Licensed vs Hosted ecommerce applications
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010There are so many shopping cart applications available today that it is difficult to always know where to start when choosing an application. One of the first questions that comes up, because it will directly impact price, is the question of whether to license a standalone application or go with a hosted application. There are many pros and cons with each decision and they each need to be carefully weighed before the decision can be made. The decision needs to be made with your particular business model in mind. Price alone should not be the driving force behind the decision.
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Licensed Shopping Cart |
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Pros |
Cons |
| 1. You own the software and can host it anywhere you like.2. You often have access to the source code.
3. The visual look and feel of the site is customizable by you or your web designer. 4. In some cases there are plug-ins available to enhance the functionality of the site. |
1. You are responsible for updating the software which, after the first year, can cost the price of the license.2. Support is usually a forum with occasional email support.
3. You are responsible for making sure the system meets current PCI standards. 4. Generally have to purchase a separate financial software connector. |
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Hosted Shopping Cart |
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| Pros | Cons |
| 1. All updates are taken care of by the software company. 2. Telephone support available. 3. Current web and payment standards complied with. 4. May have built in QB connector. |
1. You don’t own the software.2. Your site must be hosted on the application server.
3. You are limited to working with templates to get the look and feel for the site which can be restricting. 4. You are limited to whatever functionality is offered within the software. |
So if you run your organization with minimal staff but you want handle product updates yourself in house and don’t want to worry about compliance issues and/or customizing the look, feel or functionality of pages you may be better off with the hosted version. If you have an in-house design staff or web department and you spend time on SEO and like to customize the look and feel of the shopping cart then perhaps you would be better off with the stand alone package.
Either way make sure the product you choose offers all of the things that you want a shopping cart to do for you right out of the box.
