| There are two steps to choosing the perfect | | | | - online payment acceptance |
| shopping cart so you can sell your goods or | | | | - shipping calculation methods |
| services online through your website. The first | | | | - inventory control |
| step is to identify what features you need. The | | | | - a customer wishlist |
| second step is to find which shopping cart will | | | | - a gift registry |
| meet those needs. | | | | - customer registration |
| Not all shopping carts are created equal and what | | | | - ability to send a newsletter |
| works great for a site you love or a friend in | | | | - sharing options for your product listings |
| business may not work at all for you. | | | | - customer review system |
| Here's the process I help my clients work through | | | | - customer rating system |
| to find the best option for each of their online | | | | - technical support options available |
| businesses. | | | | - budget for software, installation and design |
| For this process you'll need to open a spreadsheet | | | | - tax options |
| file, or grab a piece of blank paper. On the left | | | | - languages available |
| side we're going to complete step one. On the | | | | - currencies available |
| right side we'll be working through step two. | | | | - coupon and sale options |
| On the left side of your spreadsheet or piece of | | | | - digital downloads |
| paper begin listing what features you need and | | | | - ability for customer to choose options (size |
| want in a shopping cart. Notice the "need" and | | | | color/etc) |
| "want." You will want to distinguish between | | | | - integration with drop shippers |
| absolute non-negotiable needs (like a carts ability | | | | Once you've got a good list of what features you |
| to accept PayPal or work with your merchant | | | | want and need, on the left side of your piece of |
| account gateway, or whether it can calculate the | | | | paper or spreadsheet you're going to list the |
| tax structure you're require to collect by your | | | | shopping carts you're considering. Then look at |
| city/state/county/province/country) and your | | | | each shopping cart and check off the features |
| wants (such as 10 photographs for each product). | | | | that it offers. Once you've completed your |
| In order to get a cart that meets all your needs, | | | | research of each one you'll have a grid showing |
| you may have to give a little on the wants, or | | | | you which carts are the closest to providing all of |
| decide to find a work around for them later. | | | | the features you listed so you can easily choose |
| What do you need and want in a shopping cart? | | | | the one that will work best for your business. |
| Consider these features: | | | | |