About Shopping Carts
Comparing ecommerce shopping carts is often like comparing apples and oranges - both taste great but different. Not to mention the sheer number of carts to choose from - each with different features and capabilities. Locally hosted cart software is stored on your own server and usually is a one-time purchase. It doesn't have monthly payments as in the case of software hosted remotely. The major advantages of purchasing shopping cart software is flexibility and control over the way your estore looks and works, though this will require development to make it look and process orders like you'd like it to. However, once the cart is set up, you can usually add and remove products yourself, and maintainance of the estore is usually an occasional update.
Hosted carts are easier to set up and maintain (it's someone else's responsibility) but you are limited as to how you can incorporate them into the site and there is always an ongoing monthly fee, making them much more expensive to run. The major advantages of using a remotely hosted shopping cart include fast implementation, security, and often 24 hour monitoring of service. Because the management of an online store is actually hosted on another server, you can might even save on bandwidth charges - especially if products are delivered online.
We'd like you to be able to compare. Below is a list of our favorite shopping carts, and though there are hundreds of carts out there, we like these for ease of use and ability to customize. You can view the online store layouts by clicking on "Store demo" where available and see the administrative backend (where you would add products and track sales) by clicking on "Admin demo". Where log-in is nessary to view the demo, the username and password is provided. The Web Assist ecommerce solution uses a Flash presentation to show you it's features. Use this page to get a feel for different shopping cart features and store layouts.Keep in mind, the web site does not have to LOOK like it does in the demo - all database driven ecommerce sites can be modified to one degree or another to match the rest of your website.
- ASP Store demo Admin demo
- InstanteStore (Remotely hosted)
- osCommerce Demo cart
- Web Assist Ecommerce Solution Flash presentation
- Zen-cart View Zen-cart live stores
- Paypal
- Option Cart View demo cart Demo Administration (password: demo) $45.00 plus installation & setup
- Agora Cart Store demo Admin Demo (username: manager password: admin)
- Miva (Miva comes in 3 versions - test all here)
- EShops Store demo Admin demo
- Squirrel CartStore demo Admin demo
- Dansie Cart Store demo
- ASP Product Cart Store demo Admin demo
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Cartweaver ASP Store demo PHP Store demo
Payment Gateway Services
Every estore will require a payment method using a gateway service so you can get paid. These are sometimes called merchant accounts. These are the merchant account providers we recommendand use. We feel a variety of payment methods gives you a greater choice in how your web store operates.
Secure Certificates
If you host your online store yourself, you willrequire a secure certificate. We are providers of several different SSL certificates.
- Starfield SSL - most economical
- Thawte
- GeoTrust
Other Store Solutions
If a hosted or software store doesn't fit your needs, we can set up an ecommerce store for you with Yahoo or eBay.
Other Shopping Carts we offer
- and more
After you choose a cart, you need to think about how you'll get paid.
eBay Store Pages & About Me Pages
If you'd like to get started selling on eBay there are two important ingredients to a successful eBay selling experience. The first is your About Me page. A page that tells buyers about yourself and what you are selling. A professional looking About Me and Store pages inspire confidence in buyers just as a good Feedback rating does. We can also design listing templates you can use for uploading your auctions so they have a consistent look and feel - bringing customers back to a familiar style.
eBay is a very different environment from other online or brick and mortar stores - it has it's own rules and is a unique marketplace. It's helpful to have someone guide you through the pitfalls inherent in such a unique experience - dealing with negative feedback, shipping charges and properly listing an item can be daunting to even experienced eBay users but may be overwhelming to a novice. Don't let that stop you from taking advantage of the world to sell your unique items. From personal experience I've found you'll often earn more selling on eBay than any other venue if you are careful and follow the "rules". There are many people who have turned eBay into a full-time business with the proper tools and the professional look of well-designed eBay pages.
We have several years experience selling on eBay and maintain our own store, so we are aware of the current eBay environment. Selling through a service is not nearly as profitible as "doing it yourself", but it is one avenue of selling online. Let me help you find a venue for your unique and beautiful items - and we'll be here to help you grow into your own website when your eBay experience becomes a blooming success.
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