can enter credit card data and complete their transactions that way. I've always found these services pretty lame though. I guess it all depends on how hardcore you want your e-commerce site to be.

thanks