Before delving into the actual shopping cart reviews. We need to understand the factors that make up a good shopping cart. First, I have used a few dozen shopping cart systems in order to compare them and determine which is the best for various purposes. Obviously, each carts has strengths and weaknesses. So, unforunately, nobody can say that one is the absolute best in every circumstance.
Here are my important shopping cart criteria:
- Design
- Many professional templates
- Customizable
- Ability to handle thumbnail and large images
- Search Engine Optimization
- Store level meta tags
- Category and item level meta tags
- Good internal linking structure
- Catalog System
- Easy to add and update products and categories
- Ability to upload data feeds
- Inventory control
- Automatic drop shipping
- Marketing
- Ability to handle free shipping offers
- Coupon system
- Gift certificates
- Customer order tracking
- Shipping/Payments/Taxes
- Automatically determine shipping cost
- Multiple shipping methods and vendors
- Ability to handle multiple payment types and multiple credit card
gateways - Ability to add handling charges
- Restrict processing and handling by location
- Calculate appropriate sales tax
- Other
- Technical support
- Hosting platform
- Stability and security
Not every shopping cart system will meet every criteria listed. In addition, depending on your situation additional criteria may prove more important.
Obviously, cost is also a major factor and I will consider that in my reviews. I was recently speaking with a shopping cart sales representative who was trying to sell me a solution for $10,000 per month. I’m sure it’s probably a great system (maybe even slices bread), but way, way outside of my budget.
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