rono Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 I did some research here and on the net, downloaded and tried a few solutions, oss commerce you need some skills, zen I cannot download ..... I am looking for software easy to install and to work with, accepting paypal and many other payments, options for shipping and easy to implement shipping charges. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuket Mike Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Maybe you should look at some hosted solutions like bigcommerce.com or one of the many others. They are more expensive but get you up and running almost instantly. They manage just about everything for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siamect Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Maybe you should look at some hosted solutions like bigcommerce.com or one of the many others. They are more expensive but get you up and running almost instantly.They manage just about everything for you. I would hesitate to do it that way... You get locked up with one host... They usually have their own tweaks that make it difficult to move databases and other stuff. If they screw up, it is a disaster and you have problems moving it to a different host. According to Murphy this will happen when you have tons of customers but still have not have paid off your dept ... Believe me! The choice if yours of course... the above solution get you to the market quicker... two weeks earlier maybe, depending on your learning curve... The solution is to download a free package like OsCommerce (just an example, there are others) and install it on two servers. One is the real one and the other one can be at home or with a different host. Then you take backups of the database regularly (once per hour or two) and transfer that data into the second server. If you combine this with a DNS host that you can control yourself and that supports dynamic DNS, you can move from one server to another in a matter of minutes, just by changing the DNS record. You gain a lot with this solution... you can play with the second server as much as you like before you implement changes to the real one. The second server can also be used as the backup storage. I have an excellent, completely free solution for that, but it is too much to write here... I will give you this info whenever you need it... Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuket Mike Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 I don't know if you have had any luck finding an ecommerce that meets your needs but I am now in the same situation. I have some friends who are looking at setting up a store and they have asked me to look at possible solutions. I have downloaded and installed Zen, which to be honest is way too complicated for there needs, plus most of the templates seem old fashioned to me, fixed width etc. In the admin section there is too much stuff unrelated to the store. I looked at Agora that comes free with one my hosts, but again way too many configuration options for my non-computer literate friends. I have looked at oscommerce and again it's nothing special, I have looked at Magento which is fantastic, but the learning curve is then at my end being the developer. I am currently looking at Digistore which is based on the oscommerce engine but has been added to, to be honest it's about the first I have found that has a great looking live store. We already have a front-end template in Photoshop so if we can find a shopping cart package that meets their needs I can then stitch the two together. PM me if you wish to exchange notes further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siamect Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 (edited) Hmm... I wonder what happened to OsCommerce... no updates of the main package since March 2009.... They used to be quite active before... You could use Drupal and one of the 348 eCommerce packages that is one the list.... Martin Edited June 7, 2010 by siamect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave111223 Posted June 7, 2010 Share Posted June 7, 2010 (edited) Try osCommerce or CRE Loaded. CRE Loaded is basically osCommerce with a bunch of addons pre-installed. It used to be really buggy, but the latest versions of CRE are pretty good. (plus you can use most of the contributions in the osCommerce library) I hate zen-cart. It's one of those programs where the coding is very elegant but a real pain in a ass to modify. I find the "ecommerce addon" modules for the likes of a Joomla/Drupal always seem a bit crap (such as Virtumart etc..). But worth a try. Hmm... I wonder what happened to OsCommerce... no updates of the main package since March 2009.... They used to be quite active before... osCommerce is pretty much at a "complete" stage it has barely been alter since like 2006. There is a such a massive contribution library so that you can pick and choose which mods you want installed that changes to the core system aren't really necessary. There is a completely new version that has been in the pipeline forever, but i doubt it will ever take off because it's a total rework for the code, and why bring out a new version that would render like 10,000 custom mods obsolete...? Edited June 7, 2010 by dave111223 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuket Mike Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 We are not interested in Drupal or any CMS it's just whole load for complexity for no real advantage to our site. Zen is actually based on OSCommerce as well, I've now been right though it and it is just far too much. I found one on Hotscripts that is written in Codeigniter which is excellent, but to use it you need Codeigniter skills which I have but not to the degree needed for this project. I will look at CRE Loaded, thank for the tip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siamect Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 We are not interested in Drupal or any CMS it's just whole load for complexity for no real advantage to our site. Zen is actually based on OSCommerce as well, I've now been right though it and it is just far too much. I found one on Hotscripts that is written in Codeigniter which is excellent, but to use it you need Codeigniter skills