AbleCommerce Hosting

Summary: This page describes how we host AbleCommerce stores on Microsoft Azure. It is for store owners who need a host that still understands AbleCommerce.

Few hosts and fewer developers still work on AbleCommerce. If yours has stopped, you do not have to replatform to get support. We work on AbleCommerce at source level, from version 7 through the Gold editions, CommerceBuilder and the current AbleCommerce CMS release, and we host the stores we support.

What Is Different About Hosting AbleCommerce

• A failed store can look healthy. AbleCommerce can show visitors an error page while still reporting success to a simple uptime check. Our monitoring reads the page content, so we know when the store is really down.
• Product images and files. Large image libraries are kept on a separate file share so the store can be redeployed without touching them.
• Older versions. We host older AbleCommerce versions as they are, and plan upgrades when you are ready.

Stores We Host

We host and maintain AbleCommerce stores for Bond Arms and Marathon Tires, and built company stores on AbleCommerce for HALO Branded Solutions (formerly BrandVia).

What Is Included Every Month

• The platform. Your application runs on Microsoft Azure, on infrastructure we size to what your traffic needs.
• Database backups. We can restore your database to any point in the last 14 days. Weekly backups are kept for four weeks and monthly backups for four months.
• File backups. Uploaded files and images held on a file share are backed up daily.
• Your application code. It is redeployed from source control, so a rebuild does not depend on a server copy.
• Monitoring that reads the page. A site can answer “OK” while showing visitors an error. Our checks confirm the page contains what it should, raise an alert when it does not, and restart the application automatically.
• Load alerts. We are alerted by email and text when processor, memory or database load stays high.
• A monthly malware scan. Every site is scanned each month for malware and card skimmers and compared against a known-good copy.
• Platform patching. Azure patches the operating system and runtime. We handle updates to your application.
• A firewall at the edge, where it fits. A web application firewall that blocks known attack patterns before they reach your site is available.

What Is Billed Separately

• Changes to your site’s code or content.
• Work caused by a sustained increase in traffic, or by an attack on your site.
• Security audits and penetration testing, which are a separate engagement with their own scope.

How Support Works

We respond during Pacific business hours. Outside those hours alerts still reach us, and response is slower. A staging copy is set up when a change needs testing before it goes live.

What It Costs

Hosting for an AbleCommerce store starts from $150 a month. The figure for your site depends on its traffic, its database and what it connects to, and we quote it after the free review. Changes to code or content, and work caused by a traffic increase or an attack, are billed separately.

If Your Site Takes Card Payments

You are the merchant of record, and PCI compliance is assessed against your business, not your host. We are not a PCI assessor. What we do on the hosting side is specific: we keep card data out of your database wherever the payment gateway and your business rules allow it, scan every site monthly for malware and card skimmers, and keep the platform patched. Security audits and penetration testing are a separate engagement.

Talk to Us About Hosting Your AbleCommerce Store

More on the platform in AbleCommerce development and support. Tell us your platform, its version, where it is hosted now and what is going wrong. We reply within one business day. Or call (206) 325-5383.