Shopping Carts??? WHAT THE HECK?

[Timbo68]

Are there any "client side" shopping cart programs? I would like to retain the look and feel of my web site as it is but need a shopping cart that I can control. Problem is I know nothing about them and the more I read the more confused I get.
? Are they purchased or rented? For example: Miva Merchant, DoI buy the software, get a SSL certificate and start selling or do I rent in from the hosting company? I would like orders to be sent directly to me and I can process the credit cards on my own machine. Am I forced into using thier servers to process my info?
What do I need to look out for... any recommendations?
How Do I make this happen?

Thanks,
Tim

[Rich]

Are there any "client side" shopping cart programs? Client side carts are usually implemented using JavaScript or Java applets. Due to browser compatibility issues, they can limit your available customer base. Unless your primary customers are programmers and web developers, I would recommend you avoid them and choose one of the many carts that run on your web server.

There are hundreds of carts with just as many payment options. Some are purchased, some leased, some rented, and some that require a per-transaction fee or percentage for their use. Some are available only when hosted on a remote site and others are designed to be installed and maintained on your server.

I am unaware of any commercial cart that will email encrypted orders since most carts are designed to be used with real-time credit card processors like CyberCash, Authorize.Net, or Signio.

With so many options to choose from, making the right choices depends on your business and products, volume, budget, etc.

Feel free to send me an email if you would like more specific answers related to your particular business' needs.

Rich
rich@rsmarketing.com

[turnkey]

You might want to check out "commerce.cgi" for your case.[nbsp][nbsp]I think if you set that up, combined with Rich's PGP Form-mail and you would get a lot of what you want.

With the excellent support of CGI at FutureQuest there is very little reason to go "client-side" except for maybe form checking.

"commerce.cgi" is available at:

[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp] http://www.careyinternet.com/main/commerce/

Cheers,
James