A vital part of any successful ecommerce platform is the web site shopping cart, the software that features products and conducts secure transactions online. No matter how excellent a product may be offered, a user frustrated with a non-responsive or confusing checkout will not likely return, and time spent troubleshooting technical issues is time not invested in order fulfillment or building marketing relationships. Use this advice from SecureNetShop to find a shopping cart that will offer the features you need to do business online.

When selecting online shopping cart software, there are a few questions to consider. First, what is the overall goal of the site? Is it a small side business with minimal needs, or is it an integral system expected to grow, one which will need a scalable solution? Then, consider the skill level of the site owner and what features are really needed. Will the ecommerce team be able to build and maintain the shopping cart, and what functionality is really critical? In making certain that the cart software matches the goal of the site, as well as capable of managing all product types or services offered, there will be more than one scenario to evaluate.

As an online shopping cart is considered, it will be decided if the service should be self-hosted (cheaper or possibly free but requiring more technical expertise and support) or web-based SaaS (Software as a Service), the latter incurring a monthly fee from a vendor but offering the most ease of use. Relatedly, the monthly expense of the shopping cart should be considered along with charges for bandwidth and storage.