When you create a website that includes an electronic store, there are several different methods for accepting payments. The most basic is to activate the shopping cart provided by the web server and format it with a PayPal account. This allows merchants to accept PayPal, all major credit cards, and electronic check payments for their merchandise. So why use these shopping carts?
Because they offer merchants additional features that they cannot find with web hosting cart. A web shopping cart is the most basic and easiest to navigate. This is the ideal option for anyone who is new to creating a website and is looking for something very basic to work with. You can upload product images and information, as well as set a product description and shipping guidelines. PayPal is considered a payment flow gateway. There are several options for this to allow merchants to accept credit cards. Another popular option is Google Merchant accounts. Both are free and easy to set up.
The features that are included with these vary by developer. There are hundreds to choose from. Most web hosts will offer a small selection of “quick install” third-party shopping carts for your convenience. This means you won’t need to rework HTML code or have any real knowledge of website building to add one of these carts. Once a shopping cart has been added to a website, you will need to set it up according to the instructions. This will help merchants identify products, customize their appearance, generate discount codes, generate gift certificates, and more.
Some are more difficult to maneuver than others. Most of these do not offer live technical support. If you have questions, there are extensive forums to search or you can post a question for other people to answer. The average web builder who has little knowledge of this type of technology will benefit from using Design Cart. This web cart offers an easy to use point and click system to customize and design a complete shopping cart. Advanced users choose Zen Cart. This is considered the number one series available on the web for free. It allows merchants to generate and accept coupons and create a unique web store for their customers. However, Zen cart is not recommended for those who have no knowledge of web design. Forums are helpful, but will leave you searching for more answers if you don’t know where to start to get to where changes need to be made.