Hello All,
I was thinking today and just thought it might benefit some to out
there to know the advantages and disadvantages of some store platforms
that are out there. Right now I build stores on 6 platforms but I am
only going to talk about 3 and just the cliff notes. That's Monster,
Yahoo!, and Prostores. These three I have the most experience with
Building, Modifying, and Search Engine Optimization.
Monster Commerce:
Advantages:
1. Data Port - Powerful desktop application for managing your store and
Items.
2. Easy for Newbie's to setup a quick (semi-descent) looking site
3. Easy Ecommerce Setup
4. Low learning curve
5. Monster support pretty good.
6. Great FTP services
Disadvantages:
1. Difficult for Design(look and Feel customization)
2. Entire store ran on Index.asp
3. Monster has a tendency to double tag <Body><Head> and <HTML>
4. Less Control Over Settings.
5. No way to properly set <Title> tags on each page.
6. Monster didn't design platform for Good SEO techniques
7. Product image handling is horrible
8. Way more expensive then it should be.
Yahoo Store:
Advantages:
1. Easy control to SEO Yahoo Sites and control HTML practices
2. Full Control Customize Look and feel of entire site
3. Easy to Manage Items and catalog
4. Access to most store functionality
5. Product Image handling on Yahoo is better then any platform.
6. Powerful Cross-sell customizable functionality that can be utilized.
Disadvantages:
1. Low Control over Checkout Process and not very customizable.
2. Higher Learning Curve and requires RTML knowledge to Customize store
Templates
3. No support for Multiple drop shippers or shipping from different
locations
(Can be done with Custom hosted scripts via Real-time link)
4. Yahoo! Support Sucks.
5. In ability to add custom pages that are not .html. Can have in
hosting, but is under different area.
Prostores:
Advantages:
1. Powerful control over store templates (design look/and feel).
2. Powerful control over design and whole checkout process.
3. Semi easy product management
4. Great tie in's for real-time shipping quotes, EBay, and Shopping
portals
5. Easy to maintain SEO and change HTML practices
6. Fairly cheap!
Disadvantages:
1. To customize templates must know SSML - Extremely confusing and hard
language.
2. Doesn't handle product images very well. Must upload sized images
for thumbnails
3. Prostores Support and partially knowledgeable, will help, or do more
harm then good. It's a crap shoot.
4. Custom pages are tricking and problematic to add.
5. Cross-sell functionality requires SSML knowledge and Sells same
products site wide.
6. Basic Editor and Advanced Design Editor don't communicate good and
can trash your customization.