which I have but not to the degree needed for this project. I will look at CRE Loaded, thank for the tip Well ... You need a proper authentication system. You need security updates. You need a framework to present what you are selling, customer registration etc... On top of that you need some tables keeping track of stock, prices, sales, payments, deliveries and stuff... you need a connector to Paypal at least... And thats what you need even for the simplest ecommerce application. I think what you are looking for is something to make the e commerce, as such, simpler than what it really is... Most important is that you can get a reliable application, redundancy, multiple servers, backups etc, good community support and possibility to extend and develop the commerce according to your needs. You need to be realistic about your needs, now and in the future. Maybe the simplistic systems you are looking for doesn't even exist. Go for something that everyone else is using. Spend time on the contents, marketing, looks of your website instead of worrying about missing functionality that didn't come with the simple systems. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuket Mike Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 I have kind of hijacked this thread for which I apologise, I hope what has been discussed is of use to the OP. Thank you Martin for your input, I am aware of what an e-commerce system comprises of, the problem I have is I want to hide a lot of the layout configuration options from the users. Of course the other consideration is easy modification of the front end to match their web design. Anyway having now gone through Agora, Zen, Oscommerce, Digistore I have decided they do not meet our requirements. We are going to go with CRE Loaded Community Edition to get the site up and running in prototype and then the pro version $125 US once we are happy. Although CRE Loaded is based on Oscommerce, it is a much more professional product with built-in SSL support and a number of commercial add-ons. Also when it is installed from the download the standard template looks much more like a 21st century product, some of the others look like CSS was an after thought. Anyway thanks to Dave111223 for his recommendation and to Martin for highlighting some of the issues and if OP wants some more information on what I found please PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchfarangjomtien Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Hi, I am looking for: - an online shop designer (any system, show me examples please) - somebody who can code PHP modules for another already existing Drupal Ubercart shop Please tell me if you know some people able to do the job. Thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokcitylimits Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) E-commerce and Webshop 1&1 eCommerce 3Dcart Coffeecup E-commerce Pack CS Cart E-commerce Templates EasyCatalog Ebay Stores eCrater (marketplace) Etsy (handmades marketplace) Free Webshop Multiply (marketplace) My Shop / Mijn Winkel.nl (originally Dutch, very recommendable one) osCommerce PayPal Shopmaker ProStores Shopify Shopster (free online store) Volusion Webpage Maker Webs Business Yahoo Small Business Yola Business Zeta Stores Shopping Carts 1Shoppingcart Google Checkout OpenCart PayPal Zen Cart ZippyCart Online Payment Solutions 2Checkout ChronoPay ePassporte Flattr (pay, donate) IcePay MoneyBookers Payoneer PayPal TargetPay (europe only) WorldPay Xoom Edited January 10, 2011 by bangkokcitylimits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloFlyer Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) I'm also about to build an e-commerce site. I presume these package deals are better than trying to get one built from the ground up?? I like what BigCommerce says it can do. 40 bucks a month - you couldn't get something build from scratch for that?? PhuketMike, do you have some eg's of sites done with CRE loaded?? Edited January 10, 2011 by SoloFlyer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuket Mike Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I would take a look at Prestashop, very nice eccommerce package, free with loads of modules. Also has a Thai language pack. The main site has links to shops built with it, there are many partners that will create a theme or if your adventurous do it yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) I have used and highly recommend ROMANCART, its simple, very effective, nothing too technical and hasn't let me down one second in the last 3 years. I had it integrated in a few minutes with two major payment gateways. So easy to use and the support if needed is excellent and very fast. http://www.romancart.com Edited January 10, 2011 by CharlieH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloFlyer Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Thanks guys, keep the suggestions coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devdrinker Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 (edited) Well ... You need a proper authentication system. You need security updates You need to be able to APPLY the security updates, not a one-click job like the initial install from cPanel/Plesk etc.. more complicated when you are added various mods and plugins, tweaked files etc.. unless you know how to diff then you are pretty much screwed and we have yet another insecure web store, further denting consumer confidence in buying online, but welcome to the industry where every mom and pop thinks they can start a webstore. I disagree about the lockin factor of bigcommerce.com etc.. these people specialize in this area and you wont be thrown on a shared cpanel/plesk/ensim server with an attack vector bigger than the whole of China (an exaggeration based on number of services and web site running on each server). I would seriously recommend you look at offering that as SaaS (software as a service) such as bigcommerce.com and shopify.com and the rest - google them - etc.. most will have tools to export your data or an API when required. When the times comes you can go Martins route and get two VPS and replication setup, get a freelancer to export from the api, and someone to manage the security for you. Edited January 11, 2011 by