osCommerce Webstore Integration

What is osCommerce?

osCommerce is a website where programmers around the world offer different modules allowing different programmers scripts to work together with each other. Each module has a specific purpose in the workings of a website dependent on your own requirements. Here you will find programmers sending their own parts free of charge, hence the phrase 'open source'.

osCommerce Philosophy

Open Source software provides an opportunity for programmers to work on software with others that share the same interest, exchanging ideas, knowledge, and work with one another, to expand and improve the solution.

The motivation for working on Open Source software originates at different sources, which include working on the software for fun as a hobby, to make the software meet own requirements, and to bring commercial interest into the software.

It is this combination of motivations that has brought together a team of developers to successfully make what osCommerce is today - and what it will be in the future - and an active and growing community, with each person having their own unique requirements but ultimately sharing the same goal: to use the software and to make it a better solution.

Open Source software always remains open providing the opportunity for anyone that is interested to work on it, at any time.

Because Open Source software is open, it provides a choice. The choice to use the software, the choice to learn the software, and the choice to join, share, and participate in a community - a community full of enthusiastic supporters that want to see the software grow and succeed.

It is this very reason why Open Source software is successful, and most importantly, why it works.

www.oscommerce.com

The Purpose

Before we can understand which modules you will need we will communicate with you at length to get an understanding of what you want your website to do, what things you could offer your customers as an incentive, how you would choose to run your accounting admistration. All of these features can be reached by integrating an oscommerce system. It will be your shop and office rolled into one on the Internet, allowing you to re think your working conditions, as this system can be used on any computer anywhere in the world, so at a click of a button you will be able to see your daily sales, stock levels, paid and un paid invoices along with the flexibilty of adding new products by obtaining the supplier image and uploading it together with your description of product.

What is a module?

A module is a component of the raw working behind a website, much like a jig saw peice... by itself it doesn't make much sense, but when added to another and then another it makes up a picture. Try and imagine all the websites on the Internet and then think of all the tiny little peices that make them up, some are instructed to be the parts of the ordering process, some the parts of the payment method, in laymans terms you need a specific module for each of your dynamic workings behind a process, as there are many different prgrammers there are many different ideas of what is the best module at doing a certain thing, so this gives us choice as a developer of picking the one that best suits our customers individual requirements.

Our Job

A website is made up much like a jig saw puzzle, it is our job is to pick the correct modules that will suit your business and web site needs, we are experienced enough to know that a fraction of the modules displayed at osCommerce do not work to their best ability therefore you can trust us to test and re-test each module before allowing it to be included in the final version of your website.

Design

When you choose to follow this path into the Internet arena we will offer you the choice of ready made templates or a bespoke design, the ready made templates will obviously be the cheaper option as they have already been created therefore no time will be required for designing, small changes can be made e.g. colour and text changes. You must be aware that choosing this option will mean that you do not have a unique design (apart of course from your company logo or slogan) and there may be other osCommerce designed websites out there with the same look but maybe different colour, this is the most cost effective solution for you. If however you choose to have a bespoke design made it can be implemented in a way that it will be unique, the only one on the Internet looking like this, of course you must understand that a great deal of time will be given to your design based on your design brief.

osCommerce Ready Templates

click to enlarge	click to enlarge
click to enlarge	click to enlarge
click to enlarge	click to enlarge

Back End Administration

visit oscommerce.com for more information

Here’s a few websites that have been built with osCommerce, notice the different functions offered, these are all modules at work.

Sample sites

angelmark.co.uk	mediterraneangourmetcompany.com
.........................................................	.........................................................
arkpetcentre.co.uk	loadsmorestuff.com
.........................................................	.........................................................
essexracing.com	chifactory.net
.........................................................	.........................................................

Modules

Just a fraction of the modules available for integration;