ShopSite vs Zen Cart?

[newtoSS]

Hi - I'm an exasperated ZC shop owner looking for a better ecommerce solution. I've been comparing carts until I'm blue in the face, and from what I've seen I'm really liking ShopSite.

I'm no Zen expert, nor am I a programmer, so I like that with SS I can use a template or have a custom design made.

-Can anyone summarize the differences between ZenCart and ShopSite for me?

-Is there an easy/efficient way to migrate from ZC to SS? (long shot, I know, but I thought I'd ask!)

-If I purchase the one-time fee version, how frequent/expensive are upgrades?

-Easy to upgrade from Manager to Pro version later?

Thanks so much in advance from a potential SS shop owner!

[robm]

-Can anyone summarize the differences between ZenCart and ShopSite for me?

There are many differences between the 2 products. ShopSite creates static html pages (although you can use dynamic code such as PHP), so the catalog pages load faster and often index better. ShopSite is PCI compliant out of the box, so no worries there. ShopSite is often easier to use for both merchants and customers. Bugs are rare, and the ones that do pop up are quickly patched.

-Is there an easy/efficient way to migrate from ZC to SS? (long shot, I know, but I thought I'd ask!)

If you can export your products/pages data from ZenCart, you can import this data easily into ShopSite as either a tab delimited text file, Excel file, or XML file. This would allow quicker integration.

-If I purchase the one-time fee version, how frequent/expensive are upgrades?

ShopSite releases major upgrades every 12-18 months on average. Pricing for the upgrade may vary from host to host. Average upgrade prices are around $125 for Manager and $325 for Pro.

-Easy to upgrade from Manager to Pro version later?

Yes, it is a seamless upgrade from Manager to Pro. No re-work or major overhaul needed.

Rob

[ShopSite Nicole]

-Is there an easy/efficient way to migrate from ZC to SS? (long shot, I know, but I thought I'd ask!)

One thing you might be able to do to test this is to sign up for one of the free ShopSite demo stores. Just make sure it is the Manager or Pro demo and then you could try exporting a copy of your pages or product databases from Zen Cart and then try uploading them into the demo store. You can sign up for the demo store at the link below:
http://www.shopsite.com/demo.html#manage

-video tutorial on the database upload/download feature
http://www.shopsite.com/tutorial/utilities-database.htm
-help documentation
http://www.shopsite.com/help/current/en ... .show.html

-Nicole

[newtoSS]

Thank you both for your advice. If I can ease the pain of the ZC migration, it would sure be a bonus, so I'll definitely look into your suggestions!

Again, thanks a ton!