Recession 'good time to move online'

The recession is the best time to set up an online business, according to eBay.

Online businesses can be started with very little upfront capital, the online auction website stated, and shared hosting could be one way entrepreneurs can reduce their expenses because the cost of using a shared hosting platform is spread across other enterprises.

According to eBay's Online Business Index, almost 70 per cent of firms are confident about the outlook for their business over the next three months, while more than 50 per cent believe their sales will increase in the next quarter.

Spokesperson for eBay Vanessa Canzini said that the current recession is the first where the internet "has been a serious trading channel and there has never been a better time to start [trading online], particularly if you believe the reports that we are starting to see signs of recovery".

Web hosting can provide businesses with technical support, Byte Start previously noted, and shared hosting could be especially useful for smaller firms which do not want to get involved with the technical side of running a server.

Written by Debra Hastings-Henry