osCommerce is the e-commerce solution of choice for thousands of online shop owners. That's with good reason; it is an extremely powerful tool and highly customizable. The advantage of osCommerce (Open-Source Commerce) is the availability of core code and the ability to adjust it to meet each shop's particular needs. At the same time, however, this can prove challenging for those who have no experience with HTML, PHP, or databases such as MySQL.
The modern-day entrepreneur, or indeed a business of any kind, small or large, can scarcely do without some form of presence on the Web. The pervasiveness of the Internet has brought about a new reality for business people. No longer is it sufficient to set up shop somewhere and sit quietly waiting for customers. Instead, the initiative must be taken with goods and services being marketed and sold online, reaching hitherto unheard-of sizes of consumer markets, nationally and internationally.
With the added burden of the acquisition of IT skills, many small- to medium-size enterprises have found themselves being outstripped by their larger cousins, who have the resources and manpower to harness and utilize the Internet properly. Prohibitively expensive development costs or ill-fitting off-the-shelf applications have hampered SME's ability to compete on an even footing. Up until now that is!
With the advent of osCommerce and other open-source technologies like it, the door has been opened for anyone with a bit of determination to set up a sophisticated online store that will hold its own against any other site out there. It's not surprising that osCommerce is growing in popularity as more and more people switch to the advantages of building and running their very own e-commerce website.
With the advent of osCommerce and other open-source technologies like it, the door has been opened for anyone with a bit of determination to set up a sophisticated online store that will hold its own against any other site out there. It's not surprising that osCommerce is growing in popularity as more and more people switch to the advantages of building and running their very own e-commerce website.
osCommerce has been around since March 2000 and was originally founded by Harald Ponce de Leon. The development of osCommerce is still overseen by Harald, but has also since become the domain of a full team of dedicated people. You can read about the osCommerce team on the http://www.oscommerce.com/about/team page/. At present there are about 6,000 live, registered osCommerce sites and about 70,000 registered community members. With the rising success and popularity of this remarkable piece of software, these numbers are all set to increase dramatically. Looking at how long osCommerce has been around, it's safe to say that there has been enough time for the technology to mature and for people to be confident that it has endured plenty of use and has been reworked and debugged to the point where it is stable and reliable. If you are not someone who is readily convinced, a visit to the osCommerce community forums at http://forums.oscommerce.com/ will demonstrate that there is a lively, active community supporting this technology—proof enough that osCommerce is working for others, and that there is the interest to push osCommerce forward in the years to come.
Quite apart from all this, it is fair enough and important to ask "Why should I use osCommerce?" at this early stage. Part of the answer to this seemingly innocuous question goes straight to the heart of an issue that has led to a massive divergence in one of the fundamental socio-economic questions surrounding modern computing.
There are two schools of thought that divide most programmers and developers firmly into two camps, which compete against each other, in some cases quite vehemently. The issue is whether or not intellectual property (in particular, software) should be made available for everyone in the world to use, modify, and contribute to or whether it should be protected.
It is strongly urged to avail yourself of the facts when it comes to open source technology, even if for nothing other than allowing you to form a considered opinion about the software upon which your business relies. The following is a fairly good definition of the term Open Source:
Open Source is defined as any program whose source code is made available—most often subject to certain conditions—for use or modification by users or other developers as they deem fit.
Open source software is usually developed as a public collaboration and is freely available. For more information on what open source is, check out http://www.opensource.org/.
So, we know that osCommerce is an open source initiative—big deal! How does this change anything or how should it influence our decision to use it? Well, let's look at some of the advantages of the open source paradigm and relate it to what you can expect from the overall osCommerce experience:
• Totally free: It might cost you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a software development company to build you a fully functional commercial site from scratch. Not having to pay for this development removes one of the largest obstacles that retards e-commerce growth for the small to medium enterprise.
• Secure and stable milestone releases: The osCommerce core has become a secure and stable environment for online commerce due of the large amount of community participation. This doesn't mean it is impervious to attack—like any other software, it has weaknesses—but you can be sure of a swift community response to any new threats that may appear.
• Large development community: osCommerce's source code is readily available and free to modify and so there are thousands of developers who test and improve it on a daily basis. osCommerce effectively has an unlimited development team, and with the software gaining in popularity, new code will be produced at a faster rate.