devdrinker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloFlyer Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Facebook integration is very important - I've only seen that on BigCommerce so far (but I've only just started looking) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devdrinker Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Facebook integration is very important - I've only seen that on BigCommerce so far (but I've only just started looking) What type of intergration are you talking about? If its just the Like it button I belives its just a piece of html/Javascript (albeit referencing a rather nasty sized payload) which I believe most SaaS web stores will let you inject in. Shopify looks very promising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloFlyer Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I mean having both FB and our own site linked. BigCommerce offers this (here) which looks good. I want people to be able to buy direct from FB if possible. I'd also like what I load to FB to be loaded to our site, or vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crushdepth Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Shopping carts are only really useful if you have a large number of products. *If* you have a relatively small range of stuff, just sign up with an online reseller (eg. 2checkout.com or Paysbuy). You add your product info, prices and shipping rates to *their* system, and they give you html snippets you can embed in your own website. So you can concentrate on making a simple website to display your products (conceivably even a single html page), which carry links to an external ecommerce facility that handles the financial transactions + security. Another positive is you can create your own layout instead of following layout constraints followed by the cart software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phazey Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Why not try an already set up commerce engine on a Virtual Machine. This way you dont have to be a propeller head and can evaluate software that usually takes a day or two to install in minutes. You can get a list of commerce software already installed and running on it's OS via the VMWare Appliance marketplace here, and you'll need VMware player (free download), which is linked here. If you dont like VMWare, you can also use VirtualBox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devdrinker Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Crushdepth presents a very good point, I believe you can do the same with google checkout and paypal too. All these other solutions, might give you hundreds of feature or the ultimate feeling of control, but forget about the long term security, patching and maintenance, these things are just too easy to get up and running even a total newbie can do it - and therein lies the problem, all too easy to see with the thousands of active insecure oscommerce, joomla sites etc.. out there today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloFlyer Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Dev, I'm not sure what you mean... by using a package deal i'd be vulnerable to a hacker attack?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devdrinker Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 (edited) Dev, I'm not sure what you mean... by using a package deal i'd be vulnerable to a hacker attack?? No, by buying a package from bigcommerce or shopify or similar its the responsibility of their full time staff to protect against vulnerabilities (be them server level, the web server or database) or app level (XSS attacks, unchecked inputs, DDOS etc..), youd be expect to have a high level of confidence in terms of competence in security related issues (usually its warranted). By installing oscommerce, Zen, etc.. then its your responsibility to keep up to date, e.g. make sure you check the advisories daily for any published exploits (including those of your plugins), then you'll have to update your software, its easy relative easy if you made no tweaks, if you installed mods or plugins then you probably need to diff between them and patch where appropriate, if you're familiar with such then no problem. All of sudden its a little more complicated than the initial install. A lot of people just install it and forget believe that they wont be targetted but its mainly bots automatically exploring for vulnerability and then injecting viagra ads etc.. as you can imagine this does wonders for your google ranking and reputation, and my gripe for the reputation of those in the industry, hacked sites have a negative impact on the whole online confidence - look at the lifehacker.com disaster (and they were meant to be professional). Ultimately Im saying take on what your competence in this field can handle, be wary of anyone suggesting otherwise. If you can and want to handle the maintenance, then great, for me Im more inclined to send small businesses onto a SaaS offering, be it CMS, CRM or ecommerce, easier for everyone. Edited January 11, 2011 by devdrinker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloFlyer Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Thanks. I understand now. I don't need the hassle of all that maintenance. I'm playing with the bigcommerce demo now. Its very intuitive, although it will take a while to learn all of it, it seems very doable. But not sure if I have the time to do it all myself. Are there people around who can test what I'm doing?? Also, I'm going to need Thai on this site - dont know yet if these sites can handle that; but I would presume so??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokcitylimits Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Think of starting a Facebook Store, very interesting automatic network promotion options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloFlyer Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 BKKCL, can you elaborate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloFlyer Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Any more info on the facebook store? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.3b3332cc2256ad0edbc2fe9404feeef0.png)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now