Just been sitting down with web hosting firm Strato, who've launched a new e-commerce arm to their services. Makes sense…the market is potentially huge for this and many smaller firms are looking for an easy way to get their slice of it. Strato is offering three Webshop packages starting at beginner at working up to something appropriate for a failry large mid-sized retailer. It’s key differentiator seem to be simplicity of set-up and configuration and also nice little features like the ability to cross-sell on products with an also-boughts function – although a few offerings in this space are offering this now…it’s all about keeping up with the Amazon’s.

It’s also offering an interface with UPS for shipping, although you can also use other shippers if you want, and the ability to shift your stuff on eBay. The Webshops have also been apparently optimised so that Google’s spiders can find your shop more easily, although as what Google’s spiders do is beyond mine and most people outside Google’s comprehension, I’ll just take Strato’s word for it on this. More likely to have an effect on your online stores visibility on the web is the ability to link your site to shopping portals like Kelkoo.

With over 20,000 Webshop customers already in Germany, Strato’s got history here; like its web hosting business, the firm is wisely moving into foreign markets only when it thinks the time is right. UK customers should benefit in that any early teething troubles Strato has encountered with the service should have been ironed out by now. And security fears should be allayed by the fact that its got SSL encryption – although not as yet a facility to provide the new Extended Validation version – and also that its servers are locked away in a very secure datacenter. Having visited the site myself I can vouch for the fact it is very well hidden away…I certainly wouldn’t be able to find it again.