Ecommerce software

[Igalol]

I'm searching for a good ecommerce software for my website.
I read about prestashop , shopify , virtuemart , oscommerce, magento and some more and i didn't like anything!
Or it's too expensive , or the add-ons are too expensive , or the security is bad , or the hosting very small , or the platform isn't good enough!
Please recommend me on a good Ecommerce software that has a good security with a reasonable extensions price and without the crappy hosting that they offer, i want to host my website on own hosting company.

 

[Alan]

You can host all of the above (except shopify) you mention on your own host.

You missed out OpenCart (probably the best) , ZenCart, and of course about a zillion Wordpress e-commerce plugins (but if you dont like any on your first list, I doubt if any WP plugin will meet your requirements)

 

[threenine]

You are never going to find "THE PERFECT" ecommerce package, unless you develop bespoke package for your sole purpose. The fact is that they will all have flaws in. It is the nature of how these things are developed.

You cannot have thousands of people working on different work streams independently then try and get them to come together as one cohesive unit, the nature of open source.

The only thing you can do is try to understand what some of the weaknesses and risks are with whichever product you have chosen, and work to try and mitigate those risks as much as possible.

The point about plugins being expensive etc, well basically you get what you pay for. These developers need to make a living, they can't all give there time for your benefit.

The risks of developing your own bespoke package are greater, as you will have to learn what the developers of the other packages have already learned and improved on.

Personally I would say the choice is between 3 WPEC, ZenCart or Magento. They all have strengths and weaknesses and there is a rich developer community out there to support them. In most cases I choose magento. but I've used the others on different solutions. Invariably depending of the success of your site, you tend to go down the bespoke model eventually, but that generally has more to do with your business processes etc as you move forward.

Your website, is an ever changing project and you'll find you'll go through several iterations over it's life span.

 

[WolfStores]

Hi There,

I agree with threenine's analysis but personally I would recommend Prestashop. Prestashop is an open source platform - free of charge and the cost of their addons is very reasonable. Of course depending on the functionality that you are looking for you may not need any addons at all if the 'standard' version which is completely free is suitable for your needs.

Regarding 'good security' you may also wish to look into using SSL on your site but this would again cost you extra irrespective of which ecommerce platform you choose.

Hope this helps

Best Regards,

Tim

 

[threenine]

I haven't used Presta so can't offer a rounded opinion on it. I am sure it would deliver what wolf stores says.

The point here is that your business needs to be the master of its technology not the slave. Your technology option should be dictated by the skills and services you have available and at your disposal.

You should evaluate the size of the community contributing and using the platform. How frequent new versions of the platform is released.

In my opinion , based on the results of my own research and analysis, is the price of plugins is irrespective of the platform but rather on the competition based on the platform.

On Wordpress for instance there are over 70 odd google site map plugins available ranging from free to £250, all have relative ratings, varying degrees of quality, functionality. Which one is the best to use? The answer is I really don't know, I for one have tried most with varying degrees of satisfaction , and experienced various levels of support.

At the end of the day, it's your business and your choice and you have to assess your resources and capabilities , and choose the technology appropriate

 

[Tin]

Hi

I'm working for a client who uses Bluepark eCommerce software, it's the first time I've been involved with Bluepark and I've been neck deep in the software for a while, personally, I rate it highly, the support is excellent, the prices are very good and it does come with a shed load of really useful features pre-built in.

Just my 2c

Ray

 

[Cart2Cart]

I read about prestashop , shopify , virtuemart , oscommerce, magento and some more and i didn't like anything![/B]

You didn't listed OpenCart among carts you had studied before. So I can tell you it can be rather good alternative for you, as you are looking for simplicity, security and low price at the same time.
A huge number of free templates is available here and you can use a handy tool to migrate your current shop theme to OpenCart . This platform is SEO-optimized and secure.
If not, take a look at Cs-Cart and Volusion. They also deserve attention, and can make a strong competition to each other.

 

[ScottishSte]

I haven't used Presta so can't offer a rounded opinion on it. I am sure it would deliver what wolf stores says.

The point here is that your business needs to be the master of its technology not the slave. Your technology option should be dictated by the skills and services you have available and at your disposal.

You should evaluate the size of the community contributing and using the platform. How frequent new versions of the platform is released.

In my opinion , based on the results of my own research and analysis, is the price of plugins is irrespective of the platform but rather on the competition based on the platform.

On Wordpress for instance there are over 70 odd google site map plugins available ranging from free to £250, all have relative ratings, varying degrees of quality, functionality. Which one is the best to use? The answer is I really don't know, I for one have tried most with varying degrees of satisfaction , and experienced various levels of support.

At the end of the day, it's your business and your choice and you have to assess your resources and capabilities , and choose the technology appropriate

This is very sound advice find something to suit your skills and there are plenty of videos on youtube that show you what each of them are really like for the end user, i built a shop using php with paypal buttons and then realised my business partner who runs the shop half the week didnt have a clue how to update products rendering it useless. This means i needed something that was as simple as ebay to list items so i got prestashop which with the right host is one click to install and then you can fire into adding products. Its incredibly simple to use and update and free. We have had to purchase one add on and its only because i found the code to do it myself but spent 3 hours trying before i thought my time is worth more than this so just paid the £45 to buy the add on. Always remember that for every product you add it needs to be as simple as possible to update change add photos etc etc because time is money.

 

[Alan]

Doubt the OP will come back to comment