1ShoppingCart was created in 1999. Since then, it has helped both small and large businesses achieve success online. Their goal is to provide a range of automated services that reduce costs and improve efficiency. Currently, they host over 25,000 online stores all over the world. The program integrates a variety of marketing solutions. You can enjoy a fully functional eCommerce tool in one place. Read our 1ShoppingCart review below.
OverviewThose with an eye towards marketing will love 1ShoppingCart. It comes with many tools to help promote your business. All of the marketing tools you will need are already integrated. Startup businesses may not have a need for all the features, but the good news is that the tools will still be there down the road. This makes 1ShoppingCart a flexible software; It will be ready for significant marketing efforts when you are.
Who is 1ShoppingCart best for?
You can use it as an excellent all-around online eCommerce software. It is designed to provide a fully automated program all in one location. What sets it apart are the marketing tools. If you want to start with a robust marketing package already in place, then 1ShoppingCart is a good choice. That being said, it can take some time to get used to all the tools. Be prepared to spend some time learning the features so that you can get the most out of the program.
Also, keep in mind that 1ShoppingCart is best for small to medium businesses. Larger businesses will be hit with a lot of transaction fees. More established businesses probably won’t have much use for the marketing tools either, which makes the pricing and design best suited for small companies.
What is the biggest advantage of 1ShoppingCart?
By far the biggest advantage of choosing 1ShoppingCart is the marketing components of the program. It comes with an exceptionally strong affiliate program, and you can also easily handle memberships and email campaigns. This will help you promote products and connect with customers. You will also enjoy plenty of tracking and reporting information. Collecting data will help you capitalize on opportunities and better understand your market.
What is the biggest disadvantage of 1ShoppingCart?
In one word: cost. 1ShoppingCart costs about twice as much per month as its competitors. It also charges transaction fees that range from .075-1.25% per transaction. Over time, that can add up and start to eat away at your profits. There are plenty of other options out there that don’t charge any fee. If you are expecting to handle a high volume of transactions, it will make sense to go with another shopping cart program.
Awards and Quality Certificates
PCI certified
There aren’t any well-publicized awards to speak of. While major brands use the shopping cart, they have not made a splash in the worlds of design, programming or customer service.
Key FeaturesBasically, 1ShoppingCart has been kept alive by offering a few specific features that are hard to find in other programs. Otherwise, the software as a whole leaves much to be desired and is becoming less and less competitive with market giants like Shopify. Experts predict that once other platforms add better automated email responders and affiliate tools, 1ShoppingCart will become a relic of the past.
Critics also contend that 1ShoppingCart is truly only useful for a very narrow slice of customers. The software isn’t suited for beginners who will need a lot of assistance getting started. In addition, the program isn’t scalable enough to accommodate actually large retailers.
Many of the expert reviews sound apologetic in their appraisal of 1ShoppingCart. While many describe it as a “solid” option, they would recommend other programs as more suitable alternatives.1ShoppingCart is by no means a terrible program, it simply hasn’t been able to keep up with the times and an increasingly competitive market. Even the company’s social media pages are long out of date.They seem to be simply fading away, which is another reason to go with a more progressive platform that will be around for many more years to come.Critics also contend that 1ShoppingCart is truly only useful for a very narrow slice of customers. The software isn’t suited for beginners who will need a lot of assistance getting started. Also, the program isn’t scalable enough to accommodate truly large retailers.
Those who like 1ShoppingCart are sure to mention the autoresponder features and affiliate program.The program does make it easy to build email lists and sent automatically send out newsletters and promotional materials. This can be a big plus for companies who don’t have an entire marketing department at their disposal.
The affiliate program also provides another way to advertise your website and products. Having all these details taken care of can be a huge help for small and medium-sized businesses. Outside of these two features, customers don’t have a lot of overwhelmingly positive things to say about 1ShoppingCart beyond the testimonials that are posted on the company’s website.
