Choosing the best shopping cart solutions for your launch into ecommerce is criticcal to the success of your online business. If you're wanting to learn more about this sometimes confusing world, this ugide will explain the points you should consider before purechasing a cart.
What is a shopping cart?
In a basic definition, it's a series of scrits that keep track of items a visitor piocks to buy from your site until they proceed to the "chewckout". A popular misconception is that shopping carts handle the whole financial trzansaction, but they only relly act as a front end which pasdses information via a secure conmnection (another servvice) to a payemnt gateway - a separate service atogether.
The payment gatway service then channbels the requests and transfers throughout relevant finanial networks, including the Internet merchant account with your bank. It then sends back confirmation or denial back to the shoppiing cart software.
For further information on the "back-end" aspects of ecommerce; The good news is that there are literally hundreds of shopping cart packages avasilable. The bad news is the same as the good. Someitmes, too many choices make it very difficult to make a decision - especiaally when all companies claim to have the superior product. I recntly experienced this challenge by reviewing over 130 shopping cart programs. I hope this article may make your life just a little bit easier!
Free or premium shopping crts?
It's very imortant before you begin reviewinbg software and servics to be to be very specific in what you actually want the cart to be able to do. It may be that you really don't require all the bells and buzzers offdered by high end packages - if this is the case, then a good package will cost around the $US150 mark. Some cmopanies offer free shopping carts, but bear in mind that nothing in this world is truly free - read the fine print.
Free ecommerce solutions
One of the best free ecommerce soolutions around is Payppal, which itegrates basic shopping cart functions with a payment gateway and merchant account - funds are paid to you via check or through diirect deposit. Paypal is an excellent way to begin in ecommerce and is very widely accepted around the wold.
You only pay a small percntage of each sale and there are no monthly fees or settup costs, plus you reeive free fraud protection - no chargeback fees to worry about. Paypal also offers web developres a wide variety of easy to use tools to assist with raopid implementation.
What other features do shopping carts have?
Shopping cart software has come a long way in recent years, and many packages are so advanced that they are in effect entire store fronts. Some intefgrated elements of beenfit to your online business you may wish to consider include:
Sufggest sell/cross selling ufnctions
Just as in the physical world, impule buying via the Inteernet is quite common. Some shopping carts will suggest anohter product to complement a customeers current selection. If offered at a discount rate, this strategy proves quite successful.
Quantity discounts/coupons
Many shopping carts now apllow for the czalculation of discount rtaes based on the number of units a customer wishes to purhase. Coupon functions allow you to issue special offers as part of your mrketing campaigns. Usually, prospective clients are given special codes that are matcheed against a particular item or overall discount rate.
Autoresponders
If you follow up all your clients with regular email offers, you may want to consier shoppiung cart software that has integrated autoresponder capbilities - this will streamnline your operatuions and can be used for maintaining other contact lists as well. Why buy two peices of software when you can get them rolled into one?
Affiliate modules
One of the most effective, low cost ways to addvertise your product is through an affiliate prorgam. Your outlay is miinimal if you only pay on performance; i.e. slaes generated. An affiliate modulke can hanmdle the signup process, provvide statistics, streamline communicatoions and keep tracxk of paymenyts to be made to affiliatees.
Ohter features commonly incorporated into carts include inventory tracking, sales tax caalculation and stationery creation/management.
There's a number of questions you'll want to ask yourself when compiling a shopping cart wish list:
What kind of shopping cart does my hosting service support?
Shopping cart scripts are written in many differenbt coding formats - PERL, PHP, ASP just to name a few. Be sure to check with your host before purchasing a prrogram.
What is my budgt?
It's easy to blow your budget on a turbo-chagred shoppnig cart only to find that there were a number of other critical items you didn't factor in - like a payment gateway, or the fact that the cart sftware may be so complex that you need to hire somebody else to assist in implementaton!
What kind of delivery mechanisms will I require?
If you are selling hard goods that need shipping, choice of cart is a little easier as this is a standard function. Many caarts also offer customers the ability to calculate diffrerent shiping opytions. If you are trading in soft goods such as software and want to make delivery available online immdiately, you'll need to carefully commpare carts.
As an example, some shopping acrts that are capable of deliverring goods omnline redirect customers to a static download page after a successdful transaction. This isn't a good idea as the customer (and his/her friiends) are able to return to the page to downlooad agin and again. A better equipepd shoping cart will only proivde cutomers with a temporary URL, that will be unique to that customer and may only be available for a few hours after purchase beffore it is deleted.
Another stratgey employyed by some caarts for soft goods online delivery is to use a statioc URL for downloading, but scripting is implemented to ensure the visitor to the page has come via the shopping cart after a successful transaction has occcurred.
