Re: shopping cart

Barbara,

I've been doing this for a while, and one day what Bryan wrote will all 
make sense. I'm not a programmer either, but lately, php/MySQL is looking 
good -- just wait! See what you have to look forward to?

In the meantime, check out http://www.mals-e.com/ -- it's a 
bring-your-own-merchant-account shopping cart service. Secure server, some 
reasonable customization, decent phorums (sic) and it will help you get 
your feet wet here. Plus it's free -- only cost will be a few hairs and 
some hours of frustration.

Then, when you discover what you *could* be doing -- well, the HWG lists 
have been great at helping me with that stuff too. Thanks to them, I know 
what Bryan's talking about!

:)

T

At 08:19 PM 10/13/00 -0400, Barbara Money wrote:
>As far as I know, it will be fairly simple. He sells embroidered and
>screenprinted apparel. Server platform, probably Unix, so I won't be able 
>to do
>anything there. Database? Flat file? Uh, my ignorance is showing. Do you have
>to use a database for a shopping cart? I confess I don't even own a database
>program, except an extremely simple one called simply Data Base, nor do I know
>how to use one. I assume he will need a secure certificate, but I understand
>they are costly. I'm not a programmer, just a humble web site designer, so it
>has to be simple.
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Barbara Money
>The Essential Image
>
>Bryan Bateman wrote:
>
> > There is much to consider.  How were you contemplating providing a shopping
> > cart?  What server platform will you be using?  Will there be a database or
> > "flat file" for products and categories?  Will you be purchasing a
> > certificate for secure server (https)?  There are more but those are for
> > starters.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Barbara Money" <bmoney(at)brainiac.com>
> > To: <hwg-basics(at)hwg.org>
> > Sent: Friday, October 13, 2000 10:24 PM
> > Subject: shopping cart
> >
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > I'm not sure if this is appropriate for the Basics list, but I've seen
> > > lots of references to javascripts and other stuff that are currently
> > > beyond me, and not what I personally consider basics.
> > >
> > > Anyway, one or two of my clients are or will be considering online sales
> > > abilities for their web sites, and I wonder if you can point me in the
> > > right direction. Should I set them up with a 3rd party like Freemerchant
> > > or attempt to build a storefront from scratch? They have already the
> > > ability to accept CC's over the phone or in person, so they'd only need
> > > something for online CC authorization and then receiving the info for
> > > the order itself plus shipping and tax calculation. Is there anything
> > > else I need to consider? I don't want to offer ecommerce yet if there's
> > > a huge learning curve to get over first, and I really don't think any of
> > > them want to be the guinea pig. There's a Catch-22 for ya.
> > >
> > > Any suggestions?
> > >
> > > Barbara
> > > The Essential Image
> > >

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