Having shopping cart software to apply to you website business is usually neccessary if you produce a product yourself or are re-selling. Shopping Carts allow the buyer to purchase multiple products online and then "check out" to finalize the order.
Some companies like Yahoo and many others will host your site and have a built in cart on their server to handle your orders. This may seem easier in the beginning, and it may be all that some people may need.
The negative with this is that these companies will charge an ongoing monthly fee for your shopping cart.
Getting your own shopping cart software program allows you greater flexibility, most of the time. Be careful buying software from a store. It is very important for most beginners to get live support from a company. If you anticipate having multiple web sites, you should ask about the cart's ability to add more than one merchant.
This is usually not a problem for the software. Keep in mind, you will need a Merchant Account to actually process your credit card order.
Shopping Cart software will capture the customer information, a secure processor will authenticate the charge, and the money is then deposited into your bank account by your Merchant Bank. Sounds comnfusing? Not at all. Once you set up any one of these, they will help you set up everything.
Web Commerce Blog - Free forum for Internet commerce
ECommerce
Ecommerce is simply the ability to generate money or run a business on the internet by charging a customer using their credit card or other debit form.
Another item to consider is getting a
Credit card Machine, in fact we recommend it. It is a good back up, in case your online processing is down (it happens). A customer can call you up, or if you have some walk-in business, you can use the credit card machine to get the order.
They are prety cheap now. Don't lease it. Own it. You can get real good machines for under $200, and you will own it. You can even have a separate merchant account for it. Online merchant banks normally charge more per transaction (because of the Ecommerce risk, fraud etc.), so you will probably get a better rate for any walk-in business.
Try to stay away from anything that says "free shopping cart". Most likey it is not really free, and as stated earlier, you will want and need the support and funtionality more than a free offer. Monthly fees aren't all that much, and some carts are a one time fee. Your business and reputation are too important. Shop around yes, but don't search for free deals. There are no non-profit companies that produce shopping cart software, they all make money somewhere.
Software Cart companies to visit
Many of these ecommerce companies will take you from start to finish.
Nexternal Solutions -
Nexternal Solutions provides innovative web-based e-commerce software to companies that sell
products online.
Recommended Software and books:
E-store Builder
- As more and more businesses go online, the demand for powerful e-commerce software increases. eSTOREBUILDER 5.0 provides a cost effective solution. Setting up an online eStore has never been easier. A few quick steps, such as entering store information and choosing a template, are all that is required to have an eStore viewable online in a mater of minutes. Adding products and receiving reports can be done with a few clicks of the mouse. Updates are instantaneous and can be done from any location. We will host the eStore FREE of charge. We also offer excellent integration options for existing websites if the storeowner wants to continue using their existing web host.
The Official Miva Web-Scripting Book: Shopping Carts, Feedback Forms, Guestbooks, and More - Miva Script is a Web application tool that allows developers to create complex Web applications with little or no programming experience. It provides the power of CGI, with easy programming comparable to HTML. There is no easier way to build sophisticated cross-platform server side applications. This book explains how.
With the information in The Official Miva Web-Scripting Book, readers will discover the elements of Miva Script along with examples of how each tag and function is used in different circumstances. The reference section of the book contains descriptions of all Miva Script tags and system functions.
Constructing Usable Shopping Carts - Creating a usable e-commerce application is a daunting challenge. There is so much to do, from the initial concept, through to designing and coding the application. This leaves a lot of scope for things to go wrong.
In Constructing Usable Shopping Carts, we take all the hassle out of online shopping applications, by showing you how to plan your application, design the user interface and data store, and code the entire thing. But it doesn't stop there &emdash; we provide the full code for two complete shopping cart applications, customizable for your own needs.
