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When the Internet was first opened to the public, its promise seemed to lie in the exchange of knowledge and information. However, it very quickly also became a story about commerce, proving that whenever people gather, even if it's online, someone will always try to sell you something.
In the early days of the Web, e-commerce tools were hard-coded into a site. Now, these tools come in two varieties: stand-alone servers that run as full-fledged websites, or plug-ins created by content management tools such as Joomla or WordPress that can be integrated into an existing site.
These tools provide online merchants -- from individuals to large corporations -- with the capability to enter new products, track existing product inventory, and give customers safe and varied options for shipping and payment.
To find some of the best e-commerce tools that are available today, we took a good look at ten of the better-known e-commerce platforms currently available.
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WooThemes
Price: Free
Platform: WordPress
Version reviewed: 1.5.3
Type of user: Internet storefronts
WooCommerce is a WordPress plug-in that does a pretty good job of fulfilling the needs of the average e-commerce site owner.
WooCommerce doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the commercial versions of Cart66, the other WordPress plug-in in this review. But free-of-charge WooCommerce runs laps around Cart66 Lite.
All the standard features are here: payment gateways, shipping, SEO analytics through Google and built-in reports. Plus, given the provenance of the tool -- WooThemes -- it goes without saying that there's quite a bit of pretty to be found here, since WooThemes is in the business of creating some very sharp-looking website themes.
But in terms of substance, there is something lacking. Yes, there are payment gateway choices, but only four, compared to the dozens out there. And there are only five shipping options available, when other tools include ten or so. Of course, like other e-commerce platforms, you can add more modules to get the extra functions you need, and thankfully the prices are not unreasonable.
If you want something more full-featured out of the box and have the budget, I would suggest going with Cart66 as an e-commerce solution for WordPress. But if you're looking for a free system, WooCommerce is the way to go.
Zen Ventures, LLC
Price: Free, donations accepted
Platform: Stand-alone
Version reviewed: 1.5.0
Type of user: Internet storefronts
Zen Cart, which, judging by its feature set, is a very powerful PHP-script e-commerce system, has by far the clumsiest interface of the tools reviewed here.
This is not an aesthetic call -- though that would be hard to argue against as well. Rather, I found the administrative side of this free tool to be overly complicated and difficult to use. The front ends don't seem all that much better; I visited a few of the showcase sites and wasn't overly impressed.
If you have a LAMP system, then installing Zen Cart is a typical and unremarkable process. Once you get the hang of the tools (and find the plug-ins and add-ons page), you can create functional pages, but you will need some strong Web design help to make them look really sharp.
While osCommerce at least looked similar to other e-commerce tools, the administrative panel of Zen Cart was so cumbersome that it was hard to find even the basic features. With some digging, I discovered the project management, shipping and payment gateway features, as well as some add-ons I was pleasantly surprised to see, like a dedicated banner manager and a very rich set of catalog-management tools.
Given the plethora of choices that are available for PHP-based e-commerce systems, it is hard to recommend Zen Cart to anyone but the most detail-oriented administrators who are willing to spend the time on the steep learning curve needed to get this tool running smoothly.
Bottom line
After reviewing the packages highlighted in this article, it's apparent that many of the same tools and features are found in most e-commerce products, and that all of them have the capability of producing workable and useful e-commerce pages.
What you need to do is determine the amount of time and effort you want to put into building your online store. If you want a fast, turnkey system, then Cart66 or PrestaShop is the way to go. For those people who want more granular control over their stores, OpenCart or osCommerce may be better choices.
Whatever your solution, just make sure there's a strong and vibrant community available to help you with the system you choose, and enough add-ons to help you enhance your system when needed.
Brian Proffitt is a veteran IT writer with experience in open source, mobile and big data technologies. An unrepentant Hoosier, he can be followed on Twitter: @TheTechScribe.
Read more about Retail in Computerworld's Retail Topic Center.
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