Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » osCommerce http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog Web Hosting Industry News, Latest Trends, and Analyses. Thu, 24 May 2012 11:11:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Linux and E-Commerce: The Top 5 Best Hosts for Two Long-term Trendshttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/linux-e-commerce-best-hosts/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/linux-e-commerce-best-hosts/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:05:37 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=2483 Let’s mix up two of the biggest of web hosting trends for this Top 5.  Linux is quickly becoming the operating system of choice for many webmasters.  It goes without saying that where there’s web hosting, there is a need for E-Commerce.  Given the enhanced reliability and added security that comes from a Linux server, more hosts offer it, and thus, it appears likely that the intersection between these two trends will only keep growing stronger.

If that’s the case, then it’s a good idea to go over the options available to someone investigating Linux servers and E-Commerce for their web sites.  Here are five hosts that are good selections for the Linux E-Commerce user, judged not just by their specific E-commerce offerings, but by what else they have to offer surrounding those packages:

1) WebHostingHub

WebHostingHub’s Premium Website Builder lets you build a storefront from scratch without having to fuss with any other programs.  For those of you who want to dive into the nuts and bolts, though, WebHostingHub should have everything you need to get started.  Their supported shopping cart packages include Cube Cart, OS Commerce, and Zen Cart.  Among important and related features are RingCentral, a virtual phone system, RatePoint, a word-of-mouth marketing program, and iContact, an email marketing tool.

2) JustHost

This big name in the web hosting world impresses with a strong array of both E-commerce and other supporting features.  They offer OS Commerce and Agora shopping carts, several types of security protection, Merchant Account and PayPal support.  Their accounts also come with several different types of site building software and lots of ad credits.

3) iPage

The very affordable web hosting accounts at iPage have three shopping cart options (ShopSite, osCommerce and Agora), multiple content management system packages, $150 in ad word credits, related scripting and other software of all varieties.  They are one of the largest hosts around today, meaning they have experience in managing and supporting these packages.

4) DowntownHost

One of the better-kept secrets in the hosting world, DowntownHost has a dazzling array of features.  CubeCart, OS Commerce and Zen Cart are all offered.  Even more impressive is their dozen different portals and content management systems, 5 blogging software packages, 2 project management software packages, and a few miscellaneous programs that you don’t see often but could greatly enhance the right E-commerce site, such as Noah’s Classifieds and PHPAuction.

5) BlueHost

Another big player in the web hosting world with millions of sites on their servers, BlueHost has one of the largest selections of shopping cart systems, with OS Commerce, Agora, Cube and Zen carts all present.  Rounding out their offerings is support for lots of types of multimedia, script support with some more rare inclusions such as DHTML, and an average 30 second hold time to reach a technical representative.

As stated above, the amount of hosting companies that we will be looking at for this category will likely do nothing but increase over time, and increase rapidly.  It appears safe to say, though, that these five companies will continue to have a strong place on our list for some time to come.

Related posts:

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/linux-e-commerce-best-hosts/feed/ 0 Using Free Shopping Carts for Your E-Commerce Websitehttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/using-free-shopping-carts-for-your-e-commerce-website/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/using-free-shopping-carts-for-your-e-commerce-website/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:03:41 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1529 E-commerce has reshaped the face of every industry on the planet, connecting prospective customers to retailers and service providers around the world. With the advent of the Internet the marketing potential of every business has skyrocketed, and it is now possible for an aspiring online entrepreneur to go from zero to hero in less than a year. The advantages of marketing products and services online are obvious, and include a diversified client base and simplified/cheaper business promotion. One of the main aspects of any e-commerce website is the shopping cart, which is a server-side application that allows the online shopper to purchase more than one item at a time and perform a variety of other tasks. If you’ve ever shopped online before, then you have probably used a shopping cart. Fortunately, you don’t have to pay a lot of money to have a good shopping cart for your e-commerce website – consider the following free e-commerce shopping carts.

OsCommerce

OsCommerce has consistently been one of the most popular shopping cart applications available, primarily because it is user-friendly yet provides robust functionality. OsCommerce is particularly effective in providing an enjoyable and convenient shopping experience for the customer, which thereby increases conversion rates and improves customer satisfaction. The shopping cart has integrated shipping and processing, pre-order, product review, and automatic e-mail components that simplify the job of the webmaster by automating redundant tasks related to customer follow-ups and billing. OsCommerce is also compatible with a variety of payment processors (including PayPal), which allow you to accept credit card payments securely.

