Phase 1 - Service Selection
Posted by Dan
I have decided on FatFreeCartPro and Authorize.net for my cart and merchant services.
Why? FatFreeCartPro provides the most design flexiblilty. Since I am going to be selling art, I am focusing on a gallery look. I want a unique design and online shopping experience. Authorize.net is the primary merchant for FatFreeCart and I will be offering Google Checkout and Paypal as well.
Time was the biggest factor in eliminating the open-source solutions. High PHP server requirements eliminated Magento and an awkward install requirement botched my ZenCart ambitions. After two hours to download and upload, I ran into technical issues. This was a really good thing though, because it was a big glowing sign saying DO NOT DO THIS! The techie in me has felt obligated to install and run my own cart.
It was neck and neck between Shopify and FatFreeCart. My favorite solution of all is still Volusion, but it is out of my price range. With ten percent of overall sales being the primary revenue, merchant fees and hosting alone will threaten basic profitability without even considering compensation for time. Volusion is for actual merchants. It is awesome, but about double the price I’m willing to spend right now. Maybe for my next site….
So, now it’s on to design, which is the best part…
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