# Shopping Carts:What do you look for in one and which one are you using?



## Mystic

*When you first started your business online what was the qualifications for the shopping cart you were interested in? 
How did you decide to choose the one that you are using now? 
Are you happy with the one that you have now or do you wish you could upgrade?


Just Curious!!!

Mystic*


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## Vtec44

When I first started out, I wanted something easy and free. So I went with PayPal's built-in "cart". Then to find out that it lacks A LOT of features, ie order history and discount coupons. My knowledge at the time was very limited so I didn't have a choice. Now, I have a business partner that's pretty good with PHP, so we took OS Commerce and modified it enough to suit our needs. We're pretty happy with how it functions right now, but you never know. 

What we like about OS Commerce:
1. It's open source.
2. It has a pretty large support forum.
3. It's the core of many comercial shopping cart scripts out there, so for the most part it is stable.
4. It has enough features to get us by while familiarize ourselves with the code.
5. It's database driven, MySQL, and written in PHP.
6. It utilizes CSS.

What we don't like about OS Commerce:
1. It lacks built-in templates, you're limited to modifying your CSS style sheet or the PHP code.
2. Many important features, ie coupon code & quick product option list attachment, are not part of the main release code.
3. The naming convention for the language files and main PHP files can be confusing.
4. It hasn't been updated for a while, developing on the new version is still slow.


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## wiggum

I agree with Vtec44, oscommerce is probably the bees knees of "out of the box" stores. Unfortunately though because it's a major package, it's the target of exploits (like any other major package) so you need to keep it up to date, you can't just install it and forget about it.

I'm a web developer, and for quick and cheap projects I push out oscommerce, but even though you have the source code, it's all tied together so you can't really colour outside the square too much. When you want to upgrade, you loose all those customisations.

If you don't have the skills to write it yourself, Google Checkout might be worth investigation as well.


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## Mystic

Well I don't have the skill, my husband might though, he is the one that deals with the cart that we have. But why google checkout, is the process easy to do and do they have alot of options, like coupons and different aspects for shipping?

Mystic


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## jtrainor56

I use a program called Cart-It. When I started out it was about $300. it is now a free program. There is no support but if you have alot of options such as sizing, designs and the like, then it can't be beat for the price. Just make sure you read everything and do not skip around especially in the initial install.


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## Rodney

When I started out, I didn't know what to look for so I just figured to get something that would get the money from the customer to me 

So I started with CCNOW.com. 

This was before I had a merchant account, so it allowed me to accept all major credit cards, have a secure shopping cart, etc, with no extra monthly fees (back when that was the case).

Then I grew out of that and decided I wanted a shopping cart that would be totally on MY site so the customers wouldn't have to leave. That meant getting my own secure server and a shopping cart installed on my site. My host had Miva as part of their ecommerce package, so I used that and it worked perfectly for years (with a few useability tweaks by me).

Then Miva added more features and my host didn't want to support Miva anymore, so I switched to Shopsite which was another top notch cart.

Things I realized I needed along the way were:

Flexible shipping options
Static catalog web pages
Coupon codes
Upselling options
Easy to customize the look
Easy to maintain
Can handle a large volume of orders
Has an easy "workflow" to speed up order processing.
Worked with my merchant account and PayPal

During all that time, I worked on other sites for myself and for clients, and I tried a few free shopping carts (oscommerce, zen-cart, and cubecart). Out of the 3, I preferred cubecart. It has almost the exact same feature set as my very expensive shopsite shopping cart, but it's free.


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## SantaA

awesome thread. i'm in the same position as the thread starter. 
i had a look at cubecart but it seemed it lacks options for sizes, colors and inventory management. any more information about cube cart would be great!


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## Rodney

> i had a look at cubecart but it seemed it lacks options for sizes, colors and inventory management


It has options for all of those (I'm 99% sure there's a plugin that does this at cubecart.org)


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## swissarmour

hey guys what about zencart?? wow i liked oscommerce but a little bummed by this here... can u all explain a bit more of cubecart? whats free and what isnt??


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## CypherNinja

I love threads like this. I'm currently working with PrintMojo's shopping cart, so these discussions provide me with a lot of guidance.

"Contrast" if you will.


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## zhenjie

Zencart and osCommerce are great but they lack a very important feature, dependent attributes. That can be a real hassle for some t-shirt sites.


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## swissarmour

what are dependent attributes???


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## normsbrand

I started out with a simple web site that I built in Dreamweaver using HTML pages and PayPal for purchasing. It worked great, but everytime I wanted to add a new shirt I would have to go and manually update my product pages, and then build a single product page for the new tshirt. This worked ok, but everything was manual and I felt like I was not gaining the customers trust in the sale process.

