How To Find The Best Shopping Cart Software For Your Online Store
Shopping cart software is an important part of an ecommerce website. Its role is somewhat akin to that of goalkeepers in soccer. They do not score goals, but they determine whether the team wins or loses. Similarly, a good shopping cart may not bring huge quantities of traffic to the website, but it is such an essential part of ecommerce website design that it determines whether the visitor ends up purchasing or not.
Suffice to say that buying the right shopping cart software determines the success of an ecommerce website. Even the people who are internet savvy would be able to understand the importance of a shopping cart in an online store builder package. Yet, even the internet-savvy people find it hard to choose the right shopping cart software.
Mentioned below are some tips to find the right shopping cart application.
Right budget
Different types of shopping cart software tools are available. A quick search on the internet would lead you to a number of websites that offer various ecommerce software packages. Prices range from a few hundreds to a few thousands of dollars. Even free downloadable applications are available. Care must be taken when selecting any ecommerce solution.
The consensus in the ecommerce community is that free applications are too unreliable. You never know what is going to happen. As with other software tools, if you want quality, you should be ready to shell out a few bucks.
Similarly, there is no point in spending too much. It depends on the nature of the website and the budget of the buyer.
Type of application
Basically, there are two types of shopping cart ecommerce software: Hosted ecommerce solution and licensed software. In the case of latter, a user needs to download software tool and install it on the server. In the case of hosted applications, no downloading is necessary. The software functions from another server.
Which one is better – hosted or licensed? Each has its own advantage. If you are already using a really fast server, licensed package would be better. If you are planning to start a new website and are using a slow server, switching to the hosted online store software would be better.
Some companies that offer shopping cart and other ecommerce website application tools offer hosting facility too. If your present hosting company is not doing an incredibly good job, it is worth considering a switch to the new hosting facility.
Features
A typical php shopping cart has two functional parts: front end and back end. Shopping cart design determines effectiveness of front end. It should have an easy-to-the-eye and user-friendly design. Ideally, it should have a harmony with the overall online storefront design.
The back end is where all the processes take place. It should have a number of features, including the following:
• Database management
• Facility for user registration and generating coupon codes
• Integrating and managing shipping information
• Tracking affiliate marketing
• Secure payment system
• Report producing facility.
Security compliance
A reliable shopping cart software package should have compliance with the security norms offered by financial and money-transferring companies. The most widely used standards are PCI norms or Payment Card Industry data security norms. Ensure that the cart software is PCI compliant.
Pinnacle Cart provides outstanding Shopping cart software and the perfect Hosted ecommerce solution for your online store business.
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