Process: Hosting
Flow
The hosting business model supports hosting of sellers or other businesses by a hosting service provider, such as an Internet Service Provider (ISP). There are two sides to the hosting business:
- hosted stores
- (optional) Store Directory - a site that allows customers to locate the stores that are hosted by the provider
In order to manage relationships with the sellers that operate hosted stores, hosting models usually include a hub (known in WebSphere Commerce as a hub store). This hub provides self-provisioning tools that allow the seller to create and administer a store, as well as tools that allow the hosting provider to manage all hosted stores.
Hosting providers may also maintain a 'store directory', which is store in which customers can find and access the stores hosted by the provider.
A seller enters the hub site, registers and creates a store that will be hosted by the site. Hosting providers can provide merchants with self-provisioning tools that allow the merchant to administer a hosted store. When a hosted store is open for business, customers can access the store via the host's site or by entering the hosted store directly.
Shoppers or business buyers can access any hosted store directly, and optionally register in that store. Alternatively, they have the option of browsing the store directory operated by the hosting provider and then transfer to the selected hosted store.
Hosting admin:
This process contains the administration tasks used to control how the business operates. Explore these processes if you are looking for information on the business tasks performed by employees to support the site.
Hosting starter stores:
This process contains the customer experience at the hosted store, or of becoming a merchant. Explore these processes if you are looking for information on how the customers interact with the site.
Hosting solution:
This process describes the tasks performed to deliver an up and running hosting business. The information in the Hosting admin and Hosting starter stores processes are combined in the context of launching a business.
Subprocesses
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