Are you considering starting your own internet store? If so you are probably in the process of researching all of the options that are available and trying to figure out what works best. This process will certainly prove to be extremely time consuming and somewhat confusing if you are fairly new to ecommerce.
Instead of listing every single solution that is available and detailing what each offers, which may take a while and prove to be uninteresting, I will try to present an overview of the two basic options available. Open source and paid soultions.
Open source is software that is provided for free or at minimal cost. It is referred to as open source because the source code of the software is provided so that the end user can alter the code to suit there needs and may redistribute the finished product as part of the GNU agreement.
Most paid solutions have built-in customizable features but do not allow open access to the source code and/or do not offer permission to alter the code and redistribute the software.
Shopping cart solutions can run anywhere from free to tens of thousands of dollars. The difference in price can usually be attributed to the level of support that is offered. While open source typically generates large community forums where users can share information, tips and add-ons, some of which are free, paid solutions often come with live phone support and may be built to suit so that there is no additional work required of the end user.
In regards to ecommerce website design, paid solutions will often come with built-in templates that can be modified by choosing skins and replacing images. Open source solutions often provide the same options built-in but because it is open source, users my also be able to choose from a wide assortment of templates created by multiple developers ranging from small companies to individuals.
If a web store owner prefers to have a store completely customized then there is usually an additional fee from paid solutions companies. With an open source solution a store owner may be able to choose from a number of companies or individuals that can manipulate the code to create the desired product.
For first time ecommerce entrepreneurs experimenting with a free shopping cart solution can provide valuable insight and experience. Open source shopping carts can sometimes be overlooked because they happen to be free, but many of these free options are actually powerful, efficient, workable solutions. Quite a few businesses run successful operations using open source products.
The support provided by paid solutions my be appealing to the entrepreneur that does not have a technical team but needs very specific accomodations.
Once created, both a free ecommerce website and one that may have cost tens of thousands of dollars have the same potential and access to online business. The effectiveness of design and usuability are important to success but so is effective marketing and search engine optimization optimization.
At the end of the day it would be a combination of the good marketing (and the budget involved), search engine optimization, advertising that drives potential customers to the website. The ability to convert visitors to customers depends on the appeal of the product, price, presentation and ability to easily navigate and purchase products.
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