Posts Tagged ‘Free Online Shopping Carts’
The Pros and Cons of Free Online Shopping Carts
Monday, December 31st, 2007
If you’re the owner of a small business and you’re thinking about setting up an online retail store, then you may want to consider using a free online shopping cart. While other shopping cart software programs can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, there are plenty of others that are absolutely, positively free. Sure, they don’t offer all the bells and whistles of the expensive programs, but there’s a good chance you don’t need all those extra features anyway (at least, not to start).
Let’s take a look at three free online shopping carts: OsCommerce, ZenCart and CubeCart. These programs are some of the most popular free programs available, and there are plenty of advantages and disadvantages to each
OsCommerce (oscommerce.com)
Pros
OsCommerce is definitely one of the most popular free shopping cart programs, and it’s been around a while. Installation and set up is fast and easy, it supports a wide variety of payment options, has an organized category system and a ton of free plug-ins. Of course, it allows you to customize all the usual options like coupons, sale prices, search features, etc. One of the biggest advantages of using OsCommerce is that there are more developers for this cart than any other. So getting support, modifications and custom work done free or at a reasonable price is easy.
Cons
From a technical point of view, the OsCommerce system is a bit outdated. Even basic formatting and design features can take some getting used to. Knowledge of PHP is absolutely essential if you want anything but the cookie-cutter template OsCommerce gives you.
ZenCart (zen-cart.com)
Pros
ZenCart is actually based on OsCommerce, and is also easily customizable with a never-ending amount of plug-ins that really let you make your store’s shopping cart rich with features. It supports an unlimited amount of website pages, allows for multiple shipping and payment options, as well as various currencies. Installing the security for credit cards is easy. Adding coupons, gift certificates and sale prices is a snap as well as plenty of other features. Like OsCommerce, there are a ton of developers that can customize your shopping cart for you or offer support.
Cons
Like OsCommerce, you need to know PHP code to customize the features. Several of the good plug-ins for ZenCart aren’t free (and many are $60 and up) - including the one that allows you to upload multiple products at the same time.
CubeCart (cubecart.com)
Pros
CubeCart is an easy-to-use online shopping cart with lots of powerful features, including unlimited categories and products, multiple payment gateways, and even the ability to sell downloadable (digital) products. Also, changing the design and features of the cart is easy to do. CubeCart supports multiple currencies and gives you the ability for all the usual coupons, discounts, etc.
Cons
The biggest con, by far, is that in order for the shopping cart program to be free you have to have a CubeCart logo on each of the shopping cart pages. If you want their logo removed, it will cost you $59.95. Another con for CubeCart is their lack of shipping calculation options. The support available for CubeCart is much more sparse than that of OsCommerce and ZenCart, which can become a big concern if you want a quick answer to a problem or glitch you’re experiencing.
Summary
While each of these online shopping carts isn’t perfect, they are all good - especially for free programs. If you’re considering operating your website with a free shopping cart program, then it would be wise to take a look at each of the sites and take a quick demo. Also, visit e-commerce sites that are operating with those carts and see how it looks / works. It won’t take long for you to decide on which shopping cart program is the best for your website. Good luck!
Tags: Carrie Hinkel, E-Commerce and E-Business, Free Online Shopping Carts, hosted shopping carts, licensed shopping carts, shopping carts
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