CubeCart

CubeCart is one of the most customizable, yet user-friendly free shopping carts. The application utilizes theme-based design allows you to quickly adjust the appearance of the shopping interface on-the-fly. CubeCart is also one of the few shopping carts that automatically generates product catalog page URLs that are optimized for the search engines. CubeCart lets your customers use coupon codes and certificates for discounts. To simplify the check out process for site visitors, CubeCart has an integrated shipping and tax calculator, and is compatible with a variety of world currencies. If you plan on selling digital items online, you’ll be pleased to learn that CubeCart has secure download delivery features, and also has integrated e-mail marketing functionality.

ZenCart

Although not quite as popular as the two aforementioned free shopping carts, ZenCart is extremely suitable for novice webmasters. ZenCart is more than just a shopping cart, it is a shopping cart/content management system hybrid that allows you to create custom checkout pages using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor with a basic user interface. ZenCart is also equipped with product catalog creators the let you easily upload product details and images, and then organize this content into specific categories to create a convenient shopping experience for your site visitors. ZenCart is extremely easy to install, and includes a developer’s toolkit that can be used by novice webmasters to find specific code strings for editing.

Related posts:

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/using-free-shopping-carts-for-your-e-commerce-website/feed/ 0 Free Ecommerce Solutionshttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/free-ecommerce-solutions/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/free-ecommerce-solutions/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:24:28 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1366 The internet is a very valuable business platform. Every business needs to have an internet presence so that they can stay ahead of the competition. If your business offers good or services which may be marketed on the internet then you will need to set up an ecommerce website. An ecommerce website is simply another name for an online store front.

Ecommerce

Building an ecommerce website from scratch can be quite difficult and expensive. The shopping cart and payment modules are very difficult to implement. This type of software is very flexible as it’s possible to make the ecommerce website behave exactly as required. However, coding your own website from the bottom up will be very time consuming and could also be expensive if you outsource the development.

Ecommerce Systems

Instead of building a website yourself, it is possible to use a pre-made ecommerce system. Ecommerce software packages include all of the modules that you need and can easily be integrated into your website.

There are many different ecommerce packages available. Some of them are quite expensive and can be difficult to customise.

Freeware Ecommerce Systems

There are also freeware, open source ecommerce packages which are available. One of the most popular is OSCommerce. There are also other examples of open source ecommerce packages including CREreloaded and ZenCart, both of which are based on oscommerce.

Magento and Joomla also have their own ecommerce modules which makes it possible to use them as online stores.

Installing OsCommerce

OsCommerce is very easy to install. The easiest way is to install it through Fantastico which can be found in the cPanel hosting control panel. Other hosts will also have their own automated installers for ecommerce software.

If this isn’t possible then it’s also an option to download the installation files from the internet. These files will need to be unzipped to a folder on your computer. Then using an FTP client the files can be uploaded. It’s then simply a matter of following the installation instructions in your browser.

Setting up OsCommerce

Once OsComerce is installed on your web hosting account, you then need to customize the software. It’s possible to use template systems such as the Simple Template System to adjust colors, buttons, and background images.

There are a number of different add ons which can be installed to your Oscommerce installation. These will add extra features and customizations.

Security

If you are running an ecommerce website then you will need to collect sensitive information from your customers. To give them confidence in your site it is important that you use SSL security certificates. This will ensure that all the information is encrypted so that the data is not at risk.

Promotion

Ecommerce sites are very popular because they provide a convenient way to buy anything. This means that if your business is run properly then it can make a lot of money. However, with so much competition you will need to work hard to promote your business properly.

Related posts:

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/free-ecommerce-solutions/feed/ 1 How Secure is Virtualization Technology?http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/how-secure-is-virtualization-technology/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/how-secure-is-virtualization-technology/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:22:30 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=573 A September 2009 survey released by Centrify revealed that the major barrier facing 46% of the respondents when it comes to adopting virtualization is security. In fact, only an estimated 20% of respondents said they were strongly confident in the security infrastructure of their virtualized environments. Professionals heavy into the technology sector are well aware of the security conundrum that surrounds virtualization. It has become such an issue that EMC recently assembled a panel of experts from its Ionix, RSA and Vmware divisions to put together some guidelines for adequately securing virtualized environments. What they came up with was “Security Compliance in a Virtual World,” a report that focuses on many key points that must be considered for ensuring virtualization security.

