Shopping for Kids

Posts Tagged ‘Homework’

If you’re launching an ecommerce site, you’re going to need a shopping cart. Even if you’ve owned an ecommerce site before, you may not be as thoroughly knowledgeable about shopping carts as you’d like to be, so spend a couple of minutes with this brief tutorial so that you can make an informed choice of software.

Not all shopping cart software is alike. Some of the features that exist on some software may not exist on others. Let’s look at the two main types, to start:

There is software that you purchase and install on your server, and there is hosted software. Which is right for you?

Software that you purchase outright is more vulnerable to hackers and scammers, who often look to target ecommerce sites. If you purchase this type of shopping cart software, be sure the security features are robust. Otherwise you are at risk of hackers stealing customers’ credit card numbers. This can be very damaging to your reputation and even cause you to incur fines.

If you do not have your own server, you need to verify that the owner of the server hosting your site will permit you to install shopping cart software. Some do not allow that. You may need to change servers or install your own. Do your homework.

You will need a payment gateway company, and the ability to display the approval message to the online customer.

Software that you purchase outright and install on a server gives you greater control but is also more problematic.

Hosted shopping cart software resides on an existing external server and works with your ecommerce site. You will need to upload your items, descriptions, photos, and other data. Here the risk is that you are relying on someone else to provide you with adequate security and with software that is not subject to frequent breakdown or outage. There are fewer set-up headaches, but there may be more hassles on an ongoing basis.

If you choose this type of shopping cart, be certain you are dealing with a reputable and experienced provider, not someone doing this from home as a sideline or post-retirement part-time gig. (Yes, such companies are out there.)

Whichever type of software you decide to go with, choose the company well, not only on the basis of features provided but on the reputation and experience of the company.