Shopping cart software by all means has revolutionized the way commerce is done around the world. However, like anything else bad people are always looking for new ways to exploit the system of selling things online. Besides for your everyday hackers there is a new breed of thief's who use stolen credit cards to purchase goods from eCommerce sites.  Usually, the eCommerce business owner ends up taking the loss sometimes losing thousands of dollars in merchandise.

A shopping cart client of WebCart recently went through a bombardment of fraud, and unfortunately lost thousands of dollars which she will probably never see again. To understand how to protect oneself from fraud it's very important to know how these  thief's operate.  The first part of the scam is to get a victims  credit card information. Perhaps you heard of  "phishing" which has become an extremely popular scam over the last few years. More often then not a credit card theif will use phising to capture inexperienced web users credit card information, billing address, CVV number, and other personal information.

Once the thief  has a credit card  the hard part is over. Usually they use the credit card owners real name billing address and have products shipped to an alternative address.  Sometimes this address is in the US,  but sadly often times it's not and creates a new set of issues for merchants who try to recover the stolen goods.  Regrettably, this is exactly wh at happened to our client, and she learned a very serious lesson.

In the next post I will talk about a few simple things eCommerce store owners can do to protect them from falling victim to credit card fraud.

A common overlooked usability technique within eCommerce site design is the ability for customers to print product, category and/or content pages.  With a majority of shopping cart software incorporating fluid design with CSS it's vital to make certain that online visitors will be able to print your site pages. There are many benefits to having online pages printer friendly. For starters it's part of good usability standards, but more importantly it can lead to an increase in sales and exposure. Often time's people print products to show relatives who otherwise would not be able to view them because of not having a computer. However, what tends to happened more often is people print products and articles with their PDF writer for later viewing. Therefore, it's imperative that users have the option of printing web pages within your site.

Making a site printer friendly usually requires adjusting html, css, div or table code. Often times no matter how much a person tweaks the code the pages don't adjust or the design takes a dramatic change. The answer to this type of situation is creating a separate printer friendly page which can be formatted in simple text, and works beautifully in any printer. Although this may seem like a simple solution it does come with hazards that need to be addressed before creating a separate printing page.

The major issue with a second printing page is duplicate content. Even though no one can say for sure what search engine algorithms penalize for duplicate content, it's safe to say that they don't like it. In fact I have personally seen sites dropped in ranking because of duplicate content, and once the duplicate content was removed their rankings came back. The method I recommend to my shopping cart software clients is to add a simple no follow tag in to the print page link. In addition, to add an extra layer of protection I suggest putting all the "printer friendly" pages in to a designated directory, and restrict search engine spider access via the robots. By following these simple rules your eCommerce site will keep the look you want without sacrificing usability or ranking. 

1. Are there integrated up-sell modules?
The more products you sell the more money you are going to make.  Not every person that makes a purchase will buy something when you offer additional related products.  However, there are many times that you can make additional sales by up-selling to customers.  This feature in some shopping cart software can make you a lot of money.

2. Are there integrated sales reports database?
To eliminate the hassle of having to print off sales reports and enter them into a database, it is extremely convenient when you find shopping cart software that comes with a sales and prospect database.

3. Can it work with multiple websites with no extra charge?
Many online business owners have multiple websites that they promote various products from.  It can be expensive if you have to get separate licenses and separate merchant accounts for each website.  Most carts today run on their own servers, so there is no expensive installation and set up is almost immediate.

4. Does it have a pop-up box builder?
Although annoying, pop-ups can still reel in customers from time to time for your ecommerce business.

5. Are there printable off-line order forms?
In a time where people are becoming more and more knowledgeable online, identity theft is something on many people's minds that shop online.  Because of this, many people are still afraid to disclose their credit card numbers into a website.  This is an extremely important feature to look into with shopping cart software.

6. Does it offer customizable Thank You pages?
The more personal you are the more customers feel you are reaching out specifically to them.

The shopping cart software that you purchase for your ecommerce business may make or break your business.  The better your shopping cart is set up and the easier it is to get around, the more business you will generate.  Here are 4 questions you should have answered before purchasing shopping cart software.