While the program does provide an all-around software program, there are better-reviewed options on the market. Outside of a few glowing reviews, you will be hard pressed to find 1ShoppingCart ratings above 3 out of 5 stars.
The biggest complaints against 1ShoppingCart seem to center on their customer service. It also doesn’t help that customer support is only available for an extra fee. You can imagine how frustrating it would be to pay extra for a service that is usually standard, and then learn that you can’t actually contact anyone.
It also appears that 1ShoppingCart has had some problems with unexpected outages and downtime. Most of the references to these types of issues were dated, though. Hopefully, this means that they are a thing of the past, and 1ShoppingCart has taken steps to correct these problems.
Other common complaints against 1ShoppingCart include:
Design & CustomizationWith 1ShoppingCart, the available templates are straightforward. There aren’t a lot of frills. They offer simple and modern designs that will help you make any product or service look great. If you are looking for beautiful designs that make an impression, other programs offer more flare. 1ShoppingCart is focused more on marketing and function. While the available templates look good, they don’t have a big “wow” factor.
Free
The standard plan comes with about 50 free templates. You can customize just about any of the features and design details. Overall, customers seem to find the themes modern and professional.
Premium
For a little more money per month, you can have access to premium themes. There isn’t a whole lot of difference between these and the free themes. You just get to enjoy more options.
Design Services
Save time and hand the entire design process over to 1ShoppingCart. Their custom design services range from $999 -$3,799. The more expensive package allows you to make more revisions as you work out the final design.
Your customization options vary with the plan you purchase. Upgraded plans provide more premium templates. Every plan allows you to edit any template using the WYSIWYG editor or code. The 1ShoppingCart editor supports HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
Features & Tools | Feature | Overview |
| Setup | Setting up your site can be difficult. The program can be complicated. There are a lot of standard features. The key is to try and stay focused on what you need to get started because you won’t need many of the tools until later down the road. |
| Gateway Integration: | Enjoy about 50 different payment gateways. Integrating certain gateways does come with a $49.99 fee. |
| Customer Rewards and Wishlists | You will have to integrate customer wish list and rewards programs. 1ShoppingCart does not offer these features. |
| Order Management | 1ShoppingCart comes with detailed reporting. You can easily track orders and packages. |
| International Sales Optimization | 1ShoppingCart is not optimized for international sales. They do serve the US, Canada, Australia and some European countries. However, they don’t offer translation services. You will also have to set up an international merchant account that will allow you to process payments from around the world. It may cost up to $199 to set up this account and will include transaction and annual fees. |
| CDN Technology | This technology does not come standard. You may be able to add programs to better load times. |
| Plugins and add-ons | It is hard to tell how many plugins and add-ons are available. The program focuses more on what comes with the program from day one. Their goal is to offer a full program that doesn’t need add-ons, so plugins aren’t a big part of their model. |
| Inventory Management | Adding new products is easy. The inventory tool allows you to add products in bulk and quickly upload inventory and start selling. Take note: the standard plan only allows for 500 products. |
| Shipment Tracking | Real-time shipping with the nation’s leading companies. Customers can track their packages using the tracking numbers from FedEx, UPS, and other carriers. |
| CRM Features | 1ShoppingCart is lacking in this area. You can schedule emails, but these are meant for marketing. It is also easy to build email lists, but again, this is mainly to help promote products. There aren’t any effective customer relations features to speak of. |
| Templates and Themes | There isn’t too much to say about the themes. They serve their purpose and will help you design your store. For a unique design, invest in their custom services. Otherwise, you might want to look into other options that are more design-focused. |
| Integrations and Add-ons | Hopefully, you won’t need to integrate any add-ons because the program is packed with features. This makes it ready to use from day one. If you do need to add features, integration can be complicated. You may have to consult with the plugin designer for help. Also, 1ShoppingCart charges to have certain features added to their software. For example, integrating certain payment gateways can cost $49.99. |
