The top shopping cart applications for 2022
The finest shopping cart software provides clients with a smooth online shopping experience, making it simple for them to purchase and pay for goods on your website.
Therefore, shopping cart software is crucial for online sales, and it is often used as a shorthand for an e-commerce platform (our review of best ecommerce platforms is here). However, you have a few important options: put everything up yourself, or spend money on a pre-made solution.
In addition to examining extra elements that you may not have thought about, this article, which highlights some of the finest shopping cart software available, will compare both.
To set up your own shopping cart software, for instance, you’ll need e-commerce web hosting to support your shopping website. You need also make sure to include a credit card processing option to accept payments online. If you’ve worked with websites and servers online before, this won’t be as tough for you as it may seem.
However, a lot of individuals will like a pre-made solution that comes with everything. Of course, the fact that everything is ready for use is a benefit. The trade-off is that compared to managing your own site, this will almost surely end up costing you more in the long term.
Even yet, using pre-made solutions is a risk- and cost-free approach to start experimenting with e-commerce.
Full list of the top shopping cart applications for 2022
1. Shopify
Shopify (opens in new tab), a shopping cart programme that is widely regarded as among the finest on the market, was created in Canada. Two young guys trying to sell their snowboards online first came up with the idea for the business.
Shopify was created as a result of discontent with the choices available at the time. The platform has received high accolades for being code-free and requiring absolutely no understanding of website development to set up and operate.
All major credit cards are accepted by Shopify, which also offers a quick checkout process using its proprietary Shopify Pay or Apple Pay. If you don’t already have one, Shopify works smoothly with over 100 of the biggest names, like Sage Payments and PayPal. Depending on the plan selected, Shopify Payments charges between 2.9% and 2.4% plus a transaction fee.
Currently, the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Ireland all provide access to the software. The amount of goods that basic members may submit is unlimited, however Shopify only permits two staff accounts for shop administration.
2. Shopaccino
Some of the most adaptable shopping cart software is offered by Shopaccino (opens in new tab). VISA, Mastercard, PayPal, COD (Cash on Delivery), and bank transfers are just a few of the many payment options that are readily accessible. Additionally, the fantastic interface automatically calculates tax on transactions.
With Shopaccino, you can select the regions in which your shop may deliver while also controlling postal costs thanks to an integrated module for handling shipment. The module may also be used to create free delivery for your online store. Additionally, customers may make a virtual “Wishlist” of goods they might desire in the future.
The straightforward and user-friendly shop interface makes it simple for retailers to add photographs and product details without any hassles. Even mobile product management is possible with the programme thanks to Android and iOS versions. Additionally, Shopaccino provides online help.
After 14 days of free use, you must sign up for one of their paying plans in order to continue using the programme. These change depending on how many people and resources you need as well as the features you need.
3. Ecwid
Ecwid (opens in new tab) advertises itself as the “as simple as uploading a YouTube video” shopping cart solution. It may be added to a number of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Weebly, WordPress, and Weebly websites. With over 1.5 million merchants in 175 nations, it is rather well-liked.
Ecwid connects with more than 40 payment gateways and supports more than 50 different languages. The firm states that it is “A PCI DSS approved Degree 1 Service Provider, which is the gold standard for e-commerce solutions globally” and that this solution delivers a high level of protection.
It is also intended to be suited for mobile devices, including smartphones, and is powered by Amazon Web Services.Ecwid’s inclusion on our list of the top shopping cart programmes is also due to the fact that it stands out for providing a free tier that can house up to 10 goods, which is perfect for getting started and testing the e-commerce waters.
Additionally, it provides a number of premium levels that may grant access to the Facebook Shop, give sophisticated SEO tools, enable the selling of digital items, and provide a mobile point-of-sale.
4. Magento
A free and open-source software programme for managing every part of online shopping carts is called Magento (opens in new tab). Nearly a quarter million merchants presently utilise it, including well-known organisations like Nike, Cisco Systems, and Ford. The Magento platform was created in 2007 and is currently owned by Adobe.
