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Actual store owners considering expanding their market online are naturally doubtful how effective a virtual store can be. Most may be apprehensive in choosing the right osCommerce software to use.  

How would you know which template is the one for your store? How sure are you its the software that would last years and not be obsolete? 

Do as any smart shopper does, canvas and keep our eyes open for the following:

osCommerce Standard

Any open source software have several standards to follow, this would indicate the software’s definition and limitations. Not all open source programmers stick to them so these might not have been tested long enough to find out if there are bugs which will surface.  Unless you have a head for sorting out codes and debugging software then the risk is worth it. BUT if you are just starting out it is advisable to stick to standardized osCommerce and the ones with a template added. They may cost you, but with the additional perks like extra template skins and modules it makes it worth it.

Does it load fast?

Most osCommerce sites present  virtual store packages with demos, and this is the only way to know for sure that loading doesn’t take long. Are the images and graphics similar to what you have on your existing site? Fast loading is one way to ensure that your clients and site visitors don’t click out of your store because they don’t like the wait. Not all have the same Internet speed, so this is a very important thing you have to check out.

Once going over the demo, explore the details of the shopping cart you choose, some software offer optimized graphics and smart sizing. This would be convenient for your uploading and an assurance that your image file upload is adjustable.

Browser Compatibility

All over the world, different browsers are used for dashtops, desktops and laptops. How do you get all visitors and prospective customers to your site if most browsers error on your URL? All osCommerce sites have customer support or a downloadable user’s manual, check out broswer compatible properties.

Customer Support 

The problem with downloading your own copy of software is that the source or the author may not be available for advice of trouble shooting tips when the need arises. Now buying a template ready version of the osCommerce you want gives you the assurance that your store front is safe. 

Upgrades

Most  support services have ways of dealing with bugs that may surface and they may even have upgrades of your shopping cart that you would want to subscribe to. Before purchasing a shopping cart template, you can inquire about policy on upgrades. You can even sign-up for their newsletter to make sure you are informed. You may not need the upgrade now yet the promise of software upgrade goes to show that the software is being developed and improved.   

Just as we’ve reminded all our clients, don’t be fooled by the design or the colours of a template demo. Check out the inner workings of the template you want,  think along the lines of how your virtual store would run and not just appear.

What you need to know before you buy osCommerce template.

- Are you getting template or complete cart?

It is better to get just a template. You can get a shopping cart software separately from original source. This way you can avoid getting older versions of cart software and minimize risk of bugs.

Another benefit, you might already start working on your cart settings and content and do not want to replace it. With template you will just add skin to your cart.

- Is the template follow osCommerce standards?

If the template was developed without following any osCommerce standards, you might end up spending a lot of time or additional money for developers editing or fixing the template. In addition, template might not be compatible with new modules added.

- Is template optimized for fast load?

Not everyone has fast internet. You need to know if template’s graphics were optimized and smart proportions of graphics were used to load pages faster even on slow connections.

- Is template compliant with W3C standards?

In order to achieve best cross browsers compatibility and best search engines result you need to make sure that template does not severely violates standards and adds error to your shopping cart. If you see no errors this is an indication that proper testing procedures were taken by the development company. It is a very positive sign.

- Will you get template support and help in installation or customization.

Check what is covered by support. It is understood that you will not get any company to provide free customization support, but check if you can get hints or suggestions in case you do customization for template.

- Check if there is extra value in the template.

Some templates can have extra functionality, modules that are hard to see the first time you look at the demo. Look in few pages.

- Will you get an upgrade if new version of the cart is released? How much it will cost?

It is important, if you plan to be in business for a while and new cart versions will be released, you need to know if template development company will help you to upgrade and what the cost will be.

- What else to worry about?

Do not fall for pretty look. This does not indicate anything yet. Check all the above first.