Free Shopping Cart Software Versus Hosted and Managed

A common question about today's Ecommerce software is, "Do I buy managed

shopping cart software or use free open source software?"

Surprisingly, there is a simple and logical answer and many of you will find

it's a pretty standard answer to most things in life. You get what you pay

for!

Honestly, can free software really have;

a) Bug free stores and admin panels?

b) The most up to date upgrades constantly built into your store without you

doing anything?

c) Up to date search engine optimization?

d) Tech support from the company who created the software?.... and the list goes

on. It's just not possible to have all these very important details built into

free shopping cart software, these functions and services quite simply need to

be paid for since most companies prefer not to work for free, especially the

good ones.

There are two general types of internet merchants, experienced merchants with

the ability to do light programming and install software to a server which they

may own, then there is the merchant who may have an online store or is just

starting and would have a standard internet knowledge. At first I thought, being

in the first category, that free software would be just perfect for me, make a

few changes to the code, upload it to my server and run a perfect online store

for a very low cost. Unfortunately I found that by the time I worked out the

code and many bugs, then had the server cost, the security certificate cost and

the ongoing enhancement errors, I could have run a managed and paid version for

a set monthly fee and focused my time on the actual business. I ended up backwards with

what I though would be a cheaper option.

It's pretty clear that managed shopping cart softwares are becoming the choice for everyone these days. It's problem free,

works out cheaper in the long run and you receive the most up to date ecommerce

information you need to succeed.

After all, can you see any free shopping carts ranked number 1 in the world?

James O'Brien http://www.ashop.com.au Internet merchant IT Professional SEO Consultant