Forum Moderators: buckworks
I am trying to figure out what is the best shopping cart software to use for Small Businesses - I have used Yahoo Stores as well as more customized packages but nothing that I have been too thrilled with. I like Yahoo but I don't like having to have my clients be billed directly through them.
What do you feel is the best shopping cart software available and why?
Thanks to everyone in advance!
It's impossible to pick a single winner, because the range of possible requirements is just too great. Theres an older thread here [webmasterworld.com] that covers "How to pick an ecomm package" in some detail. From my on experience, the best solution is usually to find a package that does 90% of what you want, and learn it inside out, including how to modify it.
You then end up with a custom package that does what you want, and you understand. I can't tell you how much that's worth
Price appears to have no bearing on how good the shopping cart is.
p.s. I've also heard that Miva is a very popular cart system but have never used it and it isn't free ... but if you don't want to spend countless hours mulling over source code that may be a good thing ;)
References:
RedHat Akopia Interchange vs. osCommerce
osCommerce easy / RedHat a pain but better?
[webmasterworld.com]
Redhat Interchange. I gave up
Can't even dream of having it proberly install
[webmasterworld.com]
(notice I never said Interchange was easy to work with at first ;)
E-Commerce Software
Products, Basket, Credit Card
[webmasterworld.com]
Our current shopping cart software is java-based. Although it is very simple to build a store with lots of possibilities it has a few drawbacks.
Most importantly - a search engine cannot spider any product pages in our store. We have had to make static HTML pages especially for spiders and updating several pages on every change is very frustrating. Needles to say, without success in search engines why bother at all. Then again, you can pay for every click to your store but if you could have 50% of visitor for free with a “natural” listing you can save a fortune.
Secondly, it’s slow. The customer loads the shopping cart software into hes /hers browser first as java code and on slower connections this can mean a decision to go elsewhere. So, we are also looking for something else.
If you do a in-house production the ideal software / web application for us would be:
1) Stable
2) Reliable
3) Foolproof, secure
4) Be spider savvy = produce static html pages.
5) Work with most browser/OS setups
6) Easy and fast to work with. (No custom coding – but this is just me)
7) Have the necessary “components” for your store.
8) Fast, small
9) Customizable
10) Good support service!
(Oh yes, there can be fancy stuff too but its not important for us)
Price on the software is maybe the least of your concerns. You will most likely work hundreds or thousands of hours with the software and that will always be more that the initial investment. Not to mention when it’s all there (months or years of work) and you find out that the software wont do it.
Good luck and let us know if you find something good!
The package is a dream because it is so flexible. The flexibility comes at a price, it can take a lot to configure and set up. It could be compared to the stereotypical view of Linux - you need to be a tech to figure it out but it's very robust and knowledgeable users love it. I wouldn't touch it without an experienced developer to get me started.
I've spent thousands over the years getting it tweaked, set up, etc. But worth every penny. Amazon could use it out of the box.
a) Either generate static HTML or allow me to use mine. (I preferred using mine because I can be much more flexible with the layout & content).
b) Had a customizable and clean checkout system. I was shocked as to how many carts: Required the customer to login; had a poor user design; showed shipping costs after purchasing; required a useless middle page to go from nonSSL to SSL; could only modify the logo and footer
c) Didn't require sessions to be created so I could pass parameters from my static pages to add the right product.
I looked at all the PHP carts, free open source carts, and only found 2 that fit my needs. It's amazing the lack of technology out there. I ended up choosing between Cyberstrong eShop and VPASP and went with eShop.
I considered Interchange as well, but it has a steep learning curve if you need to modify the checkout at all and have products with multiple features and costs. Who knows, I may switch to it in the future if I need additional flexibility.
