If you’re planning to start an online store, you’ll need a shopping cart software to manage your ecommerce business. A shopping cart software helps you create an online store, manage your inventory, process payments, and track orders. With so many shopping cart software options available, it can be overwhelming to choose the best one for your business. This article will guide you through the features, benefits and types of shopping cart software on the market.
Features of Shopping Cart Software
Shopping cart software comes with a range of features that help you manage your ecommerce store. Here are some of the essential features you should look for:
- Product Management: You can easily add, edit and delete products from your online store.
- Payment Processing: Your customers can securely make payments using various payment options such as credit cards, PayPal, etc.
- Order Management: You can track orders, manage inventory, and notify customers about order status.
- Shipping: You can integrate with shipping carriers to offer various shipping options and provide real-time shipping rates.
- Security: Shopping cart software should provide secure checkout and data encryption to protect customer information.
- Marketing: You should be able to promote your online store using email marketing, social media integration, discount coupons, etc.
Benefits of Shopping Cart Software
Using shopping cart software can offer several benefits to online retailers:
- Easy to Use: Shopping cart software is user-friendly and doesn’t require any coding knowledge.
- Scalability: You can easily add more products, features and functionality as your business grows.
- Customization: You can customize the look and feel of your online store to match your brand.
- Cost-effective: Most shopping cart software offers affordable pricing plans and eliminates the need for hiring web developers.
- Mobile-friendly: Your online store can be accessed from any device, including smartphones and tablets.
Types of Shopping Cart Software
There are two types of shopping cart software available:
- Hosted Shopping Cart: Hosted shopping cart software is a cloud-based solution that is managed by the provider. You don’t need to install or maintain any software. Examples of hosted shopping cart software are Shopify, BigCommerce, and Volusion.
- Self-hosted Shopping Cart: Self-hosted shopping cart software is installed on your own web server. You have more control over the software and can customize it according to your needs. Examples of self-hosted shopping cart software are Magento, WooCommerce, and OpenCart.
Choosing the Best Shopping Cart Software
Choosing the best shopping cart software for your business depends on your specific needs and budget. Here are some factors to consider when selecting a shopping cart software:
- Pricing: Check the pricing plans and make sure they fit your budget.
- Features: Make sure the shopping cart software provides the essential features you need to manage your ecommerce store.
- Scalability: Choose a shopping cart software that can grow with your business.
- Customer Support: Make sure the provider offers reliable customer support to help you resolve any issues.
- Security: Check if the shopping cart software provides secure checkout and data encryption to protect customer information.
Conclusion
Shopping cart software is an essential tool for online retailers to manage their ecommerce business. It provides features such as product management, payment processing, order management, and shipping. Using shopping cart software can offer benefits such as easy-to-use, scalability, customization, cost-effectiveness, and mobile-friendliness. There are two types of shopping cart software available – hosted and self-hosted. When choosing the best shopping cart software for your business, consider pricing, features, scalability, customer support, and security.