If you are running an online business, you know that you need a shopping cart. The shopping cart software application is important because it is what allows customers to order multiple items, see how much their total is, and then proceed to check out and pay you for what they have purchased. Looking for a shopping cart can be difficult. And, if you are not careful, it can get expensive. However, there are several free shopping carts available for your use. One of these free shopping carts is Zen Cart.

Zen Cart shopping cart

Zen Cart is one of the better free shopping carts. It is an open source shopping cart system, which means that developers can add to the code, developing additional features and functionalities. If you use Zen Cart, you can take advantage of the ever-increasing upgrades and new features for free. Zen Cart is easy to install, and it is also easy to use. The interface is very user friendly, and the shopping cart can be installed with relative ease. In fact, you can have your Zen Cart installed and activated in less than 15 minutes.

Zen Cart comes with a number of useful advantages. Here are some of the advantages of using Zen Cart as a shopping cart for your Web site business:

• Features: There are a number of great features available with Zen Cart. You can customize your store and your shopping cart as you wish. You can include unlimited items in your catalog, and you can easily categorize them. It is possible to use different languages in your stores and shopping carts. You can also use advertising tactics in tandem with your cart, and manage product listings with relative ease.

• Pricing: You can offer products without prices, and you can also set up discount prices. Figure out global discounts, quantity discounts and special sales and promotions. It is also possible to set up one-time payment charges, as well as recurring charges.
• Payment options: Zen Cart offers a number of payment options as well. You can accept credit cards and debit cards. You can also accept PayPal and other third party payment processors. Zen Cart can also accept foreign currencies and allow currency conversions.
• Customer relations: One of the neat things about Zen Cart is that it has different tools aimed at helping business owners establish positive customer relationships. You can use the features in Zen Cart to send newsletters and promotion alerts. You can also offer gift certificates and create customer loyalty programs. Email order confirmations and other such options are also available, allowing you to serve your customers better.
• Security: You want an ecommerce shopping cart with good security, and that is what Zen Cart offers. This shopping cart is compatible with a number of different SSL certificates, so that your customers can see that you take their security seriously. It is also possible to protect your administration panel and your shopping cart from others with a password and by setting proper access authority.

Zen Cart also has a community of developers and users that can help you work through many problems you might run into. You can receive pointers and advice, as well as see good examples of what you can accomplish with Zen Cart. Before deciding on Zen Cart, though, you should make sure that it is what you want, and that it has all of the features that you want. However, Zen Cart is likely to work well for any small to medium sized business.