After extensive reading on this forum, and other forums I decided to go with CubeCart. CubeCart seemed to have everything I wanted, plus things I didn't know I even wanted. I attempted tinkering with customizing the site, but after a little soul searching and a new little baby I knew I did not have the time anymore to build this myself in the time frame I wanted. I hired a developer, checked all the references and we were off...well several months later the site wasn't finished and I had to fire the first developer. I did find another developer that was extremely thorough and brought a lot of web development to the table. The site is 100% functional, but we are still working on a couple items that should be finished soon. 

When I was looking around at Cube Cart, OScommerce, zen cart etc.. I didn't like the look / feel of the "out of box" skins. So that is why I hired a developer so they could build the site to my design.

Now it is extemely easy to get a new tshirt on the web site. I am now having to go back through and get better photos of the shirts and concentrate more on marketing.

CubeCart is free, and works great 'out of the box'. There are several hundreds of Mods out there for CC, and some are free. But remember you get what you paid for. 

I see a lot of posts on here about everyone wanting to do this cheap, and I am totally onboard; but eventually you will have to figure out what is important to you and your line of clothing and shell out some clams. I figure in the old days I would have to rent a brick and morter store to sell my items, and now for nearly nothing I can have a great looking store online and sell world wide.

Good luck.


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## burgensteen

I use Cubecart and would recommend it to all, but I have to say that dont I as im a moderator of a third party cubecart site which is recognised by Cubecart.
I would stick my neck out and say it can do anything any other cart can do, yes you do need to mod it a little for specific needs and there is a fantastic community that does this (paid and unpaid services, skins and mods).
Its the only cart I use for my clients and never ever have I had a complaint other than with paypal integration............. but hey thats always been down to the hosting company adjusting its settings.
Simple php and mysql and very easy to mod yourself with very little knowledge IMO.
My vote goest to Cubecart.
V4 coming out in the very very near future. Keep your eyes open for it, its supposed to be fantastic.


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## kokosmin

What about Virtuemart for Joomla ?
I am using it with success on 3 sites already.

My only wish is if I could introduce a system for a photo entered by an user to be overlayed on a shirt or to choose color from a dropdown list and the image to change. I think is an easy job for a good PHP / HTML specialist


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## JohnnyMo

Just to chime in here... I started with Miva Merchant which was offered by my host and had most of the functionality I wanted.... problem with Miva, is that it is written in its own language, and mods are not the easiest things to do.... additionally, the checkout is a 4 page bear and not conducive to a speedy transaction.... 

I have since upgraded to X-Cart, which is very similar to OSCommerce and ZenCart, and I have been very happy with it... the install was quick and painless, mods for install are easy, and it comes prepackaged with a load of features (Coupons, Gift Certs, Wishlist, etc...) I don't really care for the official XCart affiliate program so I bought the PostAffiliatePro add on and customized it for my application... but the site has been a snap to use.... 

Anyway... for anyone considering Carts/scripts in general... take a look at hotscripts.com and read reviews and general user feedback to get some ideas of what you want... most programs offer demo versions so you can muck around adding and deleting product and seeing how a typical install works before you plunk down your cash... 

For a frame of reference... my X-Cart, with add-on mods, and various customization cost less than $500 and maybe the better part of one weekend to get everything set up and created the way I wanted it look and feel wise.... 

Good luck...


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## teabelly83

great thread, im still alittle inthe dark as to who to use etc for my online store purchases when i get a site up an running. i use paypal myself, so thats why thats always been in my mind?? 
im in the uk aswel so some of the suggestions you guys have mentioned i have noit come across before?


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## Chani

Nobody answered the question of what dependant attributes are.

If you mean offering different sizes at different prices, yes, Zen-Cart can do that.

It's a little cumbersome, and a buyer can't order more than one size without having to go back to that product page, but it's still possible.

I love Zen Cart, but I doubt I'll use it for clothing.


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## swissarmour

is cubecart easier for sizing tasks?


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## JohnnyMo

@ Chani -- I think dependent attributes are choices that are dependent to a previous choice being made.... so for example, if you offer shirts in black, gray, and white, but only offer the black and white tees in a 4X variety, you need to have the sizing attribute dependent on what choice the individual made for the previous attribute of color.... 

If the customer selects gray, he will not see an option for 4x, whereas if he selects black or white he will....


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## Chani

I see. That makes sense.

Thanks!


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## dekace

oscommerce, have no problem with it


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## FeelinIt

So I'm hearing cubecart for flexibility and ease of use...anyone have experience with Agora?


