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Thread: How do I select Ecommerce platform

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    How do I select Ecommerce platform

    I think this might be interesting thread to start. Instead of asking what shopping cart to use, I suggest to actualy discuss what everybody think before selecting a particular ecommerce platform.
    What are the points that are important before you commit to using a particular shopping cart.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    San Diego, CA
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    These are my top 10

    #1 Can you contact the company and are they helpful?


    The ecommerce store software you use is only as good as the support and service that the company behind it provides. You might have found the greatest software in the world but if you get stuck and there is no one to help you it will be useless. Test out a companies support by placing a call, sending an email or trying out their live chat before you ever make a purchase. Do they get back to you in a reasonable amount of time and are they helpful? If not, look elsewhere.

    #2 Can you retrieve your data if you want to leave?

    Of course you want to choose the right solution the first time but sometimes you will need to change. Look for ecommerce store software that allows you to export your important data, ie items, customers, orders to a text file, this will ensure that you are not held hostage.

    #3 Are they a good solid company that will be around?

    Setting up a new store is no easy task. Look for a company that has a good track record and has been around a while. They should have current customers and be profitable. You do not want to be a new companies first test customer no matter how good the price is.

    #4 Is hosting done in your target country?

    If your ecommerce software is hosted halfway around the globe your load times will be slower and your hosting provider may not understand the subtleties of your specific country. If its not possible to stay within your own country, choose a country very nearby.

    #5 Can you choose your own credit card processor?

    Some shopping carts make extra money by requiring you to signup for credit card processing with a specific merchant account and this will be the only account that they support. It is in your best interest to be able to shop around for the absolute best rate to save yourself money so make sure that they support multiple payment gateways.

    #6 Are the pages search engine friendly?

    If search engines can't find or read your pages then you won't get many visitors and your business will fail. Getting visitors is one of the most difficult tasks for new ecommerce stores. Make this as easy as possible on yourself by choosing software that automatically helps you make search engine friendly pages.

    #7 Can you use your own domain name?

    [url http://www.yourstore.com url] is more desirable and more portable then [url http://mystore.ecommercestore.com url]. Search engines also look more highly upon a professional domain name versus a subdomain. Remember if you can only use a subdomain you will lose all of your visitors and incoming links if you ever leave that shopping cart. This can be catastrophic.

    #8 Is the cart PCI compliant?

    PCI compliance is a mandatory set of rules and security requirements set forth by Visa and Mastercard. All merchants accepting credit cards must be in compliance. If your cart is not compliant you risk large fines and other punishments from the credit card companies.

    #9 Do they charge only a flat fee?

    You will work hard for your ecommerce store earnings. Don't signup with a company that takes a percentage of all of your sales. If sales skyrocket you could be in for some very hefty fees.

    #10 Does it include the features important to your business?

    Next decide what are your must have features. The 9 items above will find you good solid ecommerce store software, all thats left is to ensure that it has the specific functionality you need. For instance if you sell electronic software, can the customer automatically download it? If you sell customizable items can the customer enter in their customization choices? If you sell limited edition items can you stop selling when the item is out of stock?
    Last edited by The Old Sarge; 02-10-2012 at 01:28 PM.
    Ecommerce-Hosting-Guru.com
    Shopping Cart Reviews

  3. #3
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    San Diego, CA
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    #1 Can you contact the company and are they helpful?

    #2 Can you retrieve your data if you want to leave?

    #3 Are they a good solid company that will be around?

    #4 Is hosting done in your target country?

    #5 Can you choose your own credit card processor?

    #6 Are the pages search engine friendly?

    #7 Can you use your own domain name?

    #8 Is the cart PCI compliant?

    #9 Do they charge only a flat fee?

    #10 Does it include the features important to your business?
    Ecommerce-Hosting-Guru.com
    Shopping Cart Reviews

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
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    IMO, first you should decide if you need a free shopping cart or are ready to pay money for it. Then, you should think about its hosting way - do you prefer a hosted solution or a standalone script.

