We often see people saying a particular shopping cart is best. I know of over 300 different shopping cart. Each has something I could say about them. However, I'm curious, exactly how many and which ones have you tried before you stake your claim? To answer this post, please follow these directions: 1. Do not name the shopping cart you have chosen. 2. Express your ideas in a neutral manner. 3. Do not reply if your reasons are based upon such reasons as "it's open source," "I can host where I want," or "my buddy told me it was good." 4. Your response must be well-thought out. 5. If you can't write more than a sentence or two, forget it and go some place else. 6. If you work for or own the shopping cart, go promote yourself some place else. I'm looking for solid reasons and to understand what's important to web designers and business owners, alike. Thank you. Johnny Mazuma
I have used 3 different shopping carts, and there were pros and cons for all. The first one was so rudimentary and cumbersome to use that it was difficult to reproduce the same look and feel from page to page. The catalog of goods was also difficult to construct. The 2nd one was a good looking platform with many good catalog and cross-selling functions but the CMS was terrible. No ability to fine tune meta tags (like title, H1, etc.), for instance.....set in hard code and not alterable. The 3rd one had it all, even the most complete and well written instruction manual I've seen. Another big point is that several other vendors offered add-on modules that made the cart even more powerful and capable. It was slightly limited on theme variables but that could be overcome by purchasing premium themes. Paramount for me was the initial dollar outlay for the carts. I did not have a lot to spend. The 3rd cart, though more expensive than the first 2 was available for a decent price, then I could upgrade it later when I could afford it.