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## teabelly83

reffering back to the 1st post here, about paypal and npot been able to keep check on number of orders/order history or something, how can you do this then without paypal havin that option. ? im new to this and at the minute jst looking at different checkouts etc that i cud use when i get everything sorted and a site up. 

so when istart up, pay pal yes or no? 

thank guys


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## swissarmour

hey i know the joomla post is a little old however ive been getting into joomla recently and it seems graet has anyone had experience with site that run it? is it possible to have some html and some joomla? or say maybe... zencart with joomla? 
how intensive on cpu usage is it some hosts make a big fuzz about this,
finally id like to recommend.. because i really doubt anyone can offer that image overlay function, why dont u instead just get that scripted or maybe in flash and just add an add to cart function in the bottom? i raelly doubt any cart can do some fancy overlay,


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## tuan

JohnnyMo said:


> Just to chime in here... I started with Miva Merchant which was offered by my host and had most of the functionality I wanted.... problem with Miva, is that it is written in its own language, and mods are not the easiest things to do.... additionally, the checkout is a 4 page bear and not conducive to a speedy transaction....
> 
> I have since upgraded to X-Cart, which is very similar to OSCommerce and ZenCart, and I have been very happy with it... the install was quick and painless, mods for install are easy, and it comes prepackaged with a load of features (Coupons, Gift Certs, Wishlist, etc...) I don't really care for the official XCart affiliate program so I bought the PostAffiliatePro add on and customized it for my application... but the site has been a snap to use....
> 
> Anyway... for anyone considering Carts/scripts in general... take a look at hotscripts.com and read reviews and general user feedback to get some ideas of what you want... most programs offer demo versions so you can muck around adding and deleting product and seeing how a typical install works before you plunk down your cash...
> 
> For a frame of reference... my X-Cart, with add-on mods, and various customization cost less than $500 and maybe the better part of one weekend to get everything set up and created the way I wanted it look and feel wise....
> 
> Good luck...


Hi JohnnyMo,
I noticed from your post that you're Xcart and I'm about to buy it myself. I was using LiteCommerce, which is made by the same company that makes Xcart (found out they're in Russia!). I want to switch over to Xcart because LiteCommerce doesn't have a built-in shipping feature that allows me to work with USPS to print shipping labels and my web person said that Xcart has a shipping generator feature that works with USPS. I was wondering if you're using this feature at all for your business and if yes can you tell me about it a little bit? I plan to use USPS with Xcart and would like to take advantage of this shipping generator that it has. Does it make printing shipping labels easy for you? 
Thanks!


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## Vikram01

This is kind of an old thread but comes up highly ranked when searching for shopping carts


CubeCart V4 is out 
CubeCart - Feature Comparison Table
And I hope to be able to tell you how it was to install and configure it by next weekend


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## dmiller226

I've seen Zen Cart mentioned a few times. Is anyone currently using it and what's your site? I'm in the starting phases of all of this.

Thanks


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## EXTouch

I'm using CS-Cart. 

No it wasn't free, but I think it works very well and customer support has been great. They also have a great forum when I run into glitches. I'm not my main web person, but I've learned a lot over the last three tyears. 

As far as I know, I can add as many attributes to my products as I need to. Or at least I haven't run into the issue of not having enough space for attributes. You can see my siggy for a reference.


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## lindsayanng

I have used Zen Cart and Oscommerce.. I like Zen Cart because it is easy to apply templates to, they dont have the massive list of addons that oscommerce does.. With oscommerce, you CAN essentially do anything!! and if the addons isnt out there, you can usually hire someone cheap to code that addon FOR YOU.. 

With oscommerce you can add 10 medium red t-shirts to your cart at a time instead of having to go back and forth.. You can have a customer t-shirt builder.. you can do ANYTHING you can dream of..


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## dmiller226

Well with me trying to keep it all simple as can be right now. Can I see the site where you are using Zen?
Thanks


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## lindsayanng

You can go here to see a whole list of LIVE SHOPS with zen cart

and my photography site is all oscommerce, or you can go here to see all the oscommerce live shops

oscommerce looks HORRIBLE out of the box, but there is SOO much flexibility to it.. and you can REALLY make it look nice


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## Moo Spot Prints

dmiller226 said:


> I've seen Zen Cart mentioned a few times. Is anyone currently using it and what's your site?


I'm using it. With osCommerce and Zen Cart (based on osc) you'd better be willing to learn a little programming if you want to customize. The learning curve can be a little steep but once you understand the hierarchy and organization you'll be set. The forums are a great source of help and I found that 99% of my questions had been asked and answered.

I also use x-cart (but don't maintain it). It seems to be a lot more flexible in product offerings than zen-cart out of the box but costs significantly more.


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## Vikram01

I was wondering which cart is the best to just drop into a pre-existing site?


