Help choosing cart

Hi, I am new to these forums having only just found them so a big Hello from me!!

The questions I have is probably a simple one once you know the answer but is puzzling the hell out of me!!

I have built a few websites in the past using Dreamweaver and everything runs fine. I am now looking to build a new website that includes a shopping cart of some kind. I have not started building the site as yet as I want to wait until I can find a shopping cart that I can use.

Now I find the shopping cart area is a minefield with all the free software vs the pay software. I would prefer something that is free as I have a very small budget that will be going on stock. I would also prefer something that I can understand so I can add or take away from my site easily. I have looked at PHP and SQL but always found it hard to test on my windows set up.

I have downloaded zen cart but it says you need a test server - how can I test it if I have not yet purchased web space etc!!

Anyway, if anybody can point me in the right direction then that would be great as I am looking forward to getting started.

Cheers all. :)

Welcome to the forum!

If you want to test php and mysql on your Windows machine check out xampp lite for Windows. It is a very quick installation that is easy to turn on and turn off. I like the lite version better than the full version because its simple to install, uninstall, start, and quit. You really only want the testing environment to be running when you are working.

http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html#646

If you have any questions about xampp let me know. As for what cart you go with, you will receive plenty of responses by everyone in this forum. Also search through the forum to view similar questions and responses.

Hi TipPro,

Thanks for the reply.

I have downloaded xampp lite and followed the instructions to install it. ?The problem I have when I try to run it is that it displays the message 'nothing to do...' press any key to continue. When I press any key the screen disappears and when I try to run it using start I get nothing - any clues as to what I am doing wrong??

Also is it best learn php and sql to make a shopping cart? I am really not too sure where to start as to how goods are set up etc? Do you use spreadsheets to list products and then link them??

I have to admit that there are so many people recommending so many differnt ways to make and use a cart that it is really confusing.

Sorry to be a pain but it is always a nightmare starting something new.

Thanks, :o

hmmm... not sure why you are receiving that message I suspect you may be running some type of xampp tool instead of starting the server. How are you starting xampp?

It is good to play around with php and mysql, but if your not an experienced programmer you probably shouldn't start by building your own shopping cart. If you really want to build your eCommerce Web site from scratch maybe build a basic Web site w/ php and mysql and collect payment using paypal (this way you do not have to worry about storing customer accounts and security yet). After you get this Web site up and running then keep adding additional functionality such as user accounts and a shopping cart.

You may find it much easier though using a prebuilt shopping cart such as osCommerce, Zen Cart, Miva Merchant, etc... You can build a pretty nice eCommerce Web site using one of these shopping carts with out knowing any programming.

You might consider getting a hosting company to help you host your cart. You can get them for usually around $10 a month. Usually this is a lot cheaper in the long run than trying to set up a server at home if you are unfamiliar with the set-up.

Hi Scannerman :^)

My company has developed shopping cart software called WebShopz that is very easy to use and a free 30-day trial is available. The trial is hosted on our server and has web based administration so you would not need to install anything or have a hosting account already set-up. To try it out all you need to do is complete the form located at http://www.webdzinz.com/WebDzinz_Pro...zfreetrial.cfm

If you have any other questions related to e-commerce feel free to send me a message.

I agree with Corey; hosting is so cheap these days, you can set up a test site online and install both Zen Cart and osCommerce there.

osCommerce customization can be a tedious and hair-raising task for creative types, but there is a free contribution, Simple Template System (STS) that will enable you to customize the look of your osC site using Dreamweaver and such.

Zen Cart may be easier, especially if you're comfortable working with CSS, but it's not as easily enhanced, feature-wise, beyond the stock install due to lack of third-party add-ons (or "contributions"). That said, it may have everything you need.

If you don't plan on selling many products, a php/database-driven website may be overkill for your needs -- especially if you prefer to design sites in Dreamweaver, GoLive, or some other WYSIWYG method. We've used Mals-e.com for 7 years as a bolt-on e-commerce solution for static html client websites and it's a wonderfully elegant and full-featured shopping cart -- especially if you simply want to retrofit an existing site with the ability to sell online. Mals-e is extremely inexpensive, the support is friendly and you don't even need to purchase an SSL because the cart is hosted on secure servers (you simply add cart buttons to your existing site that push transactions over to Mals-e); you've still got to have your own merchant or PayPal account to process transactions.

You might also see the "osCommerce or Zen Cart" thread here.

Scott

It almost is never a good idea to host your own Web server at home for your public Web site.

I believe it is a good idea to set up a testing environment on your home computer to develop your Web site. It is a great learning experience setting up your testing environment and it speeds up development by not having to upload every change you want to test.

How do you set up your own web server at home?

I am running windows xp home edition by the way if this makes any difference??