1. Will it calculate shipping and tax?

2. Does it offer customizable return to shopping pages
The best way to make a lot of money from your ecommerce business is through follow-up sales.  Many standard shopping carts send customers back to the main page after they make a purchase rather than sending them to related products that they are most likely to purchase next.

3. Does it deliver receipt and confirmation e-mails automatically?
After purchasing something from your ecommerce business, customers want to know that their purchase did in fact go through.  The better shopping cart software on the market offers this feature telling customers immediately that the purchase went through.

4. Does it have a web-based administration page?
This is important because it will allow you to work on your cart from any computer that has internet access.  There is nothing more frustrating then being stranded from making adjustments to your shopping cart just because you're not near your computer.

I feel like it's been a while since I gave out any useful shopping cart software marketing tips therefore, today I will write a post related to article marketing. Article marketing is a legitimate, easy to do and low cost method   of obtaining buzz and back links for any eCommerce related website. The problem is many people just don't know how to go about obtaining and / or distributing articles. If done properly article marketing will help your online store gain immense exposure in cyberspace.

The first step in article marketing is getting hold of an article about a specific product or service eCommerce store owners offer. An example would be an e-commerce store selling shoes to the general public. In order to generate buzz about the shoes for sale a store owner would have to get an article written about a specific brand or collection of. Once a decision is made the hard part of article marketing is over because now all you need to do is write about it.

It's vital to write a well written and smooth flowing article; otherwise the article will be rejected. If writing is not something that excites you don't worry, have someone else write it for you. This could be done by placing an ad on http://www.elance.com or http://www.ifreelance.com  and in a short period of time (usually 6 - 24 hours) you will see a couple dozen bids by freelance writers competing on writing your article.

Once the article is written it's time to start milking it for all it's worth. In the next blog post I will provide several options in doing just that.

article marketing ecommerce shopping cart SEO shopping cart shopping cart software

There is no question that your php shopping cart software can make you or cost you thousands of dollars in your ecommerce business.  A quality shopping cart has certain criteria that allow you to know whether or not it is worth investing in.  While there are a number of features you want to look into when shopping around for software, there are certain things that are absolutely vital.

The first couple things you want to look into are almost guaranteed to exist in most php shopping cart software.  Whatever software you purchase, it should be able to quickly and easily calculate shipping and tax for your customers purchase.  Not only that, but it should also be able to calculate specialized shipping such as FedEx and UPS.  These are the little things that go unnoticed with shopping carts, but make a huge difference.

The next criterion to look for in good php shopping cart software is the amount of customer service it provides.  There are a number of responsibilities you have having an ecommerce business, and the more your shopping cart can do for you the better.  The kinds of customer service that should be provided include a confirmation e-mail and receipt delivery immediately after the customers purchase.

After identifying some of the basics, you want to dig deeper and look at features that can help your business sell more.  Take a look into the ad tracking feature with the various php shopping cart software.  Your shopping cart software should allow you to tell how many people clicked on a particular promotion and how many people bought.  By knowing such information you can better identify which ads are generating more traffic and sales.

After you get people to your website and you know what ads are working for you, you have to be able to control as much of your shopping cart as possible.  The more capable you are of customizing things from the software, the better.  This will allow you to customize where people are sent after purchasing an item, customize your follow-up thank you emails, and customize what the page looks like.

The last criteria your php shopping cart software should have is some sort of up-sale feature.  The initial sale is great, but it is the up-sale that will increase your income.  Whether it is an up-sale module that makes related products accessible as the customer is purchasing or simply redirecting the customer to a page with related items after they purchase, the more customers see related products the more inclined they will be to purchase more.

There are a number of criteria that should be met when you purchase a php shopping cart software.  Realistically, it is difficult to find the perfect software that offers a little bit of everything.  Therefore, focus on the basics and then find the features that will mean the most to you in your php shopping cart software.

The conclusion of  A Few Reasons Not To Use osCommerce For Shopping Cart Software I will give three additional reasons why e-commerce store owners should stay clear of osCommerce. 