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## splathead

Vikram01 said:


> I was wondering which cart is the best to just drop into a pre-existing site?


Rodney has had good success incorporating cubecart into this forum. My guess is if he can do it within the confines of a forum, then it can be done with any site.

Also, your link in your signature doesn't work. You have some extra stuff in their you should clean out.


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## NeroInferno

Could be great to create a thread with the carts list (open source and not). I haven't still found it here.

n.


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## bootlegger

I'm using DRUPAL drupal.org | Community plumbing
and UBERCART module add in.

I've used most of the stuff mentioned above, and all are good or OK, but I haven't found much that has been as easy or as customizable as DRUPAL & Ubercart. It took me 4 hours of "Learning Curve" and then it was over and running.

Bootleg Tshirts - If percepetion dictates reality, change what people perceive | Wear the change you want to see in the world.

Check it out if you want.


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## thornnspear

I've used zencart, it's a lot of work to maintain.

I use e-junkie, but its a per month service.

I may switch to wp e-commerce once I get my shirt line going.


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## curiousity

thornnspear said:


> I've used zencart, it's a lot of work to maintain.
> 
> I use e-junkie, but its a per month service.
> 
> I may switch to wp e-commerce once I get my shirt line going.


I'm curious why zencart is a lot of work to maintain?


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## mrsgege

Please let me know when you find it.

Thanks.


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## 3wm

I am looking for one too and found this comparison chart helpful: Comparison of shopping cart software - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Looked at them all and my favorite looking templates were found at cs-cart but I would reccommend a personally designed store. They all look the same almost any way so ease of setup, stability, etc is important.

The wordpress templates with wp-ecommerce or e-junkie is the other option I'm looking into. Very simple inexpensive solution. Getshopped is similar.

Heres some more comparisons of Shopping Carts I found: eCommerce Software Review 2009 - TopTenREVIEWS

Shopping Cart Comparison | Compare Shopping Carts With This Comprehensive Shopping Cart Comparison Chart


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## Obstructees

I use Magento. It was kind of a pain to set up, but now that it is, it has everything you would ever want out of a shopping cart.


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## plan b

I am testing opencart and it seems to be coming along fine, if you are looking to incorporate into your existing site then have a look at avactis shopping cart,, they use a tagging system that will do for any existing site


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## ottawabarber

plan b said:


> I am testing opencart and it seems to be coming along fine, if you are looking to incorporate into your existing site then have a look at avactis shopping cart,, they use a tagging system that will do for any existing site


I know this thread is an oldie, but I wanted to also add I am using opencart, and with some tweaking you can make it very nice. I used to use ocommerce and it is very restrictive and frankly, even with added templates, they all look the same.

None of the php open source websites are really for the beginner unless you want nothing changed, and then databases, and formatting can be a challenge for the "non web" people.


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## movement_rizo

last post 2010? in a highlighted thread...


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## DSTAngieB

I'm using Opencart too and it's been working nicely for me.


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## jbel

Almost every post is form 2007/2009. It looks like Cubecart has been recommended the most. Is this still the best choice?


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## kisajay332

The most important part of an online shopping cart is its ability to communicate with a gateway. i.e. shopping cart needs to be able to transfer the customer payment details securely to the gateway. For this purpose, a shopping cart must be able to generate unique transactions everytime a customer makes a purchase.If your shopping cart is not generating unique transactions, then you should ask your shopping cart provider to fix the problem.


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## Marione

Hi there!
Currently I’m using WooCommerce, but not a very long time ago I had the e-shop built on 3dcart. So, now I can compare these two in the best way - from inside and out. Indeed 3dcart is a solid, reliable, and feature-rich maturity eCommerce platform. When you’re a small business owner, this will fit you perfectly. 
Really, it’s an excellent choice for startups and small-sized businesses, and for merchants who are looking for an affordable, fully-hosted selling solution. This sales panel and online store builder includes plenty of advantages, but as with all eCommerce platforms, there are some drawbacks as well. 
One day I’ve realised that this shopping cart is no more enough for my store. It lacks of many vital functions. 
Instead of looking for developers who can extend my 3dcart’s possibilities, I’ve decided to migrate to another shopping cart. It was WooCommerce. Why this cart? There were a lot of reasons. 
What about my individual aim, it was ability to control the webshop in the most complete way. And after migrating from 3dcart to WooCommerce, this happened. 
Now, I have the access to a variety of customisation options, site templates, themes and thousands of plugins that increase the functionality of my store. 
This is a perfect fit for you if you have a minimal budget to start with, and want to deal with everything on your own as well.


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## JohnDeco

We faced issues with the payment gateway. That was charging a too high commission per sale


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