Hi all !

I need to put online a little shop and I am really a newbie in this.
I have found a software called osCommerce, it is php based and is free also!
What do you think about this software? is good enough ?

Anybody know any other solution (freeware if possible) ?

Is there any tutorial on how to put a store online and how to do easily ?

I'm concerned about what could happen if someone steal information of customers of the shop's database.
What things I need to have in mind about security ?

I'm plenty of doubts, so I'll appreciate any suggestion.

The only thing I would suggest is that the customer database should not be on your online site. The online web site should be able to receive informations from the customers and send an e-mail to you, and you put the info on a computer which is not on the network !
This is the only real way to avoid informations being stolen.
Remember that each information accessible on a computer could probably be stolen if somebody smart enough has enough time and really wants to.

osCommerce is a really great program to use if you want to set up your own online business/shop. I don't know about any others but I have used that one before and it does the job very well.

I'm sure there are heaps of php scripts available out there for this sort of thing but I reckon the best way is just to go investigate, see what's out there and pick which one best suits your business.

I like yordan's idea, especially if it is only a small business type thing, for example a local computer store with an online website. This way you could avoid people hacking your websites database.

I'm not sure on what should be used to get this done though, there has to be something around that can do it. Perhaps try asking in the PHP/MySQL section of the forums?

QUOTE(xip @ May 11 2006, 06:38 PM)

Hi all !

I need to put online a little shop and I am really a newbie in this.
I have found a software called osCommerce, it is php based and is free also!
What do you think about this software? is good enough ?

Anybody know any other solution (freeware if possible) ?

Is there any tutorial on how to put a store online and how to do easily ?

I'm concerned about what could happen if someone steal information of customers of the shop's database.
What things I need to have in mind about security ?

I'm plenty of doubts, so I'll appreciate any suggestion.

It depends on the goods you are planning to sell, if it's some ordinary goods like T-shirts, notepads, mugs and these stuffs, then i would advice CafePress which have a lot of benefits for small business:

1- it's free tough they have a paid solution but i used tier free when i had a shop there.
2- you just required to put your own graphics on goods you want to sell.
3- you can customize te store and the goods you want to sell.
4- you put the prices you want on each product.
5- you can choose which products to sell.
6- it takes no time to adjust it through ready-made templates.
7- they handle the security issue.
8- thier "what you see is what you get" feature.
9- you can withdraw your profits since it comes to 25$ as a minimum limit.
10- you can sell software, games and even books.

That's some of the benefits you get throug this nice service.

I use Mambo/VirtueMart where VirtueMart it works as a plug-in component with Mambo CMS and both are FREEWARE.
Using Fantastico, you can easily install Mambo, and then you have to download and install VirtueMart as a Component.
I have already started a thread regarding VirtueMart, so you can take a look here.


Apart from many websites offering tutorials on Mambo and VirtueMart, both of them has a very active forum through which you can get answer to most of your queries.


I know Mambo has a newsletter service which will make you updated about security issues.
Reagrding VirtueMart security issues please take time to read this


Regards,
Sid

Remember not to send out refunds, 'cos that can be a sticky business, and also be careful when charging delivery, you should always make it about 15% higher, just in case you mis calculated, or rates have changed, the slightest penny movement from the bottom charge can cost $$$ to you.

Also try to send your goods out on Sign For Delivery its only usually a little extra, but its worth it.

Oh, and thanks for that program I might useit for my next online shop.

Hi

I started off using Vstore www.vstore.ca

This is a 100% free shopping cart system based on oscommerce. This is secure and hosted on their server. The downside is that you cannot have your own domain there unless you forward or get their premium site.

I was using them and then I started using oscommerce. Unfortunately my website did get hacked into but now I am going onto Astahost and they offer to password protect directories and offer free SSL.

I used oscommerce as I found some free templates