• Large support community: osCommerce has a large support community. This is due to the fact that the open source paradigm encourages the development of communities that feel a collective responsibility to aid others within that community.
While the above points might not seem like a big thing now, knowing that there is someone else who has perhaps struggled with the same issues that you have, and is willing to spend time to help you solve your own problems is a huge benefit that can't really be quantified in terms of cost.
Apart from the previously listed advantages that have been automatically bestowed upon osCommerce users, it is also fair to say that this is one of the world's truly valuable pieces of software that is leveling the playing ground between enterprises with large pockets and those with tighter budgets. This is because it empowers people to act on their ideas and bring their services and products to the world, via the medium of the World Wide Web, without being subject to high development costs. Removing obstacles in doing business stimulates growth and helps everyone in the long run. Hopefully, you will embrace the spirit of open source and encourage others to join in the future.
So has osCommerce done all our work for us and we only have to sit back and rake in the cash? Nice try! There is still plenty to do and unlike other more transient and perhaps gimmicky promises, which you might find on the Net, this article certainly won't get you up and running in twenty minutes. Instead, it will teach you how to develop an intelligent approach to what you do from here on. This will enable you to understand why and how you are doing things and give you control over how to develop your business with confidence in the future.
Cost Versus Return
"What costs are you talking about? This software is free." is a reasonable question here. Well, you still have to put in the time and effort to actually build the site, even if osCommerce, and other related technologies like Apache, MySQL, and PHP are all free. Don't forget that your live site will also have to be hosted somewhere, although this is generally not a huge expense, and you will also need to buy a domain. Remember too, that you need the hardware on which you develop the site, even if ultimately it will be held on the Internet Service Provider's hard disks.
There are other expenses that are not really obvious at this stage. What will you do if you want to accept credit card payments on your site? How will you ensure the absolute security and privacy of those details? The best answer to this, for small to medium businesses, is not to handle them at all. This doesn't mean you are doomed to not accept credit card payments until you run a large multinational, but it does mean that a secure, third-party credit card payment facility will need to be involved, and with it, some expenses.
Of course, monetary expense is not the only form of cost involved in this equation. You will also have to dedicate some time to building and maintaining the site. Determine now whether or not this time could be utilized better in doing other things. A big factor in deciding this, is ensuring you have a good idea of the hours required for the project. If time is not something you have in abundance, then it may be worth the expense to get a professional to build an osCommerce site for the business instead.
This leads on to the next point, which is that it may not be critical to have a site built immediately. If your business relies on word of mouth or is in its infancy, then it may be more fruitful spending time developing your client base and simply putting up an informative placeholder on the Web as opposed to a full-blown retail enterprise. Be certain that having an e-commerce site will enhance your business in the near future rather than drain resources from other more immediate concerns. The flipside is that by obtaining a sophisticated and professional online presence you might well get the head start before your competitors.
To get a feel of how osCommerce looks, visit this site.
http://demo.techmastiff.com/shop/: This is the front-end portion of osCommerce wherein you have categories and products (under each category) listed.
http://demo.techmastiff.com/shop/admin/login.php?osCAdminID=fke0f9ks6t9u383ek8l6ta3kf3: This is the Admin part of osCommerce. From this section, you can manage the entire osCommerce shop. In case you want a demo of the Admin section, please contact me HERE to get a user/pass.
Quite apart from all this, it is fair enough and important to ask "Why should I use osCommerce?" at this early stage. Part of the answer to this seemingly innocuous question goes straight to the heart of an issue that has led to a massive divergence in one of the fundamental socio-economic questions surrounding modern computing.
There are two schools of thought that divide most programmers and developers firmly into two camps, which compete against each other, in some cases quite vehemently. The issue is whether or not intellectual property (in particular, software) should be made available for everyone in the world to use, modify, and contribute to or whether it should be protected.
It is strongly urged to avail yourself of the facts when it comes to open source technology, even if for nothing other than allowing you to form a considered opinion about the software upon which your business relies. The following is a fairly good definition of the term Open Source:
Open Source is defined as any program whose source code is made available—most often subject to certain conditions—for use or modification by users or other developers as they deem fit.
Open source software is usually developed as a public collaboration and is freely available. For more information on what open source is, check out http://www.opensource.org/.
