I have a potential client who is looking to create an e-commerce site for a large number of products. I use PHP and MySQL and do know the basics of creating your own shopping cart function (thanks to Web Database Applications by Hugh E. Williams & David Lane ).

Having read through all the posts here on OsCommerce and now I'm confused over whether its better to get an off-the-shelf solution like this. Accessibilty and standards compliance is high on the priority list (I list it as one of the reasons to use me as a designer!) but am I right in thinking OsCommerce isn't compatible for this?

How easy is it to integrate with a payment system like Worldpay? This would be the first e-commerce site I've created although I have created database-driven sites before so I want to make sure I've done my research before quoting.

Thanks.

I think the main thing you need to consider when debating which to choose - off the shelf or a custom solution - is budget. A custom built solution may have all the features and options your customer wants, but how much time is it going to take you to build?? Programs such as OSCommerce have literally thousands of hours of programming time by multiple skilled developers. Even if you could program a simple cart in 100 hours to meet your clients needs, charging $65/hour would easily amount to more than $6500. More realistically it would be more expensive.

Another issue to consider is updates and security patches. If there is a security hole in your software you will have to find it, develop the patch for it and install it. It may take you too long to notice and you may be exploited. Commercial software is continually updated, features are added and new versions are released... often free for current customers.

Just some things to consider...

Thats a very good point. I hadn't considered the updates and security issues. You could spend a significant amount of time trying to resolve this issues after the site launch and I suppose you couldn't really charge for time if the security flaw is down to poorly written original code!
What is osCommerce (or similar solutions) like to adapt for standards compliance? Perhaps this is something the osCommerce development team are considering for their next release?

I used to think it would be better to develop your own software to meet the needs of your client more closely, but lately, I've realized that there are many already developed, open source solutions out there that are already very well built and flexible.

I think that it depends on your situation. In 95% of the cases, you'll be able to find a pre-built solution that can easily be modified or that may work just fine straight out of the box.

Security is especially a concern if you're going to be storing customer information (particularly credit card information) in your database. If you're using a serivce like 2checkout or Paypal, security concerns are lessened.

I think I would definately use a payment service like Worldpay - seems no sense in exposing yourself to the security risks and liability unneccessarily. The only problem is that until I have a client with a site to use Worldpay I can't trial it and see how it works or how to integrate it.

Bit of a chicken and egg situation. No-one really wants their client to be a guinea pig.

As beley said, budget is what really makes the difference between a out-of-the-box solution and a custom solution. However, there are a few pluses to custom solutions you may want to consider.

Custom solutions that are completely built for you are closed-source, closed applications. The biggest problem with many commercial programs is that other people have the code and thus they can easily find little bugs and exploit them. Once a bug is found it is easy for a user to find other companies using the same software and duplicate the problem. If your program is inhouse you certainly have to watch security closely but you don't have to worry about some nosey person digging through your code or some security-alert message causing you to get hacked.

With a custom solution you are also able to cut out what you don't need and design things in the most logical way possible. One of the biggest problems with pre-made solutions is they have to fit a thousand needs. Very few carts are flexible enough to let you change your order/checkout procedure which means if your order system is 1 page or 4 pages, you're stuck with it.

Custom solutions let you build everything how you want but they really do cost more; even if you consider a product like Miva which can cost over $600 per license, a custom cart will probably cost you far more in the end. Of course the control and flexibility are worth it for some people and if you plan to run a large store it may be worth it for you as well.

P.S. If you develop something in-house be sure not to store full credit card data... If someone breaches your system having them get customer addresses is bad enough, the thought of being blackmailed with their credit card #s is enough to cause panic.

I guess for a first time e-commerce site builder like myself I'm better off going for the open source solution. Then at least if I run into difficulties I have a whole resource of info to fall back on. Then further down the line if when I know the limitations of the open source solution and I have more experience I could offer the custom version to customers who are prepared to pay for the development time.

Ted S - Can you imagine accidently exposing your client's customers to credit card fraud ... its makes me feel ill just thinking about it!

Available time and money is of course one of the main aspects to look at.
On the other hand i started with osC but quit using (or better trying to customize) it after several months.
I ended up programming my own e-commerce system with all the advantages and disadvantages coming along with doing this
And, oh yes, i never regretted that desicion.