Picking Cart Software

[Orsenfelt]

So I've had it in my mind for a while to move to a more modern shopping cart solution.

Currently using Zen Cart and while it's served me OK, it's gotten messy and support is slowly dying off etc.

So I wish to move to something better. I've been doing a bit of research, but can't really make the final decision and would like the input of folks with experience.

Without being able to spend time with either in a fully working enviroment none seem to quite fulfill what I am after. The two below have caught my eye the most.. any input?

Magento seems the most comprehensive, however I've tried several times to get it installed in my local enviroment and it's just problem after problem. The file structure seems like an utter messy hell and I understand it takes alot of tweaking to get it running quickly? For me it seems a bit much, I think it's aimed more as a free alternative to Enterprise carts?

CS-Cart is great from what I see. Smooth, Quick, Clean with plenty of features. Templating seems easy enough. The downside is mods. I would ideally like to integrate a forum and a blog into my site, (Wordpress or MoveableType & IPB). There seems to be a complete lack of mods of pretty much any kind? I can't find any mention of people adding functionality.

Thanks,
Orsen

[smallman101]

I'e has experience with 'mals e-commerce' they seem great and i've never had a problem, you need a bit of technical know how to use it efficiently though

[Chunkford]

Have you seen this site - http://www.shopping-cart-reviews.com/ The reevoo of cart software :D

It's a good place to start and to get different view points from various businesses. What you need to be doing is making a short list of possible carts that best fits for your business processes now, and in the future (saleability). Take into account support particulars like time zones, forum activity for extra help and developer size for that reassurance.
Hope that helps

[mywarehouse]

If you fancy a complete change you could consider revamping your whole site in one the free Open Source CMF systems- Wordpress, Drupal and Joomla. You mentioned wanting to add a blog but with one of these you get everything.

I'm currently building a site from scratch for a new venture selling solar powered gadgets and I've chosen Drupal with the ecommerce module Ubercart. The whole area of Open Source Community software is fascinating and the support forums are excellent. And of course it's all free which is pretty cool too!

As this is my first build in Open Source, it may go horribly wrong of course! But I'd recommend researching this area to see if it's right for you.

[edmondscommerce]

suggest you take a look at Magento

if you are a windows user then you can try out the portable magento I have created which you can run directly from your windows machine.

Magento Portable (http://www.edmondscommerce.co.uk/blog/magento/magento-xampp-portable-demo-easily-try-out-magento-on-windows/)

note, you need to turn off skype before you try to start it. Once its running you can restart skype.

[matt.chatterley]

Have you considered going with a bespoke/commercial system - rather than building on top of one of the open source / downloadable carts?

Although it depends on a number of factors - not least of all the specific business requirements - as to what is most suitable.

You can check out our eCommerce system (http://www.mattchedit.com/services/ECommerce/ECommerce.aspx) here (large update pending, but the gist is still correct) - we also have a number of eCommerce articles (http://www.mattchedit.com/Articles/Articles.aspx?c=ecommerce) which might be of interest/of use!

[bluedreamer]

The first step when choosing a shopping cart system is to make a list of every feature you need, and also those the would be desirable but not essential. Without this you're pretty much shopping blind!

Make your list then go and find as many systems that match your requirements. Then try demos to see if the back end is logical and you understand it. Templates are sometimes a deal breaker so the look at the templating system to see if you can understand that.

You should now be able to whittle your list down to a 2 or 3 possible candidates.

[tomsk]

Well I am a fan of erol (http://www.erol.co.uk)

Nice easy user interface based on html and I think they have a 30 day free trail.

[Chunkford]

Well I am a fan of erol (http://www.erol.co.uk)

Nice easy user interface based on html and I think they have a 30 day free trail.

They are also very similar to Actinic in the way they work. Too similar......

[alanc]

They are also very similar to Actinic in the way they work. Too similar......
Now, now. That rumour has been well squashed, and you know that.

[tomsk]

Now, now. That rumour has been well squashed, and you know that.

To cryptic for me Alan?

[Alicatt]

Hi,
We have just implemented this site using cs-cart www.celebrationprint.co.uk (http://www.celebrationprint.co.uk)

We used an IT company to template and tweak it for our needs. We haven't (yet!) tried adding a blog or other functionality like you mention.

We did find it very easy to set up locally to test.

We looked at Magento but it seemed OTT for our needs and more expensive to implement.

Hope this helps

Alison

[alanc]

To cryptic for me Alan?
Sorry. There was a rumour raised on another e-commerce forum about the similarities between Actinic and Erol. The main comparisons where about similar features, but since they are doing the same job, that isn't surprising. The suggestions were firmly squashed by Actinic.

[Chunkford]

LOL, just realised who you are now!!!
Man it's a small world.

[alanc]

it's a small world.
Don't ...say...those...words :D

[tomsk]

Having used both actinic and erol - would have to say erol everytime

[RoseRover]

I too use EROL and am very happy with it. CSS based layouts so you can get it your site to look how you want and good UK based support too. A couple of my sites are in my signature if you want to take a look.

The Kettlewood furniture site was the first ever website that I had built and I'm still proud of it now even if I do know a lot more about building websites now!!

Rose

[tomsk]

Yes I found your site on their site of the month I think.

PS: your 3rd signature link is not working.

[RoseRover]

Thanks for the tip off - typo on my part on the link which I should have checked. Now all working :)

[alanc]

Having used both actinic and erol - would have to say erol everytime
Tomsk,

I'd be interested to know your reasons, and what version of each.

[tomsk]

Alan for me it was because erol is more html based, I had an actinic site but was a little rusty on it so 6 months ago downloaded a 30 day trail and found it to be not as customizable as erol.

As my skills do not lie in hard coding, erol lent itself to my html abilities.

[alanc]

I'm a V7 Actinic user and I found it very customisable, as their template are written in HTML. I know that the later versions have a more 'code-based' approach and caused a lot of confusion when first released, but I haven't tried it so can't comment.

[CS-Cart]

Orsen,

Thank you for your interest. We do understand that there is still a lack of third-party modules for CS-Cart. Our modular architecture (described at docs.cs-cart.com) was introduced in May, and we have yet to build a developer community. Please, feel free to PM me with your project details and I can consult you on implementation.

[GreenLaser]

not sure if tis been mentioned too much to read ! but have look at vpasp.com , just to confuse you even more :D

been using them for 6 years and very felexible , secure solution

[Davis Smith]

Hi,

OptimusBT’s procurement system is an easy to use, web based order requisitioning and management system, that aims to provide a centralized procurement portal for your organization, allowing for easier management of your organization’s procurement needs.

[MQ57]

Look at www.gocommerced.com (http://www.gocommerced.com) I think it can cope with most, if not all of what you want. :)