  5. #5
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    I always like to look at their support, uptime and usability. They can have all of the features in the world but if they don't support you or keep your site up it doesn't matter.
    Ecommerce-Hosting-Guru.com
    Shopping Cart Reviews

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    Support for the project is very important. But in case of open source community projects there is a support available from different sources.
    Any other comments or ideas? What would you make anyone decide to chose one shopping cart over the other?

  7. #7
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    Oct 2011
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    USA
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    Here's the most important thing, based on my many decades in the business: Chose the providers in the proper order: First, merchant account provider Secondly, gateway provider. Thirdly, shopping cart provider. If you don't put the cart before the horse, you'll run into fewer compatibility heartaches.

    Also, to answer which solutions(s) are best for you:
    The answer is: That depends on YOUR unique circumstances such as location, credit, volume, product type etc. The biggest mistake merchants make is being tempted by 'one-size-fits-all" solutions of which there is no such thing.
    Automated Merchant Solutions, Inc.
    Ecommerce Payment Solutions
    Barry Godofsky
    amspcs@juno.com
    www.MerchantServices-help.com

  8. #8
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    Nov 2010
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    How about great flexibility of the core architecture that will allow ecommerce expandability? This will allow creation of extensions to provide most functionality and cover all aspects.

  9. #9
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    Dec 2011
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    yes, you are right as this is a very interesting topic to start. According to my requirement I need a cart, I can use to get product from different store at discounted price and i would like to suggest a platform where you can get this cart. Goo2o technologies pvt. ltd. is providing a platform where you can use a single cart to get your product from different goo2o store.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    12

    E-commerce Platform...

    If I may suggest Zen-Cart an open-source PHP complete e-commerce store and shoping cart. You can easily change the theme and colors there are plenty of templates to download free and even more very nice ones for just a little $. All you need is hosting with PHP an SSL cert and in a few hours and your an e-commerce store...
    Join the e-commerce business world today! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain in profits just waiting for you on the internet right now!

  11. #11
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    Nov 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by BizBookSite View Post
    If I may suggest Zen-Cart an open-source PHP complete e-commerce store and shoping cart. You can easily change the theme and colors there are plenty of templates to download free and even more very nice ones for just a little $. All you need is hosting with PHP an SSL cert and in a few hours and your an e-commerce store...
    This thread not about suggestion for particular shopping cart application.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    28
    Just do a lot of research and ask the companies as many questions as possible to see if it is the right fit.

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    USA
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    Here is another short list of questions to ask your ecommerce platform provider

    How does the ecommerce platform work?

    How comprehensive is this ecommerce package? Does it offer Order and Inventory management? Does it offer CRM?

    Is your solution a licensed software or SaaS solution?

    What are the website hosting requirements for your licensed software?

    How are upgrades handled? How often? Is there a fee involved?

    Are you PCI-DSS compliant?

    How do you scale on-demand for seasonal traffic?

    Do you offer additional services like design, site migration, marketing, consulting, etc.?

    What training and support do you offer? How often?

    What are the recurring and one-time fees?

    link removed
    Last edited by The Old Sarge; 02-10-2012 at 01:29 PM. Reason: Please use the signature feature for promotional links.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    105
    You may have a look at this article How to choose online business software

    And particularly I would like to highlight the importance of shopping cart community. When you take a decision about ecommerce platform, check up how active is community forum. Some shopping cart platforms have excellent community and you are likely to get necessary help from community forum for free.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    BocaRaton, FL
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    Well... It depends on the scale of your site, but the flexibility to expand on the platform. Also, can you move the entire site to a different hosting provider if you want in the future.

    I get calls from businesses that are not happy with their hosting provider, but their ecommerce site is tied to the hosting provider and if they want to host somewhere else, they would have to recreate their Ecommerce web site from scratch.
    Last edited by The Old Sarge; 02-10-2012 at 01:30 PM.

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