2004 ~ Macromedia - Developer Center: Choosing a Shopping Cart ~ p.1-5

Some Shopping Cart Types
1. Server Behaviors / Extensions
-carts of this type are sold as extensions and create the code for your shopping cart instantly
-provide the most flexible design and function possibilities

2. Complete Applications
-contain all of the pages and code that you need to complete the store
-pages are based on predefined templates
-usually come with complete databases

3. Web-Based Applications
-these are complete applications that are hosted by a third party site
-provide you with an access point and online tools for controlling product details
-contain all of the pages and code that you need to complete the store

How to Choose a Shopping Cart

What Application Server to Use
-you will want to drive the content from a data source…this can be done from a database
-to do this you will want and application server such as ASP, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, JSP or PHP
-when a user adds an item to the shopping basket, the app stores the data in either a session variable (on the server) or in a cookie (on the client machine)
-the code that does this is specific to the server
-don't mix server code….don't run ASP.NET on a Linux Server

What is your Level of Experience?
-can use Dreamweaver MX to create robust site without knowing a lot about coding
-can design dynamic website with little knowledge of database design
-if you are brand new to web development or have come from a design background, he recommends a complete application
-if you have strong application development background, or you have time to learn, then it is better to select a cart with server model behaviors
-check CharonCart, Cartweaver, Storefront, and UltraCartII
-find out what level of support the cart software offers…faqs…or check the dreamweaver.appdev forurm

.....What are your cart's requirements?.....

What country are you located in and what country are your clients located in?
-development is not international
-most cart software is developed in US
-dynamic shipping rates don't work for all countries
-may need to customize pages to remove such things as zip codes, state lists, or validation items…need to be able to customize
-need to be able to customize based on taxes
-need to be able to handle multiple currencies

What does your client structure look like?
-are the clients products structured into categories
-do the products vary in size and color
-do the products need to display more than one image

Who are your client's customers and how will they place orders?
-eCommerce sites are divided into two types: B2C (business to customer), B2B (business to business)
-B2C sell a small number of items at a set price to a large number of individuals
-B2B sites have a small number of customers, may have to implement additional security, different pricing structures, and give customers the ability to load multiple items into the cart at the same time

How does your client want to maintain the site?
-need to establish how your client will maintain the info stored in the database
-some carts come with complete front ends
-Dreamweaver MX will allow you to do this

What transaction volume does the client expect?
-the amounts of transactions will determine what type database you will use…Microsoft access won't be able to handle large amounts of transactions
-larger databases such as mySQL

What are future clients likely to want?
-online web application for the shopping cart will require a separate set up for each client
-but purchasing a cart will allow you tailor content

What is your budget?
-shopping carts range from free to several thousand dollars
-consider the time needed to learn the software, and how long it will take you to modify features

What does the price include?
-does the price include the ability to create multiple carts or are you expected to pay license fees on additional sites
-do you have the tools to build the complete application (such as the admin back-end), or is this included as an extra option
-is the price based on a particular database model