Quick Tip:
Though our first cart recommendation is an excellent cart, if you will have hundreds of items we recommend using a cart that is database driven and is easily portable.
If for any reason you find that you are not happy with your hosting company selection, it is always a good idea to not be locked down because of proprietary services. Using a full featured shopping cart like osCommerce that can be easily moved from one web site hosting provider to another is a good idea.
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Use our interactive checklist to order everything you need. OurShop Now will step you through the complete process. Use our recommendations or enter your own service providers.
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E-commerce Resources: Shopping Cart Recommendations
We have received a number of request to provide a forum for public recommendations and/or comments on various popular shopping carts.
If you are looking for general information on domain names, web hosts, or merchant accounts please use the navigation bar at the top of this page. For information on how merchant accounts work with your shopping cart go to our merchant resource pages.
For Online shopping cart design tips click here.
OurShop.org Shopping Cart Recommendations area is designed for use by the general public as a review of specific shopping cart applications that we have found to be supperior for the features most commonly used by online merchants. The carts listed below are our favorites.
For more shopping cart recommendations you can click here.
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Shopping Cart Name:
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AppieShop
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| Demo URL: | http://www.ourshop.org/appieshop/index.cgi
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Cart Highlights:
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Simplicity / Customizability / Features
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Cart Price Range:
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Included in hosting packages with various web hosts
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| Description:
AppieShop is perfect for merchants wanting to get their shopping carts going right away. Though the demo products in our demo store came pre-installed, we uploaded the logo and changed the color scheme and various site text in minutes. Within a few more minutes we could have had our own products (if we had any) loaded up and available to the public.
This cart is available with many of our recommended hosts and usually comes allowing various number of products depending on the hosting package (100, 250, 500, 1000). Whether you are a technical person or not this cart will handle most product needs.
Looks great / Easy to set up and use / Integrates with a number of payment gateways (including authorize.net)
AppieShop is available with some of our hosting recommendations. Check the feature lists at web site hosting companies (recommendations).
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Shopping Cart Name:
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osCommerce
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| Demo URL: | http://www.ourshop.org/oscommerce/catalog/
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Cart Highlights:
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Full of Features and available modules
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Cart Price Range:
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Opensource - no cost (yes, that *is* $0)
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| Description:
osCommerce is a full featured shopping cart and though some hosting companies include installation (including many of our hosting recommenations), customizing this store can take a bit more technical knowledge. osCommerce is one of the most full featured and configurable shopping carts available, but if you aren't comfortable with modifying files you may want to hire someone to set this up for you.
One of the main benefits of osCommerce is that it uses an indexed database and can handle a large number of products (10's of thousands). If your hosting company doesn't install osCommerce you may still be able to install it yourself or have someone install it for you. There are a large number of available add-on modules and many more in developement. Make sure your hosting option includes MySql (which may cost extra).
Do not let the price fool you. osCommerce is one case where you get much more than what you pay for. osCommerce would be hard to compete with even if it cost as much as the most expensive commercial shopping carts.
Full Featured / Can handle a large number of products / Takes more technical skill
Many of our recommended hosts support and include installation of osCommerce. Check the feature lists. Any web host that includes MySql should also satisfy the requirments for osCommerce installation. For our hosting recommendations click here.
Installation of osCommerce is included with many of our hosting package recommedations at web site hosting companies.
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Need help with your osCommerce installation? SupportFreaks.com can handle the job.
PC problems? Need custom design work for your web site? Try SupportFreaks.com. Many questions qualify for free support!
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