2010 X-Cart Review: Overview

• Two Package Choices: X-Gold or X-Pro
• Turnkey Installation (Xcart Experts
  Install Product for You)
• PHP Shopping Cart
• Customizable Shopping Cart
• Search Engine Friendly

Note: This is an older review of X-Cart done in 2010. To see the latest about what this ecommerce solution has to offer, check out our 2011 X-Cart review.

X-Cart Review: Expert Shopping Cart Review

Purchasing shopping cart software can be a daunting process, with many questions around whether or not the software will compliment the business, integrate into a current site, and enhance the overall functionality. The level of service shopping cart software can provide will vary, with each placing weight on various aspects of the software. That’s why X-Cart got into business though. Their goal wasn’t and isn’t to make a perfect software – they know it doesn’t exist. Instead, they focus on providing the optimal solution for most ecommerce projects.

Two Main X-Cart Packages to Choose From

X-CART currently has two models on the market: their X-Cart Gold and X-Cart Pro Software. Both are based on PHP Smarty templates, allowing for ultimate flexibility while stored in a MySQL database. X-Cart shopping cart software is also considered a Turnkey package, meaning the installation of the software is managed by a web-based wizard assisting in getting the system up and running shortly after purchase. Most importantly, X-Cart software allows for administrations to create and manage specialized meta tags to impact your overall ranking on major search engines.

This is about where the similarities end for X-CART shopping cart software, differing in the management of the software provided in each package. X-Cart GOLD tends to centralize the overarching management of the shopping cart software by allowing one point of management through the administrator role. All major functions (like orders, back-end administration, payments, shipping options, and taxes) are fully managed, updated and controlled by the administrator for the site with no input or influence provided to individual merchants.

X-Cart PRO broadens that spectrum of management by allowing both administrators and providers to manage unique accounts specific to the vendors business (and overarching administration for the owner). X-CART accomplishes this by providing each user with a unique log on allowing them to manage, track, and update their accounts and settings.

X-Cart Pro shopping cart software carries this theme into most other features of the software allowing for multiple points of entry to divide and conquer the online retail world. Some of the more business critical areas (like payments) are handled in a centralized fashion here, but overall the majority of the features are structured to allow an owner to view all activity with merchants set up to receive and manage information relating to them only.

For example, orders through X-Cart PRO are routed to the individual vendor, specific to the product the merchant is selling. This allows the vendors to better track inventory, and enhances the level of customer service for the customer, as each vendor is required to provide a separate invoice for the purchase. Because the owner has a separate log on than the individual providers, different settings can be put in place to provide the administrator with an overarching view of the activity on the site, where the providers won’t see anything beyond their products.

Where X-Cart PRO limits administration is around payments. Although the vendors do have access to their account information, the administrator is truly in full control of the management in this aspect of the shopping cart software.

Regardless if X-Cart PRO, or X-Cart GOLD meets your needs, any X-CART software will provide the reliable, and absolute optimal solution for your company, and is worthy of exploring as a viable solution to your shopping cart needs.