OS Hardening

The configuration for virtual machines and switches must be hardened just like your physical boxes and network switches. The underlying operating system must also be hardened through routine patches and updates, removal of unused components and maintaining secure settings. The EMC report suggests modeling virtual systems after the guidelines from the CIS (Center for Internet Security) and DISA (Defense Information Systems Agency) as they are viewed as well established security practices.

Configuration and Change Management

Since virtualization technology makes it simple to deploy new virtual machines and modify their set ups, it becomes very easy to fall into a chaotic state of configuration when it comes time to managing the environment. Even when systems are adequately hardened during installation, it is still important for organizations to stay on top of the environment to ensure a secure configuration. This means that when system settings are modified or new software applications are added, administrators are making sure the virtual system continues to meet what the EMA report calls the “gold standard” of configuration.

Access Control

Practical security polices such as least privilege and separation of duty should not be thrown to the wayside just because virtualization has come into the picture. Instead, such principles should become more essential than ever. The presence of virtualization results in increased density of all the systems and applications on your server. This is more convenient for your organization as well as the intruder who may be able to manipulate these systems if proper access control is not enforced and maintained. The report suggests that solution providers aid their staff and clients in understanding the importance of role-based access control both in and out of the virtual environment.

Network Security and Segmentation

Companies operating virtual servers lacking any sort of segmentation are far more vulnerable to exploit and exposure than organizations making use of virtual switches to incorporate those virtual machines into virtual local area networks like their physical counterparts. The security report explains that one of the most essential factors in compliance is ensuring that data is isolated and not mingled with or available to users on other virtual machines. Organizations that possess expertise in the network security field should put it to use in the virtualization environment. This can be done by obtaining virtual switches and other virtual security mechanisms such as firewalls and intrusion protection systems to protect network perimeters.

Related posts:

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/how-secure-is-virtualization-technology/feed/ 0 How to Install osCommerce and Activate SSL Through cPanelhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/how-to-install-oscommerce-and-activate-ssl-through-cpanel/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/how-to-install-oscommerce-and-activate-ssl-through-cpanel/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:03:10 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=423 osCommerce is one of the most widely used e-commerce shopping cart programs available on the market today.  It is also an application that can be easily installed via Fantastico in your cPanel control panel.  To help you in maximizing the benefits of this software, we  will not only walk you through the steps of installing osCommerce, but also show you how to configure it to use with your dedicated or shared SSL certificate to ensure that your website transactions are secure.

osCommerce Installation

- Login into your cPanel account and click on the Fantastico icon at the bottom of the main page.

- Navigate to the “E-commerce” section and click on the “osCommerce” link.

- Next, click on the “New Installation” link.

- Now you must go through a multi-step process in order to define the installation location:

Step 1: Choose your domain from the provided drop-down menu.

Step 2: Enter the name of the directory where you want osCommerce to be installed.

Keep in mind that the “install in directory” field is the one part where several users make critical mistakes.  Enter a single phrase of the new folder that will be created for the osCommerce application.  If you try to add dashes, the installation will fail every time.

Step 3: Return back and double check the information you entered in the above field.  If you want your customers to access your store when visiting “http://yoursite.com,“ you would then leave the “Install in Directory” field blank.  On the other hand, if you already have an existing website, you want to enter a given directory name in that field.  For example, if you decide to use “store” as the name of the directory, customers would access your osCommerce store by visiting “http://yoursite.com/store”.

- After entering the required information for the installation destination, enter a user name and password for your osCommerce administrative area.

- Next, enter the name of your store, an owner name, and valid email address.

Activate SSL

Once you have the installation destination squared away, the proceeding steps are self explanatory.  The SSL process deserves a little more detailed explanation.

- Set the “Use SSL” option to”Yes”

- Enter the hostname for your secure server.

If you have a dedicated IP address and SSL certificate for your website, simply enter your domain name in the next field.  If not, just use the server name entered above.

- Choose the information you want to require from your customers.  You will see that these options are pretty straightforward and can be either set to “Yes or “No.”

- After entering the information, click on the “Install osCommerce” tab.