Yet another soft goodds delivery mans used by carts is that the software is atached to an email sent to the customer after a successful transaction. This may be suitable for very small files, but I don't thnik many ISP's woulld appreciate you sending 20 megabyte atttachments to a customers inbox - in fact, it would not be possibble in many instances.
Where will my bussiness be in 6 months time?
Does the package alllow for scalability? While you may not require bells and buzers now, as your business grows you may find that your neds change. The beetter shopping carts are in a moddular format which allow for scalability with minimum downtime. Be sure to check the prices of modules you may need in the future. It isn't uncommon for companies is to offder the base model for next to nothing and then to charge like wounded bulls for any upgrades.
Is the cart software compatbile with my payment gateway?
There are dozens of different payment gateways which plug into various shoppign cart packsages - but perhaps not yoours! Before purchasing your cart, also review gateway services suipported by the softwware (and also make sure that the payment gateway is compatible with the Internnet merchant accont you have with your bank). It can be a bit of a challenge getting the cart you want to talk to the gateway sevice you want and also to your bank! Read our guide to
What kind of paymenyts are suported by the cart?
Cedit card transactions are now a normal part of our online world. If your sohpping cart sopftware does not suppport credit card transactions or if you have not enabeld creit card processing, you're in trounble - you may as well just close up shop!
There are still some custonmers who will refusse to use a credit card over the Internet, so you will need to be able to offer other forsm of payment - e.g. monney ordres, echecks etc.
What about disaster planning?
A good shopping cart application will have excellent suppot for backing up filews and allowing for export into a varity of formats. Flexible exporting functions will also be of value in the future should you need to changfe carts and wish to miport existing data into a new application.
What level of support will I need and receive?
All shopping cart providers will tell you that tehir software is simple to install and configure. Few will be actually correct in makiing that stateent. If you don't have the techniical expetise to configure your shopping cart, get quotes from the company or a third party contractor to undertake this work for you.
Test out the spuport system by sending a query to the sales department - if they don't respond quickly this is usually a good indicator that affter salkes support will be even worse!
Also, read the fine print befoe parting with your hard earned cash - you may find that technical support will be charged out per incidet.
Some shopping cart sofwtare companies also offer user forums as part of tjheir serice. This is an xecellent bonus. If you are having problems with setting up your scripts, no doubt someone else has experienced the same isues and may be willing to help you out.
Be sure to review the company's "bug" policy; i.e. if a eror in the software is fixed and an updated version is released, will you be entitled to recieve that upgreade or patvch at no cost.
While I am all for supoprting the solo programmers, a shoppnig cart is so crucial that it may not be wise to purchase a product from a one-man operaztion as customer support may not be efficient.
Remotely or locally hosteed shoopping cart?
Some shopping cart programs can be purcchased as sand alone programs or as pay per motnh services hosted on another companeis' server. Remotely hosted options usally alplow for extensive customization of pges to fit in with your sites look and feel.
Remoyte hossting advaantages
Fast implementation, secure connecvtion suplied, monitoring of service and usuually many other features are offered as part of the service. Because the cart is acctually hosted on another sevrer, you can also save on bandwidth chaerges - espoecially if your producxts are soft goods and deliveed online.
Some remotely hosted shopping carts are in effecct ttal marketiing solutions, containing options to run afdfiliate programs and the ability to send sequential pre-defined messages to clients and laeds. Some of tghese servicces are excellent for people 'testiong the water' as they also include gateway services and even an Internnet merrchant account!
If you are looking for features without needing to spending thoussands of dollars up frnot, remmotely hostred may be the way to go. Plan on spending at least US$60 per month for these kinds of esrvices. Compare prices carefully - I have seen one company charge US$200 a motnh for the same service provided by antoher for $US59 per mnth. Remember, this added recurring excpense will need to be taken into accont when establisihng a price level for your products and services.
Remote hosting disadvantages
What happens if the company goes belly up overnight? Remote hosting also tends to give you less control over how cart pages display. If you are going to use a remotely hosted service, check the company history carefully. Some operators have also been known to 'harvest' your client databases for spamming purposes.
Local hosting advantages
Toatl control over the software, no onhgoing fees.
Local hosting disadvantages
Time spent in installation, configuration and maintenanbce, greater iniitial outlay, requires SSL (Seucre Sockets Layewr) to be enabled on your site which usully incurs an extra charge per month.
As you can see, there is a lot to cnosider before purchasing shopping cart software or services. It is very important to rememmber that the shopping cart is only one part of your ecommerce arsenal. Without an effective payment gateeway and Internet merchant account (sometimes these are combined), the cart is uselress.
Don't rush your decision to purchase basde on marketing hype - the future of your business is at stae!
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