PHP Shopping Cart Software Integration

PHP shopping cart software integration is frequently something that is overlooked. People simply think that all shopping cart software is easily integrated into a design. However, many shopping carts are not designed in a way that makes it very easy at all, while others make it so easy that a novice programmer could do it without blinking an eye. You should definitely keep an eye out though when purchasing shopping cart software on how easy it will be to get it onto your website.

If you are truly concerned, I would start out by asking the developer to provide the documentation on how to integrate it. This will likely give you a good perspective on what to expect. If the developer will not give you access to that, this could be a red flag that perhaps there is not good documentation or that it could end up being far more difficult than one would hope for.

I have seen some shopping carts that it is just a matter of putting a single line of code into your website. It will show up, look great, and you will never have a problem. Others will require that you manipulate every page of the shopping cart from beginning to end. You will need to build your website around the shopping cart, change button colors, alter the css file, and make other various HTML changes. These are a pain, and should be avoided when possible if they do not have the proper documentation. A good shopping cart will make it easy to alter the size, structure, and layout of the shopping cart. They might even have different themes available that might help you to match your existing design. When all else fails and you have odd colors, you might even just have to change a little bit of CSS to really get it looking like you would want it to look. It starts with good documentation though from the developer.

The importance of having an integrated shopping cart often goes overlooked. I will even go on to say that it lacks professionalism when it is not done properly. Some companies feel that simply having their banner or logo on the page of the shopping cart is good enough. To be honest though, this is not the extent I consider integration to be. If the buttons and colors of the shopping cart do not match your website, then this is not true integration. This is just something that lacks professionalism in my opinion.

When people are in the ordering process, it is natural for people to frequently back out. They might just be checking the final price on one of your items. However, others will place something in their shopping cart and the ordering process gives them time to ponder. Do they really need the item? Is this the right company to buy from? Is this the cheapest available on the internet? These are all questions that will run through almost every buyers mind. Why do you want to give them a reason to doubt the professionalism of your company? This is something that will cross their mind if you have a poorly done job on integrating your shopping cart. You want to give them every reason to buy from you, not every reason to leave your site. In the end, with good integration you will find that you will be much more pleased with your conversion ratios when people visit your shopping cart if it is integrated properly and matches your website as closely as possible.

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PHP Shopping Cart Software Benefits

Are you looking for a shopping cart right now? Are you having trouble deciding between two shopping carts even though you know that they may be done in different languages? This is a common problem. As there are so many shopping carts on the market right now, it can be really difficult making the decision which shopping cart would just so happen to be right for you. If you are trying to make the choice between PHP or any other language, let me just be blunt on this issue: go with the PHP shopping cart. I do not think that you will regret your decision in the long run.

It is Easy to Find Developers

I can not tell you how many times I have purchased a script, wanted to change something small, and found a developer to make the change for me. While I almost always try to find scripts that do not need altering, there have been several times where it was simply unavoidable. This being the case, PHP is a language that has many developers. Some of these other languages have a very limited amount of programmers to choose from. Since this is the case, they almost always charge a lot more for any work they do. I have seen upwards of 5 or 6 times more the rates that they charge. If you go to the right place, some foreign PHP programmers will charge around $10 to $20 per hour. That is roughly the going rate for a good PHP programmer to do work on your scripts.

Most Web Hosting Does Support It

If you do not know a lot about what you are doing when you purchase web hosting, you most likely have purchased some type that supports PHP. The vast majority on the market do. However, there are other languages that your web hosting may not support. For example, if you are looking at a shopping cart that is coded with the language of asp, you will almost always need to find web hosting that supports that. In fact, most do not and that is why it can cost you more in the future as well. PHP is simply a language that is popular enough that most web hosting companies realize they must offer support for it to be competitive in their field.

PHP is Very Secure

When you are working ecommerce, there is no doubt that security is a big concern. You do not want to accidentally have your website hacked. This not only looks bad on you, but could cost you a lot of money in the end if you are found guilty of not properly protecting clients’ information. However, hacking is not as big of a concern if the programming is done properly when it comes to PHP. PHP is actually just a language that tells the server to do something. Therefore, everything that it does is always unseen by the average user. This is not to say that if you use PHP that your site can not be hacked. It is simply saying that processing client information with PHP is frequently done and not a security risk.

Easy Integration

Since PHP is really built to drive websites, scripts are frequently done in a way that makes integration of the script extremely easy. Therefore, many shopping carts that you feel would work right out of the box you may be able to setup yourself. Even if you do not know much about programming a little guidance from forums and reading the installation instructions could save you a lot of money. This way, you are not hiring someone else to do it for you. Not all PHP scripts are done in a way that makes it easy, but many are so it is hit and miss one which ones you can do yourself and which ones you cannot if you not familiar with PHP programming.

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Why PHP Shopping Cart Software?

By this point, you are probably already looking around at various shopping carts. You probably already have a rough idea of which ones you are looking at. However, like many people, you may have found ones that were built with different languages. The purpose of this article is to tell you which one I prefer, and I will tell you why. To put it simply, I try to stick with PHP whenever I can. Unless it might save me money to go with the other, but I always try to keep the long-term point of view in perspective when purchasing scripts. PHP is simply the better long-term choice.

It is Easy to Make Changes

PHP is actually not a difficult language. With a couple of books, you will be well on your way to modifying and perhaps even creating fairly advanced scripts. PHP may appear confusing at initial glance, but if you take the process one step at a time, I have seen people learn the language in mere hours. I am not going to say that you will for certainty be able to make changes. However, other developers can if you are unable to do so. With this being the case, it drives the price down because the vast majority of changes you might be seeking are rarely complex.

Many Developer to Choose From

Unfortunately with many languages that are less popular, there are far less developers in the marketplace. This proposes two significant problems. First, you are looking at far more expensive rates. Just like anything else, if there are very few people in the field, you can typically charge more. Programmers are no different. They know that if you are asking for a request that only a few people can do then they can charge more to complete the task. Secondly, when you do find a developer, you will almost always be stuck with them for quite a while. Just like any other profession, you find some good ones and some bad ones. They might be extremely slow in getting your tasks completed. Unfortunately, where as with PHP you can quickly change developers, other languages you may not be able to do that with.

Information Will Be Secure

In the world of ecommerce, people are already skeptical about buying things online. They are concerned about their information and you know that you will be handling a lot of private information that should never get leaked out to the public. Credit card information, full names, and addresses are just a few things that people want to keep private. Therefore, security of that information is a huge part of having a successful business. Luckily, PHP is always server side scripting. This simply means that PHP handles information away from where others can see it. This is not to say that PHP websites can not be compromised by hackers. However, it is far less common if the programming side of things is done properly.

PHP is Almost Always Supported

PHP is an extremely popular language. For this reason, almost any web hosting company supports it in at least one of their packages. I have yet to see a web hosting company that charges extra or requires you to buy an expensive package for access to use PHP scripts on your website. Unlike other languages, such as asp, you will be limited to not only which packages you can use, but even companies. Most web hosting companies, in fact, do not even support that language. However, you may find shopping carts on the market that are built in this language. Generally speaking, I think PHP is simply the better choice.

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