So, we know that osCommerce is an open source initiative—big deal! How does this change anything or how should it influence our decision to use it? Well, let's look at some of the advantages of the open source paradigm and relate it to what you can expect from the overall osCommerce experience:
• Totally free: It might cost you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a software development company to build you a fully functional commercial site from scratch. Not having to pay for this development removes one of the largest obstacles that retards e-commerce growth for the small to medium enterprise.
• Secure and stable milestone releases: The osCommerce core has become a secure and stable environment for online commerce due of the large amount of community participation. This doesn't mean it is impervious to attack—like any other software, it has weaknesses—but you can be sure of a swift community response to any new threats that may appear.
• Large development community: osCommerce's source code is readily available and free to modify and so there are thousands of developers who test and improve it on a daily basis. osCommerce effectively has an unlimited development team, and with the software gaining in popularity, new code will be produced at a faster rate.
• Large support community: osCommerce has a large support community. This is due to the fact that the open source paradigm encourages the development of communities that feel a collective responsibility to aid others within that community.
While the above points might not seem like a big thing now, knowing that there is someone else who has perhaps struggled with the same issues that you have, and is willing to spend time to help you solve your own problems is a huge benefit that can't really be quantified in terms of cost.
Apart from the previously listed advantages that have been automatically bestowed upon osCommerce users, it is also fair to say that this is one of the world's truly valuable pieces of software that is leveling the playing ground between enterprises with large pockets and those with tighter budgets. This is because it empowers people to act on their ideas and bring their services and products to the world, via the medium of the World Wide Web, without being subject to high development costs. Removing obstacles in doing business stimulates growth and helps everyone in the long run. Hopefully, you will embrace the spirit of open source and encourage others to join in the future.
So has osCommerce done all our work for us and we only have to sit back and rake in the cash? Nice try! There is still plenty to do and unlike other more transient and perhaps gimmicky promises, which you might find on the Net, this article certainly won't get you up and running in twenty minutes. Instead, it will teach you how to develop an intelligent approach to what you do from here on. This will enable you to understand why and how you are doing things and give you control over how to develop your business with confidence in the future.
Cost Versus Return
"What costs are you talking about? This software is free." is a reasonable question here. Well, you still have to put in the time and effort to actually build the site, even if osCommerce, and other related technologies like Apache, MySQL, and PHP are all free. Don't forget that your live site will also have to be hosted somewhere, although this is generally not a huge expense, and you will also need to buy a domain. Remember too, that you need the hardware on which you develop the site, even if ultimately it will be held on the Internet Service Provider's hard disks.
There are other expenses that are not really obvious at this stage. What will you do if you want to accept credit card payments on your site? How will you ensure the absolute security and privacy of those details? The best answer to this, for small to medium businesses, is not to handle them at all. This doesn't mean you are doomed to not accept credit card payments until you run a large multinational, but it does mean that a secure, third-party credit card payment facility will need to be involved, and with it, some expenses.
Of course, monetary expense is not the only form of cost involved in this equation. You will also have to dedicate some time to building and maintaining the site. Determine now whether or not this time could be utilized better in doing other things. A big factor in deciding this, is ensuring you have a good idea of the hours required for the project. If time is not something you have in abundance, then it may be worth the expense to get a professional to build an osCommerce site for the business instead.
This leads on to the next point, which is that it may not be critical to have a site built immediately. If your business relies on word of mouth or is in its infancy, then it may be more fruitful spending time developing your client base and simply putting up an informative placeholder on the Web as opposed to a full-blown retail enterprise. Be certain that having an e-commerce site will enhance your business in the near future rather than drain resources from other more immediate concerns. The flipside is that by obtaining a sophisticated and professional online presence you might well get the head start before your competitors.
To get a feel of how osCommerce looks, visit this site.
http://demo.techmastiff.com/shop/: This is the front-end portion of osCommerce wherein you have categories and products (under each category) listed.
http://demo.techmastiff.com/shop/admin/login.php?osCAdminID=fke0f9ks6t9u383ek8l6ta3kf3: This is the Admin part of osCommerce. From this section, you can manage the entire osCommerce shop. In case you want a demo of the Admin section, please contact me HERE to get a user/pass.
