List/Grid Tag Archives: shopping cart

Selecting reliable shopping cart software is an initial decision you’ll need to make when establishing your online business.  A virtual shopping cart is much like those found in any other store.  While browsing through your products or services online, a shopping cart software package allows customers to drop items into their cart until time of the final checkout transaction.  A user-friendly shopping cart also allows customers to view quantity of items placed in the cart, total cost including sales tax and shipping and handling fees before proceeding with checkout. Components of Shopping Cart Software In general terms, a shopping cart program begins to work immediately after an item is placed in the cart as the software begins initializing the transaction.  The web host is typically responsible for installing and managing the software, especially for e-commerce sites.  It’s essential to ensure the software is installed on a secure server to prevent hackers from stealing valuable customer information to commit fraudulent transactions. A shopping cart consists of two parts.  The first being the storefront, and the second being the administrative area.  Just as the name suggests, the storefront is the customized screen area in which customers can actually view while shopping on your site.  The administrative area is that behind the scenes section which keeps everything running smoothly.  This section allows you to change product inventory, configure discounts, and update applicable fees.  Although both the storefront and administrative area are viewable using a web browser, however, the administrative section may also be configured as a desktop program on your computer to configure the storefront.