The True Cost of Free Shopping Carts

[mandy]

A free, open source shopping cart may sound really attractive in these economic times, but how free is free? It's not a trick question. If you add in the cost of the technical degree required by some free, open source carts, or technical support to get others to work, as well as the value of your own labor and the supporting services needed, your free shopping cart may not really be free at all. Here we will examine the range of full costs of operating an Open Source, online store such as osCommerce, Zen Cart, CRE Loaded, or osC-MAX.

What are the True Costs of Running an Online Store?
If you already have a technical education and own the software programs to run it, meaning that you will be your own technical support guru, then you may be able to run a free online store for close to free, by hosting it yourself, customizing it and doing your own graphics, and so forth. But the majority of users will need to pay for or locate the following:

    * Software and Customization
    * Template or Custom Design
    * Domain Names
    * Web Hosting
    * Technical Support
    * Credit Card Processor
    * Security - SSL Secure Certificate
    * Supporting Computer Programs and Upgrades
    * Your own Education
    * Your own Labor

We'll take a look at the range of each of these items in turn so we can get a better picture of the whole costs...

full article: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/solutions...hp/3736936