Ecommerce Software Choices - Hosted or Non Hosted Shopping Carts

A Home Business Article Contributed by Elizabeth Fox-Wise

When Choosing Ecommerce Software - to Host Your Shopping Cart or Not - That is the Question!

Your choice of ecommerce shopping cart software can make a huge difference on the success or failure of your ecommerce business. Your shopping cart must flow smoothly with the rest of your web site and must make the shopping and buying experience pleasurable for your customers. Statistics show that nothing will lead to "abandoned shopping carts: (when customers fill a cart but leave your site without making their purchases) like a frustrating check out process. Therefore, choosing an ecommerce shopping cart software is not a choice that should be made hastily.

Based on the hosting services provided, ecommerce shopping cart software can be broken down into two sub categories: Application Service Provider (ASP) and Non-Application Service Providers (Non-ASP).

Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software with Hosting

Application Service Provider Shopping Cart Ecommerce Software is remotely hosted by another web site, often your web site host. An ASP hosted shopping cart allows the ecommerce site owner to create, maintain and update his ecommerce site in a central web-based data location as determined by the host site. This type of ecommerce software typically comes with maintenance and technical support from the host.

For small. start up, and other low volume ecommerce sites, an ASP ecommerce software might be the best solution. Typically, they are most cost effective for a low volume business because the fee schedule is often set up on a "per use" basis. This means the price that you are paying each month is in direct correlation to the volume of sales generated from your site that month and the numbers of times the shopping carts were actually used.

This is also a big advantage to online businesses which sell seasonal products. During your off season when site is not as busy, operating costs will decrease.

ASP ecommerce solution also does not require that your ecommerce business pay a licensing fee which is typical of Non-ASP ecommerce software. You are not purchasing your shopping cart software when you used a hosted shopping cart, you are instead renting it monthly.

Furthermore, ASP ecommerce software typically includes some site maintenance and technical assistance when things go wrong which can mean less down time for a struggling start up ecommerce we site.

Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software Without Hosting

Non-ASP ecommerce shopping cart software is different in a couple of distinct ways.

Unlike the ASP ecommerce software, Non-Asp software is typically purchased outright by the business which intends to use it. Therefore, Non-ASP ecommerce shopping cart software requires more cash be laid out to get started. The software itself can range in price from $150 - upwards of $950, on top of this, there is often an additional licensing fee.

Depending on the company selling the ecommerce software, the package you are purchasing could come with maintenance and support, but it also may not. It also might come with free upgrades to the software as they become available, or there could be additional charges to get upgrades.

In general, Non-ASP ecommerce software is best for medium to large ecommerce businesses with a higher volume of customer sales.