Ecommerce - help needed

[ringo747]

Hi guys,

Looking at the possibilities for 3rd party software for setting up an online shop. I am looking something that is guaranteed to be secure, easy integration for paypal and credit cards, intuitive for the end user, and something that is very easy to theme or skin. Ideally looking for something open source if possible. Is there a set standard of what is acceptable for e-shops and what isn't?

Another question is in relation to security. Is it essential to have some dedicated hosting for this? Shared hosting would suggest to me that it isn't too safe for online shops but maybe I'm wrong. Is there a requirement for any security certificates to ensure safe processing of transactions?

Any help would be much appreciated as I haven't done the ecommerce side of things before now. Thanks

 

[ringo747]

Sounds like the 3rd party provider will be much less hassle! Thanks for the info though. Seems like magento is a good option but the speed issues are a bit of a concern.

 

[ringo747]

What would you suggest as an alternative for smaller shops?

 

[ringo747]

I did come across cubecart before now. You use v3 or 4?

 

[ringo747]

Thanks - that big commerce appears to use the interspire software which gets good reviews. Will have a play with that and see how it goes.