Mailbag: Which Shopping Cart System is Best?

David B. asks:

I'm not happy with the shopping cart system I'm using now for my online store. Do you have any suggestions on which shopping cart system is the best?

It's not the first time I've been asked this question and I'm sure it won't be the last. Having on online store is not an uncommon type of home business. My direct experience with shopping cart systems has been limited to those systems used by my clients - FlashECom and Cart 32.

Of course, which shopping cart system is best for you depends on your business, its specific needs, your budget, your technical knowledge, the size of your store, how frequently you need to update products and other factors. Selecting the best shopping cart software for your online business is a personal decision. However, I do suggest that you thoroughly investigate the shopping cart's abilities and limitations with respect to search engine optimization. Not all shopping carts are created equally in that area, and if you can't use SEO techniques on the pages in your store you're probably not going to get much traffic and your sales will probably lag terribly.

Shopping cart systems are generally classified as one of two types:

• One in which you pay a monthly fee to a company who hosts the shopping cart for you and provides you web-based access to your store.
• One in which you buy or use free shopping cart software systems that you install and setup on your web server yourself.

The first, hosted shopping cart solution option, is often the best for those who are not especially tech savvy and don't have the time or resources to establish the shopping cart system on their own. This type of solution is usually referred to as either a "rented", "hosted" or "managed" shopping cart.

The second type that gets installed on your web server is often referred to as a "downloaded" or "purchased" shopping cart system. You may buy a shopping cart system like this or you may find one that's free. You'll still need web hosting services for the website you'll use with the shopping cart.

For more information, shopping-cart-reviews.com allows you to search for a shopping cart solution that will suit the specific needs of your home business and fit your budget. Remember too, that there are consulting firms, such as my business partner, Boss Design, who offers full custom ecommerce solutions, including hosting and ready-made eCommerce templates.