Five Free Open Source Shopping Carts
By Matt Jackson One of the
most alarming factors for new e-tailers is the cost of some of the commercial
e-store software. While you can pay a few extra dollars for shopping cart
software when signing up for a hosting account, these plans don't always offer
the functionality or design options that fit your needs. This is where Open
Source software comes in to play.
Open Source Software
Many like-minded programmers create software
that costs nothing and can be edited just as freely. The result of this
collaboration of professional programmers is software that is often as feature
rich as its commercial competitors. Best of all, of course, it's free.
Open Source software is nothing new, but it was once considered to be lacking
in features and incredibly difficult to install without the help of a trained
professional. However, now many Open Source e-commerce packages are as intuitive
as commercial solutions. And, with such a vibrant and active Open Source
community, there are many options available and lots of support should you need
it. To help you decide what's a good fit for you, we've highlighted the features
of five Open Source platforms we recommend.
osCommerceosCommerce is one of the most widely used and
highly respected shopping cart applications available. The software itself has
been developed and improved over the past six years and new additions and
add-ons are submitted on a daily basis. The result is a user-friendly, secure
and stable e-commerce environment.
Easy Installation: Installation is a breeze; completed entirely
through your Internet browser. All features and functions are enabled
automatically giving you complete use of the software within minutes of
downloading it.
Category and Product Management: There are no limitations in terms of
the number of categories or products that you can add. Whether you want to sell
just a handful of items or open up the next giant online shopping center, it's
your choice. You are also free to sell physical products or digital products
according to your own business needs. Search features make it easy for your
visitors to quickly and intuitively find products they desire.
Design Implementation and Modification: The design of the front-end
software can be easily altered. By using a template structure, osCommerce
enables you to change certain aspects of your entire site without having to
alter every individual page. You can even link products to display in "similar
items" sections and you can automatically display "special offer" items and any
other promotions.
Payment Integration: Payment integration is easy. As well as
integrating credit/debit cards, checks, and other offline payment methods,
osCommerce can be integrated with PayPal, 2CheckOut and many more online payment
processors.
Summary: osCommerce is one of the best e-commerce solutions available.
If it doesn't have a feature you want, and that's unlikely because we've only
scratched the surface in this article, then check out the online community
because you are virtually guaranteed that somebody somewhere has instructions on
how to achieve it.
Zen Shopping CartThe Zen shopping cart is another
feature-packed, simple-to-use solution backed by a very strong community. As
well as offering the same template design structure as osCommerce, Zen Cart
offers an excellent range of advanced features that go beyond the general realms
of shopping cart functionality. An e-mail and newsletter manager is a very
beneficial tool and the flexibility in product and price options is also
excellent.
Installation: Setting up is simple. The installer queries the main Zen
Cart database and server to discover the specific requirements for your
installation. You don't need to be technically savvy or have any knowledge of
programming. As long as you know how to install software and use a browser, you
can use Zen Cart.
Inventory and Catalog Management: Unlimited categories, sub categories
and products are supported and product option boxes can be added in the shape of
radio buttons, drop-down menus and more. Flexibility is the key to successful
e-commerce and Zen Cart doesn't just recognize this, it openly encourages it.
You can offer discounts according to the number of items a customer buys, you
can set a minimum or maximum order level and the price can be determined
according to the options that your shoppers choose. You can even implement sale
prices according to category, region or individual products.
Customer Retention Tools and Features: Customer retention is
important. Zen Cart offers a number of beneficial tools to help improve or
maximize your retention levels. Gift certificates, order tracking, referral
tracking, newsletter management and customer registration options are just some
of the features you can implement on your site.
Payment Processing and Gateway Options: Offline and online payment
processing can be fully and easily integrated into a Zen Cart e-store. Again,
popular online processors like PayPal and 2CheckOut can be offered to your
customers. All in all, Zen Cart is a powerful e-commerce tool with a lot of
beneficial features and easy installation.
Agora Shopping CartAgora Shopping Cart is
actually only one Open Source product offered by Agora and it is a good one. The
shopping cart and catalog can be completely customized to exactly match your
requirements thanks to the use of CSS files. This also enables you to change the look
and feel of your entire site in just a few minutes and with just one or two
changes.
Managing Your Inventory: Categories and products are again unlimited
and the flexibility is astounding. As well as being able to add as many
categories and as much merchandise as you like, you can manage virtually every
aspect of each category. Products can also be handled individually or in
batches. You can change the display of products according to their categories,
enabling longer descriptions, more images or many other variables. You can even
change the design according to the "department" that your customers are viewing.
Payment Options and Summary: All major offline and online gateways are
supported. This includes AgoraPay, set up and maintained by the same company.
PayPal integration is also supported. Agora Cart is a very good shopping cart
system that can hold its own against Open Source and commercial packages. The
community regularly holds competitions to find the best add-ons for the cart,
proving that a vibrant and helpful support network exists.
NoPCartNopCart, created by
NopDesign, is an extremely simple shopping cart application with the main
difference when compared to others being that it is written entirely in JavaScript. This means you can use it on your Web
site without having to have CGI access. One potential
drawback is that NopCart is lacking in some of the more advanced features. It is
only really possible to update basic product information, tax information and a
minimum order level.
Simplicity Is Key: However, what NopCart lacks in functionality it
more than makes up for in simplicity. Installation is a breeze, with only two
files actually required for a standard English language installation. Other
language packs are included with the download.
Client-Side JavaScript Application: NopCart is a client side
application and this means less load on your server. You should seriously
consider using NopCart as your shopping cart software if you have a small site
or you already have it packed with files and pages.
Summary: Support is fairly limited for this mostly open-source
program. However, its simplicity means that you are unlikely to suffer anything
that hasn't already been identified and conquered by the forum users. Overall,
it is an excellent and extremely quick way to add shopping cart functions to
your Web site.
Commerce.CgiCommerce.Cgi is one of the oldest and best
established of all e-commerce applications. Nearly 10 years have passed since it
became the first Perl shopping basket, and
being open source, that means a huge amount of development has ensued. As well
as a mass of features, Commerce.Cgi provides a backend system that is simple to
install and even simpler to manage.
General Features: Included among the quite staggering list of features
is the option to offer unlimited products in any amount of categories. You also
have the capability to manage a newsletter, offer loyalty promotions and gift
certificates, include product reviews and pictures, and much more.
Options: Full shipping options can be added and amended. This gives
you the freedom to charge different shipping amounts depending on location and
set a number of other invaluable options. It is compatible with all major online
payment processors including PayPal and Authorize.net.
Support: The level of support is also extremely impressive considering
this is an open source project. In the support forum you can have questions
answered by the community as well as by Commerce.Cgi professionals.
Summary: Commerce.Cgi is one of the oldest and most highly revered
e-commerce solutions, and is open source software. Despite being free, it offers
an incredible range of features combined with simple installation and a
surprising level of support from the support forums.
More Resources
We've only covered five of the most well known Open
Source carts. If you want more, then visit the SourceForge.net Web site,
which not only contains Open Source shopping carts, but a vast range of other
applications that may be of use to you.
The Bottom Line: Why Open Source Software Spells
Success
Establishing an e-commerce Web site doesn't have to be an
expensive job. In addition to saving you money, Open Source shopping cart
software can prove more effective and beneficial than commercial software
because skilled programmers release new source code and additions to the
software on a regular basis. You are free to pick this code up and use it on
your own site at no charge. This means that Open Source shopping cart software
always has the functions that e-store owners want.
About the Author Matt Jackson is a regular contributor to ECommerce-guide.com and is a professional Web
content writer. |
