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Shopping Cart engines. How many of them? And how to find your own?



Once a search engine for an online store brought me to the resource www.practicalecommerce.com
Where I read this phrase: - There are more than 350 online shopping engines. And every week we discuss one, interviewing both the developer of the engine and the client ...

Is it really so much? I thought. Yes, more than 540 CMS are registered on some Russian resources. But not all of them are shops, and most of them are self-made studio engines. And if you take only the box, then there are only about 30. So where are the hundreds? And, most importantly, did I miss the best engine? Which lies somewhere, and is waiting for me. And I decided to find these same hundreds.
Have I achieved my goal, read on ...
')

Foreword


Shopping Cart Software, programs of shopping carts , or in Russian store engines. Specialized class of e-commerce software. It will be a question only of box products (further boxes). That is serial, separately alienable, without development. Questions engine selection constantly cause holivarny disputes. Both among developers and among owners of online stores. Both real and potential.
The article has no reviews and arguments which engine is better. The article does not claim to be exhaustive and comprehensive. This is a view from the web studio. Using political terminology, I would call this position centrist. Well, occupy the extreme positions. On the one hand, the producers are the Companies Shopping Cart developers. On the other hand, consumers are eCommerce companies, store owners. In the market language web studio is an intermediary. For the side view position is quite acceptable.
In the portfolio of my studio there are shops on 5 different engines. Among them are paid, free, SaaS and frameworks with store modules.
At the time of this writing, I am not a dealer for any of the engines listed in the article. Therefore, I do not have commercial, professional, personal and any other interests to praise or scold any of them.
In addition, before my studio built shops on the engine of its own design. But now we do not support him and completely switched to the box. I think such a transition is inevitable in the segment of shops for small and medium businesses.

Classification


With rare exceptions, and in practice, most Russian boxed Shopping Cart are not specialized, but universal . They are designed as an additional expansion module to the core of a multi-functional CMS. In foreign boxed Shopping Cart everything is exactly the opposite. The core core functionality is a store that manages catalogs, products, payment, and delivery. A CMS in the store is just an add-on. To create small information pages and news, often even without sections and nesting.
This article has no purpose to discuss the merits or disadvantages of one or another approach. Each market dictates its own requirements. The Shopping cart position is also different in the Russian and foreign software classifications.

In the Russian classification
* System software
* Software protection
* Tool software
* Application software


In foreign classification (USA)
* Business
* Education
* Entertainment
* Finance and Accounting
* Foreign languages
* House, Hobby
* Internet, E-commerce

* Multimedia
* Links / Lifestyle
* Security and Privacy
* Utilities

Where to look and how many were found


73 engines - Wikipedia. Article Comparison of shopping cart programs.
24 engines - Top Ten Review. Review of the top ten technology products.
32 engines - Cards Tu Kart Migreyshn. Migration from one engine to another.
31 engine - CMS Magazine. Journal of Content Management Systems.

The results of my searches can be viewed here .
As you can see, there were a hundred more than there are on Russian resources. Namely 130 boxes .
The engines are arranged in the order of the English alphabet from A to Z by brand name. Overview information can be found on the above sources. Detailed information and demo versions on the official websites of manufacturers. In addition to the list, I compiled a PDF reference book with the following brief information. Logo, manufacturer, website address, license price, program language .

How to choose?


At first glance, such a large selection may plunge someone into a panic.
For questions like:

But for those who are more experienced the answer is obvious. To search for the Store Engine, you need to apply Store Engine Tools. These are called Item Parameters Filters. There are many comparison parameters, there are 120 of them, they are discussed below. Of course, all parameters are not needed. It is enough to choose three, four properties or functions that are crucially important for your future online store.

For example:


After sifting engines through several such filters, only a few will remain in the list of hundreds . And the remaining engines can be considered in detail on the manufacturer’s website. Try a test store and control in Live Demo mode. For paid engines familiarize yourself with the technical support system. For free on the official forum assess the qualifications of the community. Next to test connect professionals. Download the trial version. Install on a local server. View templates, scripts, database. Try to adapt the design theme. Download and upload content. Such a detailed acquaintance with the engine will reduce the risks of the project. And lay the foundation for its successful launch.

Comparison options


The most detailed parameters for comparing store engines are given by the Wikipedia article mentioned earlier. 73 engines, 120 parameters in 14 sections. Such a variety of parameters shows only one. Modern Shoppping Cart is a complex software product. And their complexity is constantly increasing. Along with the increasing demands of the market. Also increases the responsibility for the correct choice of the engine.

general information


Database


General characteristics


Characteristics for the Buyer


Customer Reward Functions


Functions of the Administration Panel

Search Engine Optimization Options

Security features

Other Functions

Supports Payment Gateways


Support Alternative Ordering

Calculation of delivery in real time


Integration with Delivery Booking System


Integration with Delivery Tracking System


Conclusion


The title of the article contains the question How to find your own? Note, not the best, namely your own. Because the best engines do not happen, however, like all perfect. That is why there are hundreds of them. To each find their own. Search and be sure to find. The main thing, do not despair. And before you start drafting a technical task. On designing your own original bike from scratch, think. Maybe this is exactly your bike that has long been assembled and ready to go. You just need to find it. And you can safely sit down and go.

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/129219/

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