Webika Design is a website design company, and our main specialty is ecommerce solutions. Nowadays, there are so many shopping carts available on the market that it can be very challenging to choose the right solution. All the companies say they provide the World best solution, but who do you trust and how do you know that this is the best solution? Since we work with ecommerce every day, we have decided to create a little guide for people who is looking to start an ecommerce business.
There are two types of the shopping cart solutions:
a. Hosted Solution
b. Full Source Licensed Solution
Hosted solution means that you will keep all the files on companys (Solution Provider) server.
The Pros of hosted shopping cart are:
1.Much lower price for the solution
2.Usually very friendly back end interface
3.Support from the company provider. Of course, the provider will not create the template for you for free, but if you run into some technical questions they will be able to help you.
The Cons of the hosted shopping cart are:
1.Limited design options
2.No access to the source files.
3.Limited quantity of the products
This means that
Web Design Company will not be able to change the layout of the shopping cart in the checkout process and some of the core layout elements of the shopping cart. I am not saying that it is not possible at all, but to do it the designer will need to use Javascript and CSS tricks, which on my mind is not the best option.
If you have around 100-200 products it will cost small price, if it exceeds specific amount the monthly fees will increase.
Usually monthly fees for hosted solution run in a range of $30-$120. Here are some hosted shopping carts: Volusion, Big Commerce.
If you do not have any custom requirements the hosted solution may be a good choice for your store.
If you have specific design, layout requirements Full Source Shopping cart is the best solution. First of all, when you purchase the full source license the code is owned by you.
If you would like to switch to different hosting company you can easily do it and your store will not be affected by it. Secondly, you can customize the cart anyway you need, and add unlimited quantity of the products.
The full source shopping carts run in the price range of $400 and up. Here is the list of the full source shopping carts
Magento Commerce (Personally the best solution on the market)
ShopSite
CubeCart
Agora Cart
Zen Cart
Os Commerce
StoreSprite
OpenCart
PrestaShop
UberCart
VirtueMart
Avactis
BusinessCatalyst
Wordpress
MagellanCommerce
ShopSite
ViArt
InterSpire
3dCart
Shopify
AsShop
StoreFront
ASPdotnetstorefront
MivaMerchant
SunShop
Fortune3
GoEmerchant
I-Store
Network Solutions
X-Cart
MerchandiZer Pro
Based on my experience it is expensive to go with the full source shopping cart, but on my mind it is only first impression. The hosted shopping cart monthly fees will run about $80, and to create a custom design will cost about $2,500-5,000.
If you use Full source shopping cart the monthly hosting fees will cost around $40 and the design will run in about the same price as for the hosted solution. So the full source license will cost you maybe $1,000-$2,000 in the beginning, but you will save money at the end, and you will be very flexible with the design, products, etc.
If you decide to create online store, be specific with what you want. Think about your business model, expectations, etc. Remember, you are creating not only the ecommerce store; you are creating online business. Online competition is very big and you want to make sure that if the visitor comes to your store he becomes your customer.
You need to allure the visitor with the design, user-friendly navigation, promotions, etc. Web Design Company will always help you to create powerful business strategy based on your clients and expectations.
Webika Design provides training after the project is completed. Ecommerce back end is very complex, but with good explanation it is very easy to navigate through and create products, categories, promotions, etc.
If you would like to talk about your online business idea please email us at support@webika.com with your details and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
