Free vs Hosted Shopping Cart

All ecommerce businesses have a choice between either using a free or a hosted shopping cart. The shopping cart is one of the most important parts of an online retail store. A customer's order depends on an efficient and reliable cart software to sum up the total amount of products, calculate the final cost, accept the customer's credit card and process the payment. A website shopping cart is just one aspect of an ecommerce solution, which also includes hosting, store design and other features that are needed to create an e-commerce store. The free or open source version can be downloaded and used by anyone that already has a website with hosting.

Many people are interested in using a free website shopping cart for their store, because the fact that it costs nothing is very appealing. Another major advantage is its flexibility, this type of software can be completely customized. There are numerous features available, which are just like that of the hosted shopping cart. It is becoming a popular solution for people looking to create an e-commerce business without a lot of money to spare.

There are just as many if not more disadvantages for selecting a free over a hosted shopping cart. Here is a list of some obvious disadvantages:

• Programming skills and technical knowledge are needed to set up and customize the website shopping cart to match the look and feel of your online store
• Web site must already have hosting
• Upgrades are not always available and if they are, you might be charged for it in addition to added features
• Lacks basic support, you have to search for the answers to your problems on support forums
• Servers are often overloaded with numerous sites, which can lead to slow performance or even downtime
• No automatic security updates

There is a much higher percentage of people who choose to use an e-commerce solution with a hosted shopping cart service. There are several good reasons for doing this, the biggest benefit is improved security and reliability. Customers receive much more support from an e-commerce solution and new features and upgrades are enabled automatically. There are a lot more features that can directly help your ecommerce store, especially if you have plans to expand and grow your business. Unlike using a free cart, you do not have to have any technical knowledge. As a matter of fact you can create your store in only a few minutes using pre-made storefront templates that are usually provided by the ecommerce solution.



If you can't decide between either using a free or hosted shopping cart, you need to try out both shopping carts software solutions. The free option has to be downloaded and installed on a website that already has hosting. You can also try the hosted option free of charge for a limited time depending on the ecommerce solution.

What you need is a full service all-in-one hosting, design, and marketing software made specifically for e-commerce businesses. A hosted shopping cart that lets you set up your store in minutes, and provides powerful tools to help with SEO, product marketing and mobile commerce. Check out the best possible e-commerce solutions available at http://www.makeanonlinestore.com and try them out yourself absolutely free, no credit card required!