Password protection
One of the most frustrating parts to osCommerce is that there is no inbuilt ways to password protect the administration area.  While this can easily be corrected by finding information of password protection on the oCommerce site, it is frustrating that this does not come with the default installation.

Attribute system
If your business relies a great deal on attributes, osCommerce is probably not the cart system for you.  osCommerce has many limitations to their attribute system including there being no SKU identifiers and no stock control.  Some of the limitations can be modified and upgraded, but it is recommended that you select a different cart system if you depend on a quality reliable attribute system.

Large product catalogs
The last downfall worth mentioning of osCommerce is its limitations with large product catalogs.  When dealing with large product catalogs of over a hundred, modules for the input/management of data is required.  If the product catalog is even larger than a couple hundred, there are several other modifications that must be taken care of.

osCommerce is a decent open source based online shop, but there are several downfalls that should be considered prior to getting into it.  Ecommerce shopping requires a very reliable shopping cart system and open source based system.  While osCommerce has some great things to offer, there are many things that it lacks that other systems make up for.

In the previous post  I wrote about some tips for Top Organic Ranking. Is this post I will provide three more essential tips. 

1. SEO Marketing is much easier if you know exactly who you are targeting.  By knowing the audience you are trying to attract, it will be much easier to write content and advertise accordingly.  You can also make your web pages more appealing by knowing the audience you are targeting.

2. Nobody wants to read dull text because it is unappealing.  In order to climb up in the search engines through search engine optimization, you must reward your readers with quality content.  If you can provide new and enticing content without sounding too formal, you are bound to climb up the search engines.  You want to write conversationally while still providing quality content.  The best way to do this is by being you and writing how you talk.

3. The last way to have success with SEO marketing is to give a clear and definitive role of action your visitors should take.  You can do this by saying something like "Click here to order now."  This is not giving them the option, but telling them what to do.

Search engine optimization is a great way to have success with your website.  There are several things that need to be done prior to building a website, but search engine optimization should definitely be in the back of your mind prior to designing your website.

Continuing from the previous post  What else can a shopping cart software do part 1 I will write a few more features a shopping cart can do for an eCommerce retailer. 

Quick calculations It can be tedious and easy to make a mistake with calculations as far as shipping and tax and what the final cost comes to.  This is another area that php shopping cart software can assist you in.  Almost all software comes with programs that can calculate shipping costs for customers based on parameters that you set.  Most software can also calculate taxes for each order immediately with the purchase.

Security measures One of the main reasons there are still people who are hesitant to shop online is because of the fear that their personal information is not secure.  Almost all ecommerce software comes with some sort of security measures to ensure customers that their information is safe.  Most programs allow customers to go through the shopping cart program without having to download cookies, which is one of the main concerns with releasing personal information.

Having php shopping cart software is extremely beneficial to your internet business, and for more reasons than just being a shopping cart.  Because of the load it takes off of you to design your webpage and calculate numerous tax and shipping costs, ecommerce software is worth looking into to enhance your business experience.

If you have an online business today, it is almost essential that you have some kind of shopping cart.  When you begin looking for php shopping cart software, you will quickly recognize that most software is much more than just a shopping cart.  Everything from security to marketing to quick calculations generally is included with ecommerce software.  Here are 5 things good software can help your internet business with.

Marketing - So you have an internet business and php shopping cart software, but what good is it if you don't have any customers?  A lot of ecommerce software is going to come with various marketing methods to help you generate a higher traffic volume.  One common marketing technique you will see is information on affiliate programs.  Some shopping carts are capable of producing incentives as well such as creating coupons and gift certificates

Customer recognition - It is crucial that you recognize previous customers so that you can potentially give them incentives and deals to come back again.  Many php shopping cart software programs have features that allow customers to see their previous purchases.  On top of this, the program will recognize the customer when they come back for a return visit.

Design - If you're a business person and not so much a web designer, you're in luck.  As the internet and technology continues to develop, it is becoming more common to see some ecommerce software come with wizards to help you build your webpage for you.  This way you can acquire a webpage without even knowing html.

In the next post I will discuss two additional things shopping cart software can do.