Free Shopping Carts

Free shopping carts may cost more than you think in terms of lost revenue, and most shopping carts that are advertised as "free" actually aren't. Quality shopping cart programs that you must purchase may not be as expensive as you think.

Stepping in to the E-commerce arena can easily become overwhelming for new merchants. Some merchants have the luxury of a good web designer to guide them through the process. However, in an effort to keep start-up costs low most new Internet merchants build their own web sites, and will also be responsible for finding a shopping cart. There are thousands of places where a merchant can get shopping cart software and services, many of which are even advertised as free. To a new business owner a free shopping cart may look like a great deal, but you should always be wary of something that looks too good to be true. Free shopping carts may end up costing you more in the long run.

The problem arises when a person with limited knowledge of E-commerce and web design tries make a decision about which shopping cart is best. More often than not a new merchant looks mainly at price when comparing shopping cart providers, instead of the more important details like features and functionality. Although price is important, anyone serious about making money online must consider a few other factors when looking for a shopping cart. We have compiled a list of some basic features that any good shopping cart should have. Many higher end shopping carts will go far beyond the scope of what we discuss below, but they will also go way beyond the scope of your budget and programming knowledge. There are many good shopping carts that offer all of the features we suggest and more, and they cost less than $150 a year.

Cart Support

The last thing a new merchant needs is a free shopping cart that they can't use because they are unable to integrate it in to their web site. With limited knowledge of basics coding languages such as HTML, it can prove very frustrating to try and setup a shopping cart, and integrate it with a payment gateway. This frustration can be avoided if the provider of the shopping cart is available to answer questions and offer support. Remember, free shopping carts aren't making the provider any money, and customer service costs money. Perhaps they are profiting by selling advertising, collecting names and emails, or bundling ad software with their shopping cart, but that won't pay enough for them to answer questions and provide support. The time expended by a merchant due to lack of support while trying to set up a free shopping cart, may be worth far more than the $150 it would have taken to purchase a cart with support.

Usability

A shopping cart that visitors are unable to use will not do a new web site any good. Assume that a new merchant opts to save a few dollars and integrates a free shopping cart in to their web site. Now assume that the same merchant loses 1 customer a week (underestimated) because the customer is unable to navigate the cart, gets frustrated, and leaves the web site in search of the closest competitor. Depending on the sale amount, the pattern will put a hurting on any business's cash flow.
A shopping cart should have a clean, user-friendly interface that is free of clutter, and most importantly free of advertising. Make sure the choices in your prospective shopping cart are clearly visible. For instance, a customer should be able to "checkout", just as easily as they could empty their cart and continue shopping.

Appearance/Customization

This one is huge! A visitor who is about to enter their credit cart information on a web site to purchase $100 worth of product does not want to be taken "to a partner site" in order to enter their personal information. Being able to customize the appearance of a shopping cart to mirror the look and feel of your web site will help your visitors to feel more comfortable and secure about their purchase. In fact, most visitors will not even realize that they are on another site (assuming the shopping cart provider will host the cart on their own server) when viewing the shopping cart. Make sure that your prospective shopping cart can be manipulated fairly easily to look like your web site.

Security

A good portion of the general web pubic is still a little timid about purchasing products or services online. Most people who buy online know to look for a secure page prior to entering any personal information. If a page is not secure they will go to the closet competitor with a secure shopping cart and gateway to make their purchase. Some argue that a shopping cart does not need to be secure because a visitor is not asked for payment information until they reach the gateway (which must be secure). This argument only holds water to a certain degree, and a shopping cart's ability to use secure protocol is not absolutely necessary so long as it is not being used to collect sensitive information. However, security in a shopping cart should not be sacrificed if at all possible.

Integration

A good shopping cart will be able to integrate with a large number of payment gateways. There is nothing worse than taking hours to build a shopping cart in to your web site, only to do it again when you need to switch to a new payment gateway. Before deciding on a shopping cart, make sure that you study the list of which gateways the shopping cart is compatible with. Of course, you also want to make sure that your shopping cart is compatible with the payment gateway that your credit card processor utilizes. A few popular gateways are Authorize.net, VeriSign, and LinkPoint.

Promotion

Here is where a good shopping cart pays for itself. Imagine creating 5 extra sales a month from return visitors because you were able to give them a coupon good for 10% off their next purchase. Your shopping cart can generate sales through promotional features! Many shopping carts will have the ability to accept coupon codes, and some are even able to issue and track gift certificates. Promotional features in a shopping cart are the "icing on the cake". Remember, a visitor that makes it into your shopping cart is already "hooked". They are obviously interested in what you're selling, and will be much more open to promotions. Before opting for that free shopping cart that has caught your eye, make sure that it will be able to earn its keep and make a few dollars from targeted promotion.

A free shopping cart may not be as "free" as it initially appears. It may literally cost a you more money in the long-run due to lack of support, poor usability and interface, little or no customization, and the absence of promotional utilities. Before you decide on a free shopping cart, make sure to do your homework and compare the free carts to a few pay services.