Posts Tagged ‘hosted 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From a technical point of view, the OsCommerce system is a bit outdated.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
Posted in News & Articles | No Comments »
Licensed Shopping Carts vs. Hosted Shopping Carts
Thursday, December 20th, 2007
With over 300 shopping cart companies to choose from, it’s no wonder why the owners of new e-commerce stores are having trouble deciding who to go with. If you first decide on either a licensed or hosted shopping cart, then at least you’ve cut that number in half. Then you can start whittling down the prospects based on price, features, compatibility, recommendations etc.
Let’s take a look at each of the types of shopping carts. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, depending on the needs of your company.
Licensed Shopping Carts
This type of shopping cart is an “off the shelf” piece of software; a one-time purchase of a shopping cart license. It does not include hosting - you can get your own hosting package wherever you want and the shopping cart software is set up to work with it.
The Pros: The low one-time cost is definitely the biggest advantage. You pay one fee and then can use the program forever. If you later outgrow that program, you can sell the software to someone else - getting some of your initial cost back. There’s also a wide selection of software to choose from - many with every feature available, along with continual upgrades. Finally, there’s flexibility in the fact that you can choose your own hosting company and hosting package.
The Cons: Licensed shopping cart software requires that your hosting company meet minimum server requirements, so be sure to check this out before you purchase the software. As long as you’re dealing with a commercial hosting company, you should be fine. Where the problem lies is if your company is getting a cheap hosting rate, because the hosting company is basically a guy running a server out of his basement. If that happens to be the case with your hosting company, then it’s time to switch! You need to have an experienced (and professional) network administrator running the server. Also, since you (or your webmaster) will be installing and running the shopping cart software, it’s possible to delete source files or key pieces of code. As you can see, most of the disadvantages of packaged shopping cart software lie in operator error. If something happens, you can rest assured knowing that you can always call the software company’s tech support.
Hosted Shopping Carts
Consider these shopping carts as more of an e-commerce solution. Basically, you pay a hosting company a monthly fee to use their shopping cart system.
Pros: First off, it’s easy. There’s no software setup or installation and no need to check server requirements. All you do is sign up and begin configuring your shopping cart. And, the best part is that you don’t have to be a webmaster to set it up because everything is user friendly and ready to go! You get unlimited tech support to answer any and all of your questions regarding your hosting and your shopping cart. Updates are usually frequent, so you’ll always be operating on the latest version.
Cons: You have to have the shopping cart company as your hosting company, which means you’re limited to the options and features which they have. You’re stuck with their pricing structure and their willingness to provide extra bandwidth or storage. There is typically a set up fee of about $100-$250. Then, of course, there are the monthly fees - it doesn’t take much to be on a plan that costs $100 or more each month. Also, if you decide to later switch companies you leave with nothing - you don’t get to take the shopping cart software with you.
For those business owners who have little or no knowledge of creating a website and who prefer to not hire a web developer, then having a hosted shopping cart would make the most sense. As long as you don’t mind paying the fees, you can have a shopping cart set up on your site with little effort. However, if you have some understanding of website building (or if you have a web developer), then buying licensed shopping cart software is definitely worth considering. It’s affordable, flexible and customizable to the needs of your company.
Tags: Carrie Hinkel, E-Commerce and E-Business, hosted shopping carts, licensed shopping carts, shopping carts
Posted in News & Articles | No Comments »