Developing A Shopping Cart For B2B ecommerce Websites Factors to consider when building a shopping cart The exchange of money for products and services online requires the integration of a shopping cart within a website. In addition to accepting and processing payments, shopping carts also can calculate tax and shipping charges. Having an good shopping cart is crucial, for it also makes the buyer more confident in purchasing products and services. Many often use third party, open source shopping carts, which can, out of the box, provide everything needed. However, there is no one size fits all, and many open source carts have limitations that can be hindering. For example, various shopping carts do not accept certain credit cards. Creating a shopping cart from scratch is another option that many have done to perfectly mold to unique business needs. Why to Develop Your Own Shopping Cart Database Setup Setting up a database for your shopping cart allows you to store an organized collection of data, such as inventory. Functions Accepting payments and tracking inventory is merely a scratch on the surface of what a shopping cart will need to do. Here are some other functions to include: Personalization Making your shopping cart unique is more important than it seems. Being visually appealing and well-branded can and will create a stronger image in the eyes of your customer. Ways to personalize your shopping include custom icons and color themes. Running your own promotions is another factor that can be added; this will not only help one sell more, but also make customer experiences better. Types of payments to accept should also be looked at; this is crucial for international transactions. Social media integration can also be done to your shopping cart; this may sound unnecessary for B2B, but this will aid in marketing and interaction with clients. The overall checkout process should be also be personalized. Whether the payment process all be done on one web page, or on multiple pages, it has to be well structured. Security Shopping cart security should be a top priority. Many that are skeptical about online purchasing are afraid of fraud and theft. Hackers often target ecommerce sites, which could potentially lead to huge lawsuits with credit-card companies and clients. Installing an SSL Certificate will encrypt important information during online transactions. Having great security will give you trust, help maintain good business relationships, and preserve your business. Developing a shopping cart requires a lot of different elements, thus requires a good amount of technical skill. However, the benefits of it can go way beyond what current open source shopping carts have to offer. Check out our Business ecommerce services. If you have more questions, we at Clarity can help. Feel free to call us for questions or for a free quote. Get a Quote: 800.928.8160 (toll-free) It will be easier to change and extend the shopping cart Time is saved when there are custom requirements One administration panel can manage both the shopping cart and website Single template implementation for the shopping cart and website Modules can be directly imported from existing code library Add one to multiple products Deleting a product Updating a product Store customer information