Shopping cart options for SMBs, Part 2

There's a wealth of opportunities available for aspiring and small to medium-sized business (SMB) e-tailers looking for shopping cart technology, as Part 1 of this series points out. While this makes it easier than ever to find this important piece of the e-tailing puzzle, it also means startup and SMB e-tailers face greater challenges when it comes to choosing shopping cart software and putting it to good use.

"Businesspeople have precious little time to learn complex systems and then to use them, so it needs to be easy and accessible. Whenever possible I try to use the following guide when designing the systems: You shouldn't need to read a manual to know how to use it - it should be self-evident," said Daniel Vidoni, e-commerce software consultant and proprietor of Vidoniweb.com and Storefinder.com.

Ongoing rapid growth in e-commerce, the emergence of standardized Web 2.0 technology and open source software packages, shopping cart and e-tail e-commerce tools have become cheaper, more powerful, standardized and chock-full of all kinds of interactive, multichannel and multimedia features. However, perceptions of just how easy they are to use - and how easy and cheap it is to get online and start an e-tail business - often outrun the reality.

"There is such an enormous amount to consider when creating these systems that in my view it should be left to professionals. If not, a merchant can become disillusioned with Internet technology and determine - incorrectly - that it doesn't work and that it's all hype," said Vidoni.

Read the full article here.

Read Part 1 of the series here