Open Source Ecommerce solutions
Besides using a website for advertising and branding purposes, more and more companies are now selling actual products through their websites. Most of you are familiar with buying books online at amazon.com or buying clothes at sites like www.landsend.com.
Behind the scenes of these websites, extensive software and hardware is used for managing inventories, accepting payments, and updating product information. Large companies have invested large sums of money to make these systems work, and the payoff has been very positive. At last count Amazon.com sold over 20 billion (!) worth of products through its website. That’s a 20 with a lot of zeros...
Now, what about small and medium sized businesses? Is selling products online like the big guys out of reach? Not at all! There are several Open-Source Ecommerce platforms available that are used by hundreds of thousands of websites around the world.
For example, VirtueMart is Free Shopping cart software that can be integrated into the Joomla Content Management System. It does take some time and knowledge to set-up, but the implementation cost is a fraction of that of a custom built online store. It is very robust and secure, and includes many standard features that are customizable to your product or service. Your online store can be open 24/7 and accept online payments in a fully automated manner.
Magento is geared to more extensive web stores and allows management of several stores in different languages. This product is backed by a professional development company that offers different levels of service, based on the customer’s needs. The basic version is free, but additional features are available as your website (and your profits) grows.
One of the great benefits of Open Source software such as VirtueMart and Magento over proprietary systems is the large developer and user base behind the product. You are no longer dependent on a single software vendor that may or may not be in business next year.
As we do more projects with these systems, we will gladly discuss the possibilities for your business to sell online.
Behind the scenes of these websites, extensive software and hardware is used for managing inventories, accepting payments, and updating product information. Large companies have invested large sums of money to make these systems work, and the payoff has been very positive. At last count Amazon.com sold over 20 billion (!) worth of products through its website. That’s a 20 with a lot of zeros...
Now, what about small and medium sized businesses? Is selling products online like the big guys out of reach? Not at all! There are several Open-Source Ecommerce platforms available that are used by hundreds of thousands of websites around the world.
For example, VirtueMart is Free Shopping cart software that can be integrated into the Joomla Content Management System. It does take some time and knowledge to set-up, but the implementation cost is a fraction of that of a custom built online store. It is very robust and secure, and includes many standard features that are customizable to your product or service. Your online store can be open 24/7 and accept online payments in a fully automated manner. Magento is geared to more extensive web stores and allows management of several stores in different languages. This product is backed by a professional development company that offers different levels of service, based on the customer’s needs. The basic version is free, but additional features are available as your website (and your profits) grows.One of the great benefits of Open Source software such as VirtueMart and Magento over proprietary systems is the large developer and user base behind the product. You are no longer dependent on a single software vendor that may or may not be in business next year.
As we do more projects with these systems, we will gladly discuss the possibilities for your business to sell online.
