Ecommerce Software Packages

The ecommerce software packages on the market: what to look for in shopping cart or storefront programs.

Storefront Software and Shopping Carts

Ecommerce software packages enable you to build sites where customers can view your goods, add or delete items from their selection, and review their final selection prior to purchase. The payment process is made intuitive, fast and secure. Shipping details, tax and your returns policy are clearly presented, and customers are emailed with a confirmation of purchase and delivery date.

Whatever you choose, the software must work seamlessly with your means of collecting payment. For credit card payments taken online, that means total integration of software (payment gateway) and the agencies involved — the banks making and accepting fund transfers, and the relevant credit card processing company.

Selling is only half the battle. You need to keep records — for accounting and tax purposes, but also for more effective marketing and planning. A company selling real estate may quite happily transfer sales details manually, but most companies will want the process automated. And unless you're starting from scratch, or are prepared to throw out your current system, you'll want that automation to work with the accounting package you have now.

Hence the need for detailed assessment. There are dozens of options and packages out there, but only a few will suit your business.

Options

Basically, there are three ways to build your store:

• purchase software 'out of a box'

• use software provided by an ecommerce hosting company

• create your own system, writing the code necessary

Each has their pros and cons. Before investigating, you need to decide what your online store is to achieve, realistically. No one has an ideal system, and the usual advice is not to over-engineer. Allow for reasonable growth, but don't be over-optimistic. In particular, don't lock yourself into speculative systems with untried components. Technology moves on, and what you're forced to code now, at great expense, may shortly be available in a more 'out of the box' form.

Ecommerce Software Packages: Requirements

Thoughts will come when you study the systems listed on our resources page, or visit competitor's sites, but here is a short list of questions you need to ask of any proposed online store software:

1. Storefront appearance

   • professional-looking result?

   • suitable templates?

   • customizable?

   • displays sufficient products?

   • resulting store easy to navigate?

   • payment system intuitive and easy to use?

   • works with all browser?

2. Backend functions

   • proper records kept of

     • purchases?

     • customer details?

     • tax levels?

     • shipping information?

   • handles multiple currencies and tax levels?

   • records readily integrated

     • directly into current accounting / sales packages?

     • with software supplied?

     • via compatible databases?

   • customer emailed with sale confirmation and shipping details?

   • doesn't use cookies (some customers turn off the facility).

3. Ease of Build

   • uses wizards throughout?

   • resulting code can be easily 'tweaked'?

   • needs simple programming in Perl, Coldfusion or ASP?

   • uses a proprietary programming language?

   • suitable only for the advanced programmer?

4. Integration

• works with what payment gateway system?

5. Support

• software produced by large and reputable company?

• software has good customer base?

• adequate build instructions?

• online tutorials available?

• software user's club and help center?

Options: Out of the Box Software

All you need to build your store is provided by the package, often with payment gateway provided. Some are a breeze to work with; others can be troublesome. We have tried to indicate this element in our resources page, but much depends on your sitebuild experience and the time available for learning the programming required. Very largely, you get what you pay for: the better packages with extensive backend facilities are expensive, though not as expensive as a site that doesn't work properly. Remember also that a few hundred dollars saved on the purchase price will disappear if you need to call in a professional programmer.

We also compare out-of-the-box solutions in some detailed. Click here for shopping carts with relational databases, shopping carts without relational databases, and shopping carts with integrated accounting packages.

:Software Provided by the Hosting Company

Many attractive deals exist. Some throw in detailed statistics of your visitors and their movement through your store. Some will also include marketing. Remember, however, that:

• you must still assess the software provided to ensure it does the job properly: evaluate the alternatives.

• terms may be restrictive: adult or politically incorrect material is usually banned.

• you may have to include banners etc. advertising the hosting company: these can interfere with the image or integrity of your store.

• the hosting company gets their cut somewhere: the merchant account provided may not be the best going: shop around.

• modest hosting charges allow for only limited support: check their rates for anything else.

• The hosting company may have the right to delete credit card information from their server some time after you have supposedly retrieved it: check that they keep a backup copy for customer disputes later.

• You may be locked in: transferring to another system/hosting company/merchant account can be difficult, especially if there are long leases involved.

:Build Your Own System

By far the most expensive option, but provides great flexibility. In general, this is the larger company route, for corporations with deep pockets, teams of IT professionals and timescales of six months or more. Be cautious of web development companies that offer their 'own in-house ecommerce solution'. Unless that solution is very basic (when you'd be better off sticking with an 'out of the box' program) there is always the danger of time and budget overruns. And even if matters are firmly secured by the contract, you may still be landed with a system that only the originating company can maintain or extend. Our business website development page looks at this subject further.

Next Steps

These and other matters are explored in our ADVANCED GUIDE TO ECOMMERCE, which includes the Internet's largest listing and comparison of shopping cart software and services.

An overview . . .

• The Internet's most detailed guide to ecommerce: 210,000 words / 821 pages in pdf format.
• 160 reference sheets summarizing a particular aspect, with advice and resources as appropriate.
• Over 3,200 resource listings grouped under 260 headings: each hand-picked on its merits.
• Fourteen comparison tables in key product areas.
• A proven approach to planning ecommerce.
• Practical advice on improving sales and conversion ratios.
• An extended guide to pay-per-click and sponsored listings.
• Use of business blogs, advised and ill-advised.
• Practical security aspects: keeping yourself safe.
• Testing sites and ideas at negligible cost.
• Some 100 case studies, both general and dotcom failures.
• Notes on ecommerce strategies and use of the resource listings.
• Tutorials on AdSense, ePublishing, eBay, RSS feeds, commercial blogging, ecommerce for free, using widgets and using ppc effectively.
• Ten up-to-date surveys of ecommerce prospects worldwide.
• Insider information based on Internet research and our own studies.
• Strategies to test customer behaviour and improve sales.
• Comes as an interlinked webpage ebook (2 Mb), a sequential webpage compilation (2 Mb) and as a pdf document (9 Mb). The one purchase gives you all three documents, plus free updates every six months.

Click here for a full contents listing of the current edition.

Our $37.50 e-book comes with a 30-day, no-questions-asked guarantee. If not fully satisfied, then simply email us for a prompt and full refund. Material is continually being checked and extended, and purchase includes free updates.

The e-book comes as interlinked webpage compilation for ready reference (2Mb) a sequential webpage compilation (2 Mb) and as a PDF document (4Mb, 821 pages) for extended reading. The PDF document can be read on all platforms, but the webpage compilations can only be read on Windows platforms ( Windows 98x, Me, 2000, XP and Vista machines). Your one-time payment gives you all three documents, plus free updates.

Our January 2010 free update will include an extensive tutorial on collective intelligence.

Ordering is simple. Simply pay through your account or credit card on Paypal's secure order page for immediate downloading. (Click the 'Redirection to Site' button after payment processing for download instructions.)

 

 

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