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Shopping cartIf you would like to comment on this article, click here If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter for Spanish news in English, click here. So you have a bunch of products you'd like to sell, you know you need a shopping cart, but you're unsure of which one to choose. You don't want to spend a lot; however, you want the most bang for your buck! You have a website and all, but you're not a "Master" webmaster, and you want something powerful and professional, without the powerful and professional price tag. Then, this article is for you - read on... 1. OK - Just What Is a Shopping CarttSupposed to Do? Shoppingcarts are more commonly used as a way to display physical products, products like televisions, groceries, electronic equipment, clothes, and memorabilia, etc - NOT digital products. Shoppingcarttmake it easy to cross-sell and up-sell your customers once they arrive at your store. Shoppingcarts typically handle the shipping and handling calculation, taxes and credit card processing. A good shoppingcart handles all of these efficiently and securely. 2. Dynamic Operation A good shopping carttprogram also creates dynamic order forms on the fly as the order takes place. The shoppingcarttshould be totally dynamic; meaning it only executes code and retrieves products, images, and product descriptions from your database when your customers request it. During the checkout process it should also calculate shipping/handling and taxes for you. 3. Real-Time Credit Card Processing Powerful CGI, PHP, CFM, ASP, etc, scripting, processes commands for you on secure servers when your customers place their orders. Don't get this confused with credit card processing. What I'm speaking of here is the passing of your customers' order information from a secure form, to your merchant or payment processor, using one of the scripting languages above. Your payment processor or merchant, like PayPal, 2CheckOut, or Authorize.Net will then process the credit card. If you don't currently have a merchant or payment processor, and you are going to be selling online, then you NEED one. You can view some recommendations here: http://prowebware.com/merchantaccts.html 4. Usability You can choose what options you want your customer to see. For instance, you can choose to display a search form on your shopping cartt. A search form allows your customers to search your store for items by keyword or product name, etc. You can choose to display options like colour, size and quantity, and even adjust the price based on the customer's selection. These are called options. Your shoppingcarttshould also allow you to upload images of your products as well. The ProWebWare shoppingcarttis a well-rounded, all-in-one solution to your shoppingcart needs that's worth a look. The ProWebWare cart is a service that's part of a total e-business automation package. You can check it out here: http://prowebware.com/shopping_cart.html. 5. Stand-Alone -vs- Hosted Shopping Carts However, you CAN purchase standalone shoppingccarttsoftware or services. The stand alone software, of course, requires skill and expertise to install it on your web host or on your own server. Some of the shopping carttservices, although it may not seem like it at first, limit you as to what you can and cannot do. These services are most commonly offered by web hosts as a way to entice you to host your site with them. When using these types of services, remember, you're locked into using that web host when you opt to use their shopping cart service. Your business is not portable and becomes a part of that web host. Make sure there is a simple export process that allows you to easily download your website and shopping carttif you no longer wish to use their services. In my opinion, the best option is to use a shopping cart that runs from your own website, independent of your web host. Both Prowebware and stand-alone shopping cart applications run from YOUR website, giving you both control and flexibility. 6. So, Which Is The Right System For You?Choosing a shopping cart boils down to 4 things: 1. Your Budget - Is FREE your only option or are you serious about your business? About the author: Ettione Stuckey, Performance Technologist, Webmaster, Internet Marketer Ettione holds degrees in electronics and business. His passion is ecommerce and Internet Marketing. Ettione is an accomplished webmaster, who runs several ecommerce websites. He understands the science and application of ecommerce technology and concepts. "ProWebWare E-Business Automation" is his fourth website and is a big HIT for its powerful ecommerce features Written by: Ettione Stuckey If you have anything to comment about this article, any interesting additions or simply want to make yourself heard, then write ahead!
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