Instead of a JavaJam assignment this week, we completed #2 from Web Research, which was about researching 3 online shopping cart systems that I feel would be easy to use and display my findings regarding the following attributes:
- Product name
- Brief description
- Cost
- Web server requirements (if any)
Table of Results
Below is a table that summarizes my findings.
(All information and costs were current as of December 6, 2020.)
| Product Name | Home Page URL and Source Code | Brief Description | Costs | Web Server Requirements (if any) | Street Speak Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CE Phoenix |
https://phoenixcart.org/ CE Phoenix's source code is on GitHub. |
CE Phoenix is the community edition of osCommerce, another older and earlier open-source webshop software program. CE Phoenix is kept up to date (the latest version was released on November 30, 2020), while the lastest version of osCommerce was released over 4 years ago. | None, though its site offically lists Professional Partners that will help and assist with web hosting and development for CE Phoenix; it requires setting up an account with a separate payment provider (such as PayPal or SagePay, which have their own fees) for orders; and a CE Phoenix PRO membership will grant users direct support from the lead developer Gary Burton. | Minimum of "PHP 7.1 and a database", MySQL, JQuery 3.4.1, plus other specifications (under the "Technical Specifications" section on the bottom of the page), and other software tools for a manual install; or enough to run and use Softaculous to install CE Phoenix. | CE Phoenix seems to be good for anyone who has the time, budget, and some expertise to customize their webstore and an excellent choice for those who want to support free and open-source software (with a CE Phoenix PRO membership and/or signing up for services through its Professional Partners) and can find another payment provider. |
| WooCommerce |
https://woocommerce.com/ WooCommerce's source code is on GitHub. |
WooCommerce is an open-source and free (as in price) e-commerce plugin for WordPress, allowing users with WordPress sites to simply, quickly, and easily add a webshop with plenty of customizations to a WordPress site. | None, for installing WooCommerce; though many users will use the WooCommerce Payments service (powered by Stripe), which has the following "pay-as-you-go" costs: no set up fee; no monthly fees; a 2.9% transaction fee and a 30ยข charge per transaction for U.S.-issued credit or debit card; an additional 1% for transactions paid using a card issued outside the US; and $15 fee per dispute (which is refunded if the site owner wins the dispute). | Recommended for a WordPress installation on a server with the WooCommerce plug-in: at least PHP 7.2, MySQL 5.6 or MariaDB 10.0, WordPress memory limit of 128 MB, and HTTPS support. | WooCommerce is perfect for an easy, no fuss all-in-one solution for anyone who either wants a WordPress site, or is already hosting a web site on a WordPress site and now desires to add a new web store quickly for a small to large business (that complies with Stripe's Terms of Service and Agreement), with no need to look for another payment provider. |
| Zen Cart |
https://www.zen-cart.com/ Zen Cart's source code is on GitHub. |
Zen Cart is an open-source and free (as in price) webshop software that is customizable and has many payment gateways either built-in or can be added with community-contributed payment gateway modules. | None, though users will have to seek out a payment processing provider, such as Square or PayPal, which will also cost money. Everyone can get free online support for Zen Cart through its forums. Additionally, Zen Cart has Recommended Services of web hosts that will maintain one's Zen Cart server installation(s) as a paid service. | The minimum server requirements are for a standard "Lamp" stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) are: PHP 5.6 with additional PHP extensions, modules, and settings; a memory limit of at least 128M; MySQL 5.1; OpenSSL with an SSL certificate for HTTPS; cURL; and Apache 2.2 or Nginx (no Windows Server or IIS support). | Zen Cart seems to be good for those who would like customizability in their webshop storefront and is tikerable. This would be a good fit for those who have the time, skill, and budget - along with supporting free and open-source software, especially if one can find his/her own payment provider. |