Getting More Than You Paid For: osCommerce's Open Source Storefront (Part
2)
By Scott Koegler Inexpensive Alternatives
While
osCommerce claims to be "the leading open systems e-commerce solution," there
are low-cost PHP-based and similar alternatives that might be worth considering.
Products like x-cart, LiteCommerce, and Quickstore are available for purchase,
and pricing for the basic versions range between $100 and $200.
However, you'll also pay for any options you want to add to these systems.
For instance, Quickstore's credit card plug-ins cost an additional $49.95, and
other options such as "online catalog builder" cost from $50 to $100. Some users
will decide that the advantage of buying a product gives them some assurance
that the system and its modules will work properly. This may be especially true
for people uneasy with user-supported software like osCommerce.
Online vendors who have had experience with osCommerce as well as other
systems acknowledge a differences between the offerings. But osCommerce's wealth
of built-in features combined with the amazing (and growing) list of
contributions makes a compelling case for at least trying the free system.
Luke Rohenaz, a network technician with Diversified Network Solutions in
Albany, NY, turned to osCommerce after trying several other packages.
"I liked how modular it was," Rohenaz said. "It's well-organized and not too
hard to find where the code is that needs to be edited to do what you're trying
to do. I've tried modifying other programs in order to add new features, and in
general, I find it is easier with osCommerce than with a lot of other scripts."
No software is without problems, and open source applications are no
different. But by all accounts the base system is extremely stable. The
contributions can be less stable simply because they haven't been tested as
intensively as the base system. However the user/developer community seems to be
very active and responsive, so any problems you may find are likely to be
answered quickly.
According to Rohenaz, "The fact that osCommerce is open source, and that
there is a whole community talking about it and sharing their finds and tweaks,
is a huge plus."
Should you use it?
If you want your store to look or behave
differently from the rest of the crowd, or if you're struggling with managing
the details of your existing store, you may be exactly the right candidate for
osCommerce. When Steve Howland's product offering grew beyond 1,500 products, he
switched to osCommerce because of the daily maintenance time required.
As Howland puts it, "Previously, I had used an e-commerce service which is
was excellent as far as it went, but I found it difficult to manage in scenarios
where the store had more than about 100 products, or the products changed
frequently. Diecastairplane.com has about 1,500 products with about 10 new
products every week. Using osCommerce, it takes me about 1 hour every week to
manage changes and add new products."
So, while you may not eliminate every headache, you may be able to create a
more functional store while, at the same time, cutting down on the time you
spend managing it. And, you can't beat the price.
About the Author
Scott Koegler is a contributor to eCommerce-Guide.com. |
