If you sell anything online it’s possible that you will eventually need a shopping cart. It’s okay to use basic PayPal buttons if you only sell a few items, but if you want things to be more automated then a shopping cart will help with that. You can still process payments via PayPal, no matter which cart you choose below, but it’s important to always find better ways to automate delivery as your business grows.
1ShoppingCart.com
This all-in-one solution is the answer for thousands of online business owners. You can use it to build your entire website from start to finish, or you can use it as an addition to the website you already have and make it look just like your current site.
You can have any type of product, from physical to digital, as well as options like color and size. You can add in shipping and even taxes, all with one piece of software. You can even sell subscriptions to your digital products via 1ShoppingCart’s robust features. You can try it free and they have a range of pricing options to fit most online business owners’ budgets.
Shopify.com
This shopping cart software allows you to build your online store from the ground up. You can create your own website template using HTML or CSS. They will even assign you a designer to help make your entire site for you. With everything integrated into one store, running your store will be simple.
You can integrate your store with QuickBooks, FreshBooks and even your email marketing software. It is made for social media with add-ons for Facebook, Pinterest and more. You can even embed your store on your current website if you want and easily manage an outstanding affiliate program. You can sell any type of merchandise, from physical to digital.
Zen-cart.com
This is free open source shopping cart software that you install in your own hosting. It has all the options that you need to open a robust online store. It is not hard to install but you will need basic computer knowledge and understanding of your hosting provider. You can buy some video-based training to help you set it up and keep it running properly. While free, it will take a lot more knowledge to get this one up and running.
PayPal.com
PayPal offers a very robust shopping cart option. This software allows you to add in shopping, taxes and any other up-front costs automatically. In reality, PayPal is a payment processor but they recommend and support various shopping cart options. If you are going to use PayPal as your payment processor, it won’t hurt to look at which shopping carts they recommend and work well with. Go to the PayPal Shopping Cart site and look at what they offer.
E-Junkie.com
This is one of the least expensive options available to help you add a functional shopping cart to your existing site. It works great if you have just a few options to buy. It’s an affiliate program too, so if you want to get affiliates for your products or services you can do this inexpensively with E-Junkie. It’s easy to set up and use. It also offers all the features you’d expect with a shopping cart directly on your site – digital storage and delivery, shipping calculator, sales tax and VAT calculator.
Any of these carts are functional regardless of whether you want to sell digital goods or physical goods. They all just have various levels of difficulty and pricing options. Each offers a free trial option so that you can find out which one will work for your needs.