Reply To: I need a shopping cart for my web page

[NathanC]

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Hi Carodi,

It really depends on your specific needs. The bulk of your initial investment in a shopping cart is the visual design.

A custom visual design varies widely but can cost anywhere from 2k – 20k and up. If you can compromise on the design a little – i.e accept a generic design rather than a custom design then your initial price will reduce significantly since most carts come with a range of templates you can use right away.

Another decision is whether you wish to host your shopping cart on your own website hosting – or whether you’d prefer to have it hosted by a provider.

There are fors and againsts for each.

If you host your own shopping cart then you have greater control over it for example it is easier to have the design and functionality customized. But you are responsible for your own maintenance, backups and also PCI DSS compliance (which is an important consideration).

X-Cart is a good self hosted shopping cart solution. There are also a number of high quality free carts available inc Magento and OS Commerce.

If you choose a hosted service then the provider is responsible for all the maintenance and compliance stuff leaving you to focus on selling. The down sides are that you’re up for a monthly fee – and also if you want any special customisations then you’re usually out of luck.

Big Commerce is a good option for self hosting.

PayPal is a good way to get started but you’ll likely grow out of it fairly quickly.