Zen Cart
It's a vast, superbly put-together piece of software which requires at least some basic familiarity with how online shops work just to use it once it's been installed. The installation process itself is certainly not for amateurs, and you'd be best off getting it installed on your behalf or using the easy-to-install scripts on a cpanel hosting service which offers Fantastico, like Nativespace.com. That said, this really is a powerful ecommerce tool, and I would certainly recommend that you read up on it, certainly if you're considering paying a lot of money to somebody to get an online shop built. What's on offer with Zen Cart?This is Open Source software, which means it's free to download and use.
To quote from the website, here are just a few of the features on offer: * easy installation Who should use it?Most people will start an online shop on eBay, then find the page templates, control panel and fees prohibitive as they start to become established.  When
they start to make some money, they'll look around for something different.
Also, owners of traditional stores will be interested in online shop software. Take great care when chatting to webmasters, if you're not careful, you can end up spending a lot of money on creating a web store and you really don't need to. I'd recommend this software for the following people: # People who want to graduate from an eBay store or other 'off the shelf' and generic product # People who are offering extensive stock and want a large and flexible store # People who have some basic technical knowledge or who are prepared to pay some money to a hosting company or similar to make the basic installation for them. # People looking for a powerful, flexible, stable and well-respected online store which offers good customization options.
Is it any good?Although I do not personally run an online shop, I have installed and set up my own Zen Cart test store to familiarise myself with how it works. I did the same with other popular software options like osCommerce and CubeCart. I found Zen Cart by far the most intuitive, flexible and best supported system. There are a number of certified hosting providers available and I strongly suggest you choose one of these if you decide to use this product as they will be able to give you knowledgeable support if you run into technical problems. I particularly liked the ability to add different payment methods to your online store - like Paypal for instance - and integration was simple and impressive.
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Zen
Cart is a superb - and free - ecommerce tool, but be warned, it's
not for the novice or person looking for a 'quick fix'.
Does
it come with support?# You can get the software installed very cheaply (£100-£200)
via specialist webmasters on eBay
# All your store details are stored in a database - make one of
the first things you learn 'How to back up and restore my database'
# Remember, there's always an ebay shop for starters if you have
limited time or resources - an ebay shop is quick and instant, even
though there are costs involved
# This product is so widely used and well established, it even comes with its own book.
It might be worth getting hold of a copy, or seeing if it's stocked in your local library, before you make a big commitment to this software.
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