Member Avatar for MichiganMan

Hi there,
I am looking for the best way to make an existing website capable of online sales. It already has products listed and i need software that i can integrate easily. I am new at this so i have two questions.
1. Can i use shopping cart software like Mal's eCommerce, or do i need to use something like oscommerce?
2. What is the best software to use? I would like free, open source, software that is user friendly and customizable to fit my website. I don't mind doing some basic programming but nothing to complicated. (I know html and css but not really any programming languages at this point if that helps.) Please tell me if i need to clarify and thank you for your help in advance.

Edited by MichiganMan because: n/a
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  • Latest Post Latest Post by joelchrist

Dani AI

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Since settled on a self-hosted platform, here is a practical, evergreen checklist and migration notes that fill gaps left by the replies above and help move a static product site into a working store.

Start with a short plan: confirm the chosen platform’s runtime/hosting needs, create a staging site, and export a clean product spreadsheet from the existing pages. Keep the first launch minimal — core catalog, checkout, payments, and shipping — then iterate on design and extras.

Product import example (minimal CSV headers for most carts):

SKU,Name,Description,Price,Weight,ImageURL,Category,Stock
BENCH01,"Acacia Bench","Solid acacia wood bench",249.99,40,"/images/bench.jpg","Benches",10

Image workflow: resize to consistent dimensions, serve web-optimized files, add alt text for SEO, and preserve old product-URL slugs to create 301 redirects from the static pages. A redirect map prevents traffic loss and preserves search rankings.

Configuration and go-live checklist: install an SSL certificate before enabling real payments; enable payment-gateway sandbox mode and run several full test orders (including failed payments and refunds); configure shipping rules and tax calculations for the business locations; set up transactional email templates; schedule automated backups of code and database; and enable monitoring and caching for performance. If PCI scope is a concern, prefer a hosted gateway or tokenization to reduce compliance burden.

Common pitfalls and quick fixes: test transactional emails (spam filters often block them), verify image paths after import, check that session/cookie settings work under HTTPS, and confirm admin access and file-permission backups before switching DNS. As noted, hosted buy-button services are simpler for very small catalogs; comments from and point to many cart options — evaluate security, maintenance, extensibility, and how cleanly each integrates with the current site theme before committing.

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Member Avatar for m1961

Hi Michigan Man.
I think the big question may be how many items you want in your store. If it's not many, or if you want to sell downloads or electronic goods, then e-junkie may be the best fit -- and save you a lot of work.

Otherwise, define the catalog and items, then start looking around.

Member Avatar for MichiganMan

This is a link to the website that i need to set up for online sales.
if that helps out.

Edited by jay 11 because: removed hyperlink but left URL for reference. Please keep discussions on site
Member Avatar for MichiganMan

Ok i am going with nopcommerce it is perfect for what i need.:)
Thanks for the help

Member Avatar for rashida11

Hi there,
I am looking for the best way to make an existing website capable of online sales. It already has products listed and i need software that i can integrate easily. I am new at this so i have two questions.
1. Can i use shopping cart software like Mal's eCommerce, or do i need to use something like oscommerce?
2. What is the best software to use? I would like free, open source, software that is user friendly and customizable to fit my website. I don't mind doing some basic programming but nothing to complicated. (I know html and css but not really any programming languages at this point if that helps.) Please tell me if i need to clarify and thank you for your help in advance.

I Suggest You to use AJ Shopping Cart Software (ajsquare.com/products/ecom/index.php) which is best ecommerce shopping cart software

Edited by jay 11 because: removed hyperlink but left URL for reference
Member Avatar for joelchrist

Yeah. I agree with Rasida that AJ Shopping cart will be the right choice to make your online shop to sell products.

Edited by jay 11 because: removed hyperlink
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