01-21-2009, 10:43 AM
Quote:E-Commerce Programs to Watch:http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/resources...hp/3797296
The Best of the Rest There are now dozens more free or cheap e-commerce projects out there to surprise and delight the ready market. Remember that the term "open source" doesn't necessarily mean that must be free, it is only free for developers to look at and modify the source code so it's easy for them to customize. Because more and more open source programs are being sold now in the $100-$500 range, unheard of only a few years ago, we've reviewed a few low-priced proprietary programs that are in the same price range as the open source programs.
Even when open source programs remain free of charge, the cost of templates and/or customization starts in the hundreds of dollars. Why not try a proprietary program in the same price range if it has the features you want? Most have free 30-day trials, whether open source or proprietary, so there is little risk.
I've installed and set up an armload of these programs and played with each of them to give you these first-looks. We'll be watching and reviewing these programs throughout the coming year. These are sorted in order of Google popularity, and I note the unusual or striking features of each program. You can try demos of nearly all of these programs and more on my Web site listed at the end of this article...