Posted on: 03 December, 2001
Author: Merle
If you sell more than a handful of products on your ... need to add what's known as a shopping cart. This is a function that allows your ... to pick out the items theywant and send th If you sell more than a handful of products on your website,you'll need to add what's known as a shopping cart. This is a function that allows your customers to pick out the items theywant and send them to a "cart," which holds onto them untilthey're ready to check out. The program then totals the orderand adds any applicable taxes and shipping charges.So how do you add a shopping cart to your site? There arethree different options you can choose from.1) Link out to a third-party service (hosted)2) Buy your own software and do it yourself3) Download a script and configure it to your needsLet's examine each option separately and the pros and consinvolved with each:THIRD PARTY/HOSTED CARTSThird party cart services are easy to set up; you can be runningin a matter of hours. They require no software tobuy or install, but usually charge a monthly fee. Most include a secured server and a merchant account option, if you don't have your own. This is a relatively inexpensivesolution for small businesses.1) VCart.com: http://www.vcart.comFree to try for 30 days then you pay 90.00 for 3 months,150.00 for 6 months or 1 year for 249.00. Supports1 to 10,000 products- No CGI to configure and you canuse your existing merchant account.2) FreeMerchant: http://www.FreeMerchant.comPrices range from 19.99 to 40.00 per month with a 30 day free trial. Build your store using their webbased interface.3) Yahoo Store: http://store.yahoo.comYou can't go wrong with Yahoo's expert reputation.Easy to build your store on their servers using a point and click interface. You can even upload your own images.Cost for up to 100 items is only 100.00 a month.You can also use your existing merchant account or apply for one through them.4) Marketers Choice: http://gta-tech.comBelieve it or not, this one is free. Supplied byMarketers Choice, this cart calculates totals,taxes, shipping charges and notifies you of neworders automatically. Follow the wizard for easyset up. You need your own merchant account but theysupply the secured server. So what's the catch?they try to get you to upgrade to their 150.00 ayear package, which is an option. If you continueto use the free one the only trade off is they willdisplay business related ads on all of your cartpages.SCRIPTSIf you're at all good at programming with CGI, thereare limitless scripts you can download for free or low cost. If you're all thumbs you could hire someoneto configure the script for you. One of the best onlineprogrammers I know of is David Black. He's fast, reliableand his prices are fair. You can contact him at mailto:[email protected]) CGI EXTREMES: http://www.cgiextremes.com/Scripts/Shopping_Carts/You'll find a variety of CGI shopping scripts here rangingfrom free up to 300.00 in price. They'll work on a variety of platforms. Each one is rated on a scaleof 1 to 10 for guidance in selection.2) CGI Resource Index: http://cgi-resources.comTo find the goodies here you'll need to drill down to the appropriate category. Click on programs and scripts,then Perl, then shopping carts.3) PERLSHOP: http://www.arpanet.com/PerlShop/perlshop.htmlThis CGI script is for sites hosted on a Unix system.It is free to use with their logo on the pages.4) PAY PAL SHOPPING CART http://www.cstafford.com/ppalstore.shtmlCheck out this free CGI Shopping cart script that passesall of your credit card sales over to PayPal for easyprocessing.SOFTWARE1) SALES CART: http://www.salescart.com/Specifically for FrontPage users. Cost is 179.00.Easy to set up using their step by step wizard.2) PDG SHOPPING CART http://www.pdgsoft.com/cart.htmCompletely customizable to fit your needs. Integrateseasily with FrontPage software or Dreamweaver. You canalso use this cart to set up your own associate program.Works on Unix, NT servers and others. It is a littlepricey at 750.00, but worth it for the features you get.3) Your E-Ware: http://www.youreware.com/home/Fast and easy to use, with a low price that gives thissoftware an edge. It will hold up to 2,500 products inup to 20 product categories. Works on Win 95.98 and Mac.Download the free demo and take it for a spin. Final cost is under 100.00There you have some of the various options to choose fromwhen setting up your online storefront. Before jumpinginto the e-commerce waters, make sure you weigh youroptions and choose the one that best fits your needsand your budget. Article Tags: Make Sure, Shopping Cart, Merchant Account Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com