Any comments on 3dcart.com

[ldylion214]

I'm considering purchasing this shopping cart. Does anyone currently use it? I'm concerned about url and SEO as well as ease of set up for a novice.

Thanks! Nicci

[bobchrist]

Consider to check few example sites those using them, to check Quick loading.. as it's a vital part of the store.

[ldylion214]

Originally Posted by bobchrist

Consider to check few example sites those using them, to check Quick loading.. as it's a vital part of the store.

Thank you! That's a very good thought. I did run thru a few of their customer's sites and they all loaded quickly. I guess the thing for me is I am using high speed internet (I think most are) so most everything loads quickly. I need to find a tool to check it on dialup compared with my site now.

Best, Nicci

[bobchrist]

Originally Posted by ldylion214

I need to find a tool to check it on dialup compared with my site now.

Best, Nicci

You can check with Web Page Analyzer - free website optimization tool website speed test check website performance report from web site optimization , also starting a thread "Please check my site loading TIME" , it will let you know the loading time from different countries.

[Dubbya]

I know it's pretty new (I recall looking into it) and from what I've been able to find out, for a HOSTED solution, it looks pretty good.

3d Cart Review

3D Cart www.3dcart.com Review in Shopping Carts at Review Centre


Keep in mind that hosted solutions cost money, regardless of whether or not your sales can cover the costs. Just make sure you're in a position to be able to maintain the site so you don't lose your shirt and your business. The prices seem reasonable, but bear in mind that there are monthly fees to consider and these can literally eat you alive.

Based on the premise that you're not too interested in ASP coding and that you've built a sustainable monthly sales volume, this might be a good solution for you. If you'd rather let someone else worry about SSL, secured transactions and payment gateway integration, this would be the way to go.

If however, you're capable of maintaining the site, maintaining the database and coding any changes yourself, to a large extent, you'd be giving up the ability to "do what you want" with your site.

If they allow you to buy the scripts at a reasonable price, host the site and manage it yourself, you'd avoid a the monthly expenses... just a thought but certainly worth considering.

[rumblepup]

3d cart LOOKS great, however, I hate hosted solutions. No access to code, it's dependent on hosting you can't control, and if you need to move it, your out of luck.

However, with a hosted script like this, your ready to rock as soon as you sign up. Templates and premade functions make life a little easier.

Ask yourself,

Can I work with code I buy?
Is everyday I'm not in the market costing me money?
Do I want to do this fast, or right, or both?
Can I wait till I get a design done?


If it's too difficult to get your own commerce engine, go with the hosted one.

[TechEvangelist]

I fully agree that performance is an important issue for any users who are not using broadband. The last figures I saw estimarted that 17% of USA Internet users do not have high speed Internet access.

I highly recommend the Web Page Analyzer mentioned by bobchrist. I use it all the time to test pages for performance issues.

A laptop with a dial-up connection is also a good way to do a real world test. Just make sure that you clear the browser cache each time you test a site. When images and code gets cached, you will no longer experience the same loading delays as a first time user on a dual-up.

[WalkThru55]

From first hand experience, I would not recommend using them. As was mentioned in another comment, if you do not know how to maintain your code, you are lost, not to mention that having assistance with any change you might want to make might take up to a week to be addressed.

The support is okay for very simple questions. Expect an response within a couple of days with about three tries in getting it right, but if you have anything complex you need done or help with, chances are you will be left hanging endlessly and your site in limbo, which could potentially damage your business reputation in terms of having you site stay on a professional level.

Basically, other than the shopping cart software provided, there is little care about anything more than making sure the bill is paid each month. The admin access is set up well for most features, but the support offered is a two thumbs down.

[chrisbarney]

3dcart is nice software fo rthose who want someting up fast w/o issues for a good price

[pixma85]

If your looking to save more money , check out oscommerce and getting a server with hostgator.com

[tony7242]

Site always crash, and customer service? Forget about speaking to someone! There is no customer service. Using 3dcart is a “here is your site good luck” solution. I switch to network solutions and love it! Customer service is 24/7, very friendly and helpful

[jjrs79]

Tony7242,

I'm sorry to hear that about 3dcart, I've actually been using them for a couple years now and I couldn't be any happier. It definitively sounds like you had a bad experience with them, but their tech support is actually very knowledgeable and I don't remember the last time I experienced any downtime.

Now, NetworkSolutions used to be great as MonsterCommerce, the 4.0 version was very good, but their new 7.0 version is a major step backwards, they actually removed features and establish new limitations (like the fact that you can't have more than 1000 categories). I don't have any experience with their tech support so I really can't comment on that.

For those looking at 3dcart, they're about to release their 3.0 version which includes Affiliate Program, Wish List, Gift Registry, Multiple Ship To, Taxes by Zip Code, CRM, RMA, Single Page Checkout, and a Reward Points system. This is not out yet, so if you actually want it then you'll need to ask for it directly.

[Webnauts]

Originally Posted by ldylion214

I'm considering purchasing this shopping cart. Does anyone currently use it? I'm concerned about url and SEO as well as ease of set up for a novice.

Thanks! Nicci

CubeCart.

[jjrs79]

For those looking at 3dcart, they just released the 3.0 and you can sign up for a free trial at, 3DCart Shopping Cart Software Demo