Due to its open source nature, Magento offers a vast array of functionality and can be tailored to the requirements of any unique shop. Right out of the box, the programme allows taking manual payment methods including checks and money orders. Additionally, it is already set up to interact with a number of significant payment processors, including PayPal, SagePay, and Authorize.net.
Magento may be housed on your company’s own server, which means you’re no longer reliant on a third party for shopping cart solutions, in contrast to the other options examined thus far. This does imply, however, that it is your duty to maintain the security of your server, for example, by obtaining and installing SSL Certificates.
Even if you are proficient in HTML and CSS, Magento is difficult to set up, install, and adjust since the template system is quite hostile and necessitates extensive programming abilities to typically alter the shopping cart platform. As a result, even if Magento first seems to be a low-cost alternative, plan to pay one or more web experts to administer your Magento platform.
5. WooCommerce
Woocommerce is a free shopping cart plugin for WordPress that enables you to add a fully functional eCommerce site to any WordPress installation (opens in new tab).
Although you can set up items and shipping costs, along with shopping categories and the most of the features, setup is as simple as installing the plugin via WordPress. However, in order to have full functionality, you will also need to install other addons. While some of them may be sold on third-party websites, the majority of these are accessible directly via the Woocommerce website.
There are several extensions that can be used to add various degrees of functionality to your business, not the least of which are payment processors like Paypal, Sagepay, and Stripe. This might range from stock control to inventory management. Additionally, a variety of connectors are offered, including those with Xero for accounting and Mailchimp for email marketing.
Even while add-ons sometimes have a price tag attached to them, this isn’t always a negative thing as most add-ons are typically rather affordable—their costs are typically measured in tens rather than hundreds of dollars. Some just need a one-time payment, while others require nominal yearly renewal payments to continue support and improvements.
Overall, this makes Woocommerce one of the finest options for people wishing to ease themselves into launching an online retail store, whether for real items or even digital ones, since it’s not only incredibly simple to set up and administer but also very inexpensive to set up.
What is software for shopping carts?
A built-in e-commerce feature that enables you to take payments online is certainly required if your website sells any kind of goods or service in return for cash.
In essence, shopping cart software, like those on this list, enables website users to choose the goods or services they need from an online storefront.
These things are then gathered in a single, convenient location known as the shopping cart before a consumer checks out and makes a purchase. Users may safely enter their personal information, delivery address (if necessary), and payment information here.
The more advanced shopping cart software will also be able to integrate discount codes or coupons, as well as automatically calculate extra charges like taxes and shipping fees.
How to choose the ideal shopping cart application for you
The platform your website is built on should be taken into account when comparing your alternatives for the finest shopping cart software. Only some of the systems mentioned above are compatible with certain of the shopping cart software. For instance, WooCommerce is only compatible with WordPress websites.
What features you’ll want your shopping cart to have should be your next thought once you’ve reduced the pool of shopping cart software that is accessible to you depending on platform. Will you need it to be able to automatically determine taxes or delivery fees? Do you anticipate using software to control recurring subscriptions? Will you need software that is compatible with a certain payment gateway, such as PayPal or Stripe?
Before tackling the last issue, getting these answers will give you a very clear notion of the kind of shopping cart software needed for your website. Cost. Do you have the funds set out for an upfront payment on complex software? Would you like to utilise software that charges a commission on each transaction? Or are you searching for free or inexpensive options? Fortunately, our list above includes all of the possibilities.
How we test the top shopping cart software
We have selected the top five solutions from a large selection for our ranking of the best shopping cart software. Road testing the programme in a number of crucial areas has helped us achieve this.
Shopping cart software must be compatible with a broad variety of payment options in order to be successful, from major credit card companies to popular online payment processors like PayPal and Stripe. Where this is the case, we’ve mentioned it.
The importance of software that will operate in a variety of nations has also been prioritised on this list given the globalised world we now inhabit, including functions for figuring shipping costs and taxes.
While the consumer experience has received a lot of attention, it is of course crucial that shopping cart software is also simple to use and intuitive for website owners, and this is another feature we have taken into account. We’ve also included a list of locations where software vendors provide try-before-you-buy programmes.
