In 2001 I developed my first eCommerce solution. I had no clue what I was doing.
What’s an internet merchant account? Is SSL necessary? Is there a correct type of shopping cart experience and what types of eCommerce are possible?
Five types of eCommerce shopping cart solutions exist: Custom programming, software (install), web based software, CMS plugins and buttons.
E-Commerce Shopping Cart Options
| Custom Programming |
Software | Web Based Software | CMS Plugins |
eCommerce Buttons |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providers | topLingo.com | ASP Dot Net Storefront (.NET)
X-Cart (PHP) Magento (PHP) |
Volusion.com | WP eCommerce | PayPal |
| Dev Cost | Starting at $5,000 – Avg $15k to $25k | $500 to $5000 depending upon customization | $500 to $5000 depending upon customization | FREE to $1000 | FREE to $500 |
| Hosting Cost | $25 to $500/mo. | $10 to $100/mo. | $25 to $150/mo. | FREE to $25/mo. | FREE to $25/mo. |
| Developer Knowledge | Highly Experienced | Medium Knowledge | Basic Knowledge | Basic Knowledge | Basic Knowledge |
| Highly Custom Features | YES | YES | YES – Not Ideal | NO | NO |
| Custom Programming |
Software | Web Based Software | CMS Plugins |
eCommerce Buttons |
|
| 1 to 10 Products | YES – Not Ideal | YES – Not Ideal | YES | YES | YES |
| 10 to 100 Products | YES – Not Ideal | YES – Not Ideal | YES | YES | YES |
| 100 to 10,000 Products | YES | YES | YES | NO | NO |
| 10,000+ Products | YES | YES – Not Ideal | YES – Not Ideal | NO | NO |
| Technology Does’t Matter | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Prefer .NET | Choose a .NET dev firm | Purchase .NET software | YES | NO | YES |
| Prefer PHP | Choose a PHP dev firm | Purchase PHP software | YES | YES | YES |
| Custom Programming |
Software | Web Based Software | CMS Plugins |
eCommerce Buttons |
|
| Pros | Unlimited scalability, no limitation on feature requests & you own the code | Inexpensive, moderate difficulty to install, up and running quickly, feature rich, benefit from the years of development and dollars the provider has put into the software. | Inexpensive, moderate difficulty to install, up and running quickly, feature rich, benefit from the years of development and dollars the provider has put into the software. | Easily jump into eCommerce, simple, easy to install, inexpensive | Simple, easy to install, up and processing in hours, inexpensive |
| Cons | Expensive initially, takes time to develop | Limitation developing custom features, developer may struggle learning codebase, no ownership of code. | Limitation developing custom features, developer may struggle learning codebase, no ownership of code. | Ideal for a small quantity of products, limited features, difficult to scale, no ownership of code. | Ideal for a small quantity of products, limited features, difficult to scale, no ownership of code, risk of being perceived as a low end business. |
To explain eCommerce easily to my clientele I created this “Steps to eCommerce” flowchart which still holds true over 8 years later. Of course prices have changed slightly and new options were introduced but the core concepts have remained.
Steps to eCommerce
I really appreciate what you post. You have a new subscriber now.
God help me, I put aside a whole afternoon to fguire this out.
HAHA! That’s funny! And I realize the options are a bit overwhelming.
Hey, you’re the goto exerpt. Thanks for hanging out here.
What do you mean by Unlimited scalability? Could you explain your hosting options to achieve unlimited scalability? Is it cloud or dedicated server? How much do you charge for feature requests ? hourly?
Magento has mobile support and highly advanced.
Do you have mobile support?
Hi Jon! Thanks for the AWESOME questions! And you’re right unlimited scalability could pertain to both programming and hosting.
In programming, I am referring to ensuring that your custom development is authored in a scalable solution like .NET or .PHP not something dated like Cold Fusion. And during development, the programmers have enough foresight to plan for the future and be able to scale your website as your business grows. Like planning for thousands site visitors or transactions or integrating with key third parties down the road.
In hosting, yes cloud hosting offers ultimate scalability. And most custom development firms develop for cloud hosting leveraging services from Amazon (http://aws.amazon.com/) Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/) and newcomer Google (http://www.google.com/enterprise/cloud/) who is now getting in the game. It’s more expensive of course.
Custom developers typically charge between $100 to $150 per hour, and most of them should have mobile support.