Best eCommerce Platform & Actinic

[atmmultimedia]

Hello everyone,

I've been asked to create an ecommerce website for a client. The client has over 500 products to sell.

I am wondering which is the best platform on the market.

I've dabbled in Open Cart, which looks very nice. But here are the main key areas that are important to me.

1 - Must be simple to use.
2 - Must support multiple credit card systems,
3 - Must be easy to look professional and attractive
4 - Must have good security features.
5 - Must be easy to modify in HTML, CSS and PHP.

I don't mind paying for a good piece of software as this is going to be a long term model.

I've heard a lot about Actinic. I understand that has a monthly fee. If anyone has any feedback on Actinic as a long term model that would be great.

Thanks

 

[Optegris]

You may well wish to take a look at our system which satisfies all those points:

www.openmindcommerce.co.uk

Unlike Actinic, it can be administered from any computer with a browser without additional licenses...

 

[ICEY]

Take a look at Bluepark - one of the best ecommerce providers out there right now in my humble opinion with a whole host of built in/included features.

 

[janice171]

I would recommend Magento or PrestaShop both of which are standards compliant and come with lots of features with a design that's easy to configure to your own...if you have some html/css knowledge that is.

 

[mikeyred]

Got to be Bluepark for me, you can customise to your hearts content or just make use of all its in house features but most importantly - support - second to none from Bluepark and the forum full of experienced users and I might say happy bunnies with the software.....
.......aahh come on..... it is Easter.... okay, I'm sorry! :redface:

 

[edmondscommerce]

I'm definitely a Magento fan - got to recommend it

 

[oowhiteoo]

How do you Edit the look styal of openmindcommerce Iv set up the 30day free trial as im looking for some good Ecommerce softwear,

It all look good Admin side but how do i edit the Look of the site?

 

[webhostuk]

I will also suggest you to go for Magento.

 

[Optegris]

How do you Edit the look styal of openmindcommerce Iv set up the 30day free trial as im looking for some good Ecommerce softwear,

It all look good Admin side but how do i edit the Look of the site?

Well for the trial you do only get access to the default skin plus tha admin area. The skin files cannot be edited directly.

However, if you drop me a ticket through the helpdesk with your trial store name, I'd be happy to give you FTP access to the skins so you can make some changes

https://www.openmindcommerce.co.uk/support/

 

[oowhiteoo]

Well for the trial you do only get access to the default skin plus tha admin area. The skin files cannot be edited directly.

However, if you drop me a ticket through the helpdesk with your trial store name, I'd be happy to give you FTP access to the skins so you can make some changes

Sent you a ticket, I just dont want to buy then be forced to use your design team, would really help if i could see templets first

 

[Optegris]

No need to use us if you don't want to

As long as you skills in HTML and CSS you would be able to create a good looking skin quite easily...

I've sent the FTP details over for you now.

 

[snakeeyes121]

I would recommend cs-cart.
www.cs-cart.com

Here's the demo if you want a poke around
demo.cs-cart.com
demo.cs-cart.com/admin.php

A lifetime licence is £145 from martfox.co.uk/ which is cheaper than direct from cs-cart.

You can download a full 60 day trial from here cs-cart.com/trial.html Host it locally or on the web to have a play with it.

When I tried it I was impressed with how easy it was to use.

 

[Deleted member 61074]

I've heard a lot about Actinic. I understand that has a monthly fee. If anyone has any feedback on Actinic as a long term model that would be great.

I'll be the first to actually answer your question.

There are several different versions of Acinic, the monthly fee version - administered from a browser is called Actinic Express. Whilst it works and is very functional, the design themes are total rubbish - IMO.

Then there is Catalog/Business and other flavours - all are administered from a desktop and then uploaded to the web.

I've used Actinic for 10 years, bits of it are great, other bits are pants. I used to only develop in Actinic as up to a couple of years ago it was pretty well the best there was. However nowaday they have serious competition.

You need to look at the features you want before committing to any cart.

BTW there is no upgrade route from express to catalog/business so dont go down the route of choosing it because its a low cost monthly fee with a view to upgrading.

 

[Page]

There is not a best platform - just as there is not a best car or best tent or best pen - it all depends and you are not giving us nearly enough information.

How much are they expecting to sell and at what profit.

Are they going to have skills in house to develop it or is that all out of house.

What sort of budget do they have.

What is the long term expectation and so what are they planning for.

etc etc.

Decisions can then be made for example Quick and Dirty or Structured and long term OR runs on cheap shared hosting or needs pricey dedicated etc etc.

I have to say it seems bizarre that you are asking the question if you are being taken on to do a job for a client since that is the knowledge that you should be bringing to the table. For your own store and a bit new to it all yes I could understand.

Good luck

 

[smo]

Unless actinic has changed a lot in recent years it is very inflexible and not great for anything creative or different.

Personally i use cubecart and have done for several years, its php, css & html based so is easy to modify and the new versions are even better, we have heavily customised ours and there are loads of add-ons and mods written for it.

I wouldnt recommend you go for anything that combines hosting with software, you are ultimately tied to both then, and if you wish to change one or other then you have to change both. Monthly fees generally spell bad news too.

 

[alanc]

I've used Actinic for over four years now. I found it excellent as a startup and it has worked without a problem for all of that time. I found it fairly eeast to customise the design, and the system they used has moved on further. Common opinion on Actinic is that it lacks front-end features these days, but has excellent back-office capability. If you use the Actinic Payments system, it integrates directly into their desktop app.

You can download a free 30-day trial from their website.

 

[quikshop]

Unless actinic has changed a lot in recent years it is very inflexible and not great for anything creative or different.

I've used Actinic since version 5, currently working with a modified version 8 for a high volume business. Works exceptionally well but as mentioned earlier, choose their desktop software versions.

Its not perfect though, so identify the functionality you need first.

I wouldnt recommend you go for anything that combines hosting with software, you are ultimately tied to both then, and if you wish to change one or other then you have to change both. Monthly fees generally spell bad news too.

A hosted (subscription-based) service is ideal as a low-risk entry level product for selling on-line. It removes all the technical worries and leaves you with more time to actually run your business.

Its best viewed as similar to renting office space, you do not own the building or in this case the software, but instead you rent the use of it for as long as you want to.

Most hosted Ecommerce services like ours do not tie you into any contract so you can move elsewhere at any time to a new hosted service or onto a standalone custom built or open source product.

 

[solopa]

try aspdotnetstorefront. great system has everything you'll need

 

[soundbite]

As mentioned earlier Bluepark is the best solution I have come across. This is based on features, reliability and support. Bluepark has never let me down and keeps getting better. Their support is also free.

I used Actinic for 2 years and Bluepark is a much better system and costs less. I had so many technical issues with Actinic. Actinics support costs alone (approx £45/month) were more expensive than the whole Bluepark system (approx £39.99/month). You have to also factor in external costs with another software company because Actinic is so basic. Actinic didn't even have accurate stock control.

 

[benjamin_c]

try http://www.tigercommerce.co.uk
they seem good

 

[jamesparker100]

Actinic is nice Desktop based software which provides E commerce resource and account management. Nice software to have ! now you have to think what are your requirements either desktop based or web based solution you are required

Regards

 

[fhm]

atmmultimedia, happy to help you out here. Check out our product Zingiri Web Shop. It'll cover most of the functions out of the box and we can add the rest as a custom development.

 

[shadowlu]

You should first clearly know the target market of your client, then to choose the right website.

If you have any interest, you can take a look at the web below.