- Lastly, on the next page click “Finish installation”.

You have now successfully installed the osCommerce shopping cart program equipped with an SSL certificate for security.  Now all you have to do is the click the provided link or type the appropriate URL into your browser to log in and set up your online store.

Related posts:

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/how-to-install-oscommerce-and-activate-ssl-through-cpanel/feed/ 2 Power Your Store with Open-Source Shopping Cartshttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/power-your-store-with-open-source-shopping-carts/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/power-your-store-with-open-source-shopping-carts/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:49:38 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=374 If you want to sell your own products or services online, then you will need a shopping cart program to facilitate those sales.  The number of available shopping carts is tremendous and even better, some of the best software is of an open-source variety and totally free to use.  Here are some of the most common open-source shopping carts you may encounter on the market.

PrestaShop

PrestaShop is a comprehensive, professional-grade shopping cart that is easy to use and setup.  The software offers a fully featured back-end interface to maintain your inventory, orders, shipping options and customers in real-time.  It is also highly customizable as you can incorporate your own modules.  PrestaShop keeps security in mind but securely transmitting customer payments directly to your bank account.

Magneto

Magneto is a robust e-commerce solution that offers unparalleled flexibility and control.  This software is so well designed and functional that you would never think it came from an open-source project.  Unlike other shopping carts, this one gives you clean URLs and SEO-friendliness right out the box, bypassing the need to make additional configurations.  Magneto has a scalable architecture and seamless integrate with various third-party applications.  Additionally, it gives you the benefit of both community and professional technical support.

CubeCart

CubeCart is one of the most popular shopping carts around.  Although it is free to download and use, you are forced to leave the developer’s copyright notice in your footer.  That disadvantage aside, CubeCart offers a plethora of features with support for most of the major gateways and shipping options.  The software comes with decent support from an active community that regularly contribute plugins to the cart.

Agora

Written in the Perl programming language and driven by a MySQL database, Agora is another popular choice for open-source shopping carts.  Very customizable, it features a built-in CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) manager that lets you control the look of the shopping cart as well as setup options ranging from a simple template-based storefront to more complex visual designs.  Agora supports unlimited products, a wealth of shipping and payment options, up to four tax zones at once and much more.

Zen Cart

Zen Cart is a user-friendly shopping cart that caters to beginners.  This is one software that actually focuses on the shoppers and store owners opposed to developers.  Zen Cart is easy to use and supports multiple shipping and payment options.  It also allows you to easily provide discounts and coupons to your customers.

osCommerce

The wide variety of features in osCommerce enables you to set up an online store fairly quickly.  It supports multiple currencies and also lets your customers print their invoices directly from the order screen.  osCommerce gets the backing of a superb community who provide ongoing support and make contributions to the project.

These are just some of your choices for open-source shopping carts.  Rest assured, there are many more to choose from.  While you can probably pay for something better, numerous users are doing just fine running their store with these free versions.

Related posts:

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/power-your-store-with-open-source-shopping-carts/feed/ 1 Open-source Shopping Cart Optionshttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/open-source-shopping-cart-options/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/open-source-shopping-cart-options/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:26:06 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=278 If you are looking to get up and running with your own online store, then a shopping cart is what you need to make it happen.  A shopping cart is a type of software application that allows you to incorporate a storefront into your e-commerce website.  This software can help you customize your store with tons of products attached with thumbnails, multiple shipping methods and payment options.  With a good program, you can start selling products immediately by accepting payments via credit card or popular alternatives such as PayPal.  Some of the most popular shopping carts are open-source programs and this article will introduce you to several popular choices.

osCommerce

As open-source software, the osCommerce shopping cart is free to use.  The program is integrated with a number of features that can easily be enabled and configured.  The osCommerce shopping cart gives you the ability to add multiple items to your store, organize them in categories, give out discounts, run special promotions and much more.  It also offers built-in shipping and tax capabilities to ensure accuracy.  With this shopping cart, you can set prices in different currencies and accept payment through methods such as credit cards, Payal and e-checks.  osCommerce is extremely popular and currently powers a large number of stores on the web.