| Mobile Optimization | All of the available packages come with mobile-friendly templates. Your store will be fully responsive from day one. |
| Web Hosting | Create a new store or migrate an existing online store. Your site can be fully hosted through 1ShoppingCart. |
| SEO and Marketing | This is where the program shines. 1ShoppingCart comes with all the features you would expect from a shopping cart and much more. The software also comes with a robust affiliate program. You can quickly start advertising your products on other sites and build customer email lists. If you need help to promote your business, this shopping cart can help. |
| Newsletters | While they might offer newsletters, this feature is not explicitly advertised. |
| Site Security | They provide full security. Your site will be monitored, and all customer payments are secure. They claim state-of-the-art servers but provide few details. They wouldn’t be such a big name without offering reliable site security. However, it would be nice if they were more transparent about exactly what they do to protect your site and your customers. |
| PCI Certification | 1ShoppingCart is PCI certified. |
| Content Creation | Adding product pages and building your site it easy. The WYSIWYG editor allows beginners to insert text and customize designs. |
| Gift Certificates | You can offer discounts, and customers can buy gift certificates |
| Payment Options | Choose from among 50 different payment options. This number puts 1ShoppingCart right in the middle of the pack. Debit cards, credit cards, and PayPal are all accepted, but using global currencies can be difficult. |
| Tax and Shipping Calculators | Don’t worry about calculating tax and shipping costs. The program automatically generates this information. |
| Reports | 1ShoppingCart wouldn’t be such a marketing whiz without robust reporting tools. You can easily track customer behavior, and it even makes product suggestions based on their shopping history. View data on:
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Plans & Pricing The biggest complaint against 1ShoppingCart concerns their pricing plans. Most competitors cost around $20 or $30 per month. The standard plan for this program starts at $59.99. They often run specials for $34, but that still doesn’t include transaction fees. Here is a breakdown of the packages:
Standard – $59/month
Plus – $119/month
Premium – $249/month
The truth is that there are much more affordable options on the market. There simply aren’t enough distinct features to justify the price. Most businesses won’t find the standard plan very helpful. That means that you will be paying $119 per month, plus transaction fees.
Customer Support The customer support is yet another area where 1ShoppingCart has not built the best reputation. In fact, you may have to pay additional fees to receive customer support, practically unheard of in the shopping cart market. You can try out online forums and watch video tutorials before you call. However, these routes tend to be a dead end. The entire system seems designed to get you to call and pay more money
Customer support varies based on the package your purchase.
You have to pay to receive any help with their programs -it’s a big negative against 1ShoppingCart.
Ease of Use 1ShoppingCart comes with so many features that using the program can be complex. There are a lot of tools to sort through. Most of them you won’t even need until your business is more established. However, they can get in the way of being able to easily setup your store. It doesn’t help that there is limited customer service. You may have to pay a fee for assistance when you run into trouble.
User Interface/Admin Panel
The user interface looks a little outdated. It seems that the designers have been more focused on adding features. They have managed to create a well-rounded program, but if you are looking for a sleek interface, there are better options. To be fair, the interface is still fully functional and easy to navigate. It may not look pretty, but it gets the job done.
One big selling feature is that you can integrate WordPress. For many, this is the introductory program to website design. If you are already comfortable with using WordPress, you can continue to use it to edit and build your site.
Conclusion 1ShoppingCart makes it easy to customize product pages. You can offer customers a lot of specific options and the program will upsell and downsell products. According to customer reviews, it has helped some businesses to increase revenue through their marketing tools. While there are a few positives, overall, the program leaves a lot to be desired. It is unnecessarily expensive. There are plenty of more cost-effective shopping carts that don’t come with a lot of extra fees. The few advantages of 1ShoppingCart do not outweigh the long list of disadvantages.
Bottom Line: There are MUCH better shopping cart options on the market.
Alternatives
Expert Reviews
User Reviews
