OSCommerce Shopping Cart
The OSCommerce is a shopping cart that is versatile and continually updated. The “OS” portion of the name stands for “open source,” meaning that anyone who knows how to modify the code can do so.
The OSCommerce source code is available to anyone who wants to work on it. Any developer who wants to re-work, re-package, and re-sell it can do so, which is why there are hundreds of shopping cart software packages available on the market today. Most are simply different versions of OSCommerce.
We could help you with your OSCommerce projects but not very enthusiastically. We do not see very many good reassons for using this problematic shopping cart software. However, if you are already using OSCommerce, and for some reasons must continue using it, we can help at an hourly rate.
Why OSCommerce?
Only the word "free" comes to mind when talking about the reason for using OSCommerce. Otherwise, we do not see much use for any open source free shopping carts. We would rather use a paid license for a much more powerful shopping cart system.
Now, with OSCommerce, a professional web developer can create a search engine friendly website. The source code is not for the novice or small business owner who will spend countless hours trying to figure it out.
SEO features of this shopping cart include modifications to the title, meta tags, URLs, H-tags and so on. It all depends on which version you are using. The basic version comes in a non-optimized state.
Currently, one of the most talked about factors in SEO is page naming. Placing the target keywords in a page name can boost search engine rankings. The default version of OSCommerce has awfully long URLs that are not at all Search Engine Friendy(SEF).
SEO Issues
There are many variations to the software and some companies have begun offering OSCommerce SEO modules as add-ons that can be purchased and used in a ready-made search engine friendly format. Note that each of these versions carry their own advantages and limitations. For example, some may have accounted for the URL problem while others have not.
Limitations of OSCommerce
OSCommerce requires careful installation. It will be confusing for those with little database, security, and/or e-commerce experience. Only experienced professionals will truly get your site optimized and looking good for your visitors.
Any serious marketing effort for your eCommerce site will require a lot of work on the default template. After all, your website should inspire confidence in the end user, not look like an amateur basement-warrior put it together.
Many hosting providers include osCommerce into their Fantastico bundle. Even the default version is full of various features while add-ons may expand the script abilities to an enormous extent. While osCommerce is positioned as easy to install and configure, this is not at all true. In order to utilize all the advantages of osCommerce you'd better find a qualified integrator of this product who will tune everything the way you need it.
Many people try to use this cart as a cheap solution, only to discover that they got headaches instead of results. There is no direct support for this cart so you cannot just call a company and get your questions answered.
Bottomline
Commerce is a free shopping cart software that may be worth a look. One option is to hire a website design and development company to take the free source code of this cart and develop a custom-made website that is search engine friendly. But if you are to hire a professional web developer then why not just spend a few hundred more to buy a powerful paid shopping cart license? OSCommerce is too complex for the average web designer or small business owner to build as an optimized option specially if you require any kind of branding for your business this cart would not be the best choice at all.