CREloaded

The CREloaded shopping cart is a fork built on the source code of osCommerce.  This feature-rich platform caters to beginners and professionals alike, offering the ability to process credit card payments via PayPal or Authorize.net.  You can list a large number of products, set discounts and shipping costs.  CREloaded’s greatest attribute is the wide variety of themes that allow you to customize the look of your storefront.  This software is tailored to help you create a store that fully brands your identity and enhances the customer’s shopping experience.

Zen Cart

Zen Cart is another open-source shopping cart freely distributed under the GNU General Public License.  This software was designed with simplicity in mind but offers some very powerful features.  Zen Cart lets you set up an unlimited amount of products and organize them in numerous categories.  The program supports multiple payment options and different currencies as well as top-notch security mechanisms such as SSL certificates.  The built-in control panel allows you to mange products and all related items from a centralized area.

Magento

Magento is one of the latest open-source shopping cart applications.  This e-commerce platform offers a lot exclusive features geared towards managing customer relations and marketing your store.  The user-friendly interface allows you to control virtually every aspect of the store from listing and organizing products to setting up browser options and special promotions.   This shopping cart software sets itself a part from the competition with built-in analytics, reporting and promotion tools.  Magento is completely scalable and backed by an extensive support team.  Though cost effective in comparison to premium shopping carts, Magento isn’t free like the other software mentioned in this article.

Conclusion

These are just a few of several highly functional open-source shopping carts.  Like most open-source technologies, these programs can be easily incorporated into your existing e-commerce site.

Related posts:

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/open-source-shopping-cart-options/feed/ 4 The Essentials of E-commercehttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/the-essentials-of-e-commerce/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/the-essentials-of-e-commerce/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 21:12:28 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=148 You may have been proficient at getting customers to buy products from your store in town, but online business is an entirely different game.  Similar to the traditional business, you must literally build your store yet take a different approach towards drawing in customers and accepting payments.  The essentials of e-commerce should go a long way in helping you succeed with your online business endeavors.

Building the Site

Obviously, creating your website is the first essential step.  There are several tools available to help with this process from simple web building programs to dynamic programming languages.  While a piece of cake for the experienced webmaster, this could present a huge challenge for someone who lacks web design skills.  In this case, you should strongly consider hiring a qualified designer to build your site.  A costly investment?  Perhaps, but look at it from this perspective – it will cost far less than paying the architecture and construction company to build the facility for a traditional storefront.

Collecting Payments

Whether you’re dealing in goods or services, you need a way for customers to select items and take them to checkout.  To accomplish this your e-commerce site will need a shopping cart.  A quality program will allow you to add different products and categories, add taxes and shipping options, accept payment in various methods and more.  When it comes to shopping carts you generally have to options: you can purchase a commercial product or go with an open-source solution.

Open-source shopping carts like osCommerce are widely available and may be offered at no additional cost with your web hosting package.  Such a program will provide all the features you need to set up an online storefront.  The disadvantage of open-source shopping cart is that some are not easy to customize and don’t cater to inexperienced users.  Additionally, stores created with open-source software tend to look very similar to one another.

Commercial solutions are generally easier to customize and offer more features.  This type of shopping cart will provide the uniqueness that allows you to standout from all the other store owners on the web.  The downside here is that a program like Miva Merchant carries a high-end price tag that ranges from hundreds to thousands of dollars.  You also need to make sure that your web host supports the software so it can be easily incorporated into your e-commerce platform.

Selecting a Payment Gateway

In addition to the shopping cart, you will require a payment gateway that enables credit card payments to be transferred to your banking account.  To accomplish this task you can either sign up for a merchant account or use a third-party payment processor.  Merchant accounts have setup fees, transaction fees and strict qualifications.  However, the transaction fees are lower than using a service such as PayPal.  In either instance, the overall cost are typically less when your monthly sales are over $1,000.  Keep in mind that you will also need to secure the payment environment and protect your online transactions.  The best way to ensure this security is with an encryption protocol known as SSL.  You may have to purchase a certificate with a merchant account while PayPal takes care of securing your transactions.

Bringing in Customers

After creating the site and setting up the store, it’s time to generate some traffic and sell your items.  There are many ways to go about this including advertising, getting your visitors to sign up for a newsletter, pay-per-click campaigns and specially crafted landing pages.  Succeeding with e-commere is no easy task, but when laying a solid foundation, you can give yourself a much better chance of making continuous sales.

Related posts:

]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/the-essentials-of-e-commerce/feed/ 2