We've looked at a lot of shopping cart software, and have selected
the best to list here.
We much prefer javascript carts over cgi - you won't find many
cgi-based shopping carts here, because as a whole, they are too "clunky"
for the shopper.
The reason: every time the customer clicks on "add to shopping
cart", most cgi-based carts take the customer to a "checkout" page, in effect
saying "OK, you have bought enough. Check out!" Then, if the customer
wants to continue shopping, they've lost where they were, and have to find
the page all over again.
It makes no sense at all - totally interrupts the shopping process. You
want to encourage your customers to KEEP
shopping, not push them out the door every time
they click a product. So strange why they do this.
Before you choose your shopping cart, TRY IT
OUT! Try purchasing something. Pretend you've changed your mind and
want to change to a blue blouse instead of green. How hard was it? Was it
frustrating?
Did you feel like you were filling out your taxes, or did you have a nice
experience? Tip: simple is better. I've tried to purchase something
from some of these clunky cgi carts (the ones people pay $5,000 for) and
instead of feeling good about the experience, felt like I just did my taxes.
(Whew - glad THAT's over... what a pain...)
The goal: to make it easy for them to buy. See
"Never
Obstruct Someone Trying to Spend Money": The cost of frustration
on the Web is higher (than in physical stores), because your competitors
are all next door. If you frustrate a potential buyer, that person will go
to a competitor without a second thought.
That said, here are our "Picks":
JShop
We LOVE FREE JShop. It's very fast and easy for your shoppers,
simple to setup if you know html and can figure out how to modify the javascript
code.
See an example at
http://antiqueables.com/
JShop
Pro
Like JShop, but with an easy to use interface for adding products and
building your store. This is for you if you don't know HTML,
or don't want to mess with it.
WebStore
Free from Extropia.com - excellent cgi shopping cart script. Fast, doesn't
do the "push them out the door" thing, has an online "Catalog Manager", which
allows you to add, edit, or remove products from your store with ease. See
also this user-friendly
adaptation.
PerlShop
CGI based, free, simple to install. Downside - does take the customer
to a "checkout" screen every time they choose a product - see
demo.
Feel free to install any of these in your html pages,
or cgi-local bin. If you need installation help, we can install your cart
for you, or even create your store for
you, start to finish. Email
support@newcreations.net for
installation costs.
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