There are tonnes of great shopping cart web applications to choose from, but where do you start? And even before you get started, there are some important key decisions to make.

An early misstep can be costly as failing to recognize key requirements upfront and lead to lots of costly rework, changes or compromises down the road if you’re not careful.

Here’s a few things you’ll need to consider before you launch your eCommerce platform:

1. Payment methods – Which methods of payment do you want to accept? Many on-line cart systems include their own or preferred methods. In some cases you can also integrate with existing brick-and-mortar merchant payment account services if you wish.
2. Multiple Currency – By accepting only a single currency you may be limiting your on-line appeal to nearby countries and neighbouring foreign markets. For example, Canadian businesses should consider their market appeal to the much larger market just to the south.
3. Inventory tracking – Depending on the nature of the goods you sell and your supply chain cycles, you may need a on-line cart system that is aware of current inventory levels to ensure you don’t sell something that you are unable to deliver on-time. Back orders and split-shipments should be avoided if at all possible.
4. Shipping calculations – High shipping costs can deter many customer from completing an on-line sale. But if you set your shipping costs to low, it may end up costing you money. Accurate shipping cost calculations are essential to ensure that you are competitive in the marketplace and don’t disappoint potential customers. This size and weight data of your inventory items is required to calculate accurate shipping costs in most cases.
5. Security – build customer confidence and protect your investment by ensuring that proper on-line retail best practices are followed.
6. Mobile-friendly – most web-surfing is now done via mobile devices. To be successful, your eCommerce site must also provide a good experience to users on smartphones and tablets.
7. Applicable taxes & duty – Depending on your location and the location of your customer, sales taxes and cross-border duties may apply. You method of shipping can also affect the applicable duty. Be sure to check before you begin selling, otherwise you and your clients could be in for a big surprise.
8. Return policy & process – Handling returns and exchanges for on-line sales is a much more complex process than in person. You’ll want to set a clear policy and process for your customers & staff to follow to ensure that these transactions can be handled when necessary.
9. Cart features – Not all on-line shopping cart software is created equally. Here are some key features you’ll want to consider when evaluating which is the best fit for your on-line business:
   • Coupon codes
   • Time-based sales & discounts
   • Gift certificates
   • Client login/order history
   • Shipping labels
   • Workflow features
   • Item ratings, comments, sharing, etc.
   • Advanced item options: size, colour, etc.
   • Payment gateway integration
   • Shipping gateway integration
10. Bottom line – You need to understand all costs to ensure that each on-line transaction is making money for you business. There are several additional costs beyond traditional in-person cash sales: shipping package, shipping costs, taxes & duty, payment processing, hosting & SSL, software costs, etc.

Portage Design is here to help. We’ve build on-line shopping carts of all shapes and sizes, using a variety of platforms. We can help you select the best platform that meets your requirements and budget, and ensure your project’s successful completion from start to finish.