Shopping Cart Software

[CLIFFORD ILKAY]

Kipton Moravec wrote:
> I want to build a simple eCommerce Website for maybe 10 products.
> 
> My google searches so far all go to SW that is part of hosting packages.
> "Sign up to host with us and you get free eCommerce builder."
> 
> The concern I have is that if I do that I am tied to that particular
> hosting service.
> 
> I would like to work on the site at home, once I get it working then
> decide who will host. It may be 6 months before this gets going.
> 
> What SW that goes on a Ubuntu Server would you recommend, that lets
> people sign in and place an order?

Hi Kip,

It depends on how complex your shopping process is, which payment 
gateway/processor you will use, and which technologies you will use for 
your web site. Unless you intend to have a micro-site that doesn't 
change very often, a static HTML site isn't likely to be what you'll 
need. We use Django <http://djangoproject.com> on many sites and love 
it. It's probably one of the best-documented pieces of software I've 
ever encountered in more than 20 years in this business. In many cases, 
we just build our own cart. It's not that hard. In some cases, we use 
Satchmo <http://www.satchmoproject.com/>. We also use Drupal 
<http://drupal.org> and Ubercart <http://www.ubercart.org/> but find 
Django to be more productive and developer-friendly. To the end user, 
it's all the same so it really boils down to your preferences.

If you're just starting out, you really don't want to collect credit 
cards on your site. You want to hand off the cart details to your 
payment processor and let them deal with collecting the payment details. 
You'll have an administrative control panel on their site for you to 
keep an eye on transactions. Some will allow you to save "profiles" for 
your customers on their servers so that customers making recurring 
purchases don't have to re-enter their credit card details. That usually 
costs more. Rates are all over the map so shop carefully. Not all 
providers are as forthcoming with what they *don't* provide for their 
fees so there can be surprises later. For instance, some providers 
charge more for VISA (or MC cards) that have bonuses attached to them, 
like airline points, cashback, etc. but not all disclose that fact up 
front. (We have experience at this and can save you time, if you need help.)

The complexity and security requirements increase if you collect credit 
card info your own site and you'll have to be PCI-DSS 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_Card_Industry_Data_Security_Standard> 
compliant. That doesn't tie you down to one particular hosting provider 
but it does tie you down to a one particular payment processor. Any 
competent web hosting firm, which means not the mass hosting firms that 
offer $3.95/month accounts, should be able to host such a site. (We host 
all of the above and would be happy to help.)

If you'd like to discuss this further, feel free to contact me off-list. 
I'm "cilkay" on irc.freenode.net so you can also message me there. I'm 
not hard to find on Skype either.
-- 
Regards,

Clifford Ilkay
Dinamis
1419-3266 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON
Canada  M4N 3P6

<http://dinamis.com>
+1 416-410-3326