We've tried our best to put the most-asked questions on this page. If you cannot find the answer
to a question that is on your mind, please
send
us an email and we'll respond as soon as we can.
PHP Cart: Why isn't there a monthly/annual fee?
Quite frankly, our question is: why do most other cart products charge a monthly
fee?
Once the NeuCart Shopping Cart System is installed, there is no ongoing
interaction from NeuCart related to transaction processing or any other process.
Because of this, there is no reason to charge an ongoing fee. NeuCart also offers
support to existing customers without a fee. (The
hosted NeuCart shopping cart does have a monthly fee since
it is not installed on your server.)
Will NeuCart work for me? What are the requirements?
Yes, the NeuCart Shopping Cart System can work with your website. You
can purchase the software and install it on your site (if you meet the minimum
requirements) or you can purchase the hosting plan and have a link from your website
to yourStoreName.neucart.com.
If you purchase the self-installed version, the following technologies — which
are met by almost every reputable PHP host — are
required to run the NeuCart Shopping Cart System:
- PHP 5.0 or higher
- MySQL 4.0 or higher
- GD Image Library
If you are using the
hosted version of the software, there are no minimum requirements,
as all the server technologies are handled by NeuCart.
In addition, you may need to create accounts at third-party websites to use
certain features or functionality:
- PayPal Account that uses Website Payments Standard. This is required only if you intend to take payments through PayPal.
- Authorize.Net Gateway ID and transaction key. This information is required only if you intend to take Credit Card Payments using Authorize.Net as your gateway.
- Google Checkout Account. This is required only if you intend to take payments through Google Checkout.
- USPS Web Tools Account. This is required only if you intend to calculate dynamic shipping using the USPS API. Get an account here.
- UPS Account. This is required only if you intend to calculate dynamic shipping using the UPS API. Get an account here.
- Canada Post Account. This is required only if you intend to calculate dynamic shipping using the Canada Post API. Get an account here.
- A private SSL certificate for your site. This is required if you are using Authorize.Net or Google Checkout; you must use those payments with HTTPS.
Which web host should I use?
If you purchase the self-installed version, you must have a PHP web host; any web host
that supports the minimum requirements can be used. There are
a number of excellent PHP web hosts;
we are aware of NeuCart customers on HostGator, BlueHost, and HostBaby. In summary:
- NeuCart gives its highest hosting recommendation to HostGator.
- We strongly discourage using GoDaddy.com and iPage.com has web hosts.
Website Design
While the NeuCart Shopping Cart System could function as your standalone site, it has been designed to fit into your existing website as the
"store" or "products" area. NeuCart.com does not provide full website design services, although we are able to help with integration of the
software into your site. If you are looking for a website
design firm, consider
Western Mountain Web Design.
Can I change the colors and fonts to match my site?
Yes! The colors, fonts, layout, and other display settings are all configurable in the NeuCart
admin portal's CSS Editor.
Also, the header and footer are configurable through the admin portal; these fields
can contain any HTML to make your cart match the rest of your site.
In addition, it is possible to make many
customizations without altering core NeuCart code. For example, it is possible to hide the cart completely,
while still displaying the number of items and cart total;
one customer has implemented this.
Do I need to know any HTML or other techy stuff?
No. The cart works on its own without any HTML or CSS knowledge
or configuration. To make the cart styled to your site, the NeuCart support team can
help to make changes to your header and modify the CSS appropriately. Some HTML and CSS
knowledge will probably help you, but it is not at all necessary.
The installation requires that you (or your web host) have already created a MySQL database;
you will need to know the database name, username, and password so that the installation
can proceed. NeuCart can help you with this step if necessary.
Is all the configuration done through the NeuCart portal?
Mostly Yes. All general configuration such as product administration, coupons,
product images, and general store parameters are configured through the NeuCart administration
portal. In addition, NeuCart allows CSS editing right from the Admin
portal, as well as HTML edits for the header and footer areas.
If you want to include media players or other widgets in your site, NeuCart provides
the means for adding the HTML for these widgets, but NeuCart does not provide a way to upload
the actual widgets to your site. You would have to do this the same way that you add any other
files to your website (via FTP or cPanel, etc.).
How hard is it to install? To upgrade?
Easy! The installation requires two prerequisite steps: to create an empty database
and to verify the permissions on a couple files. After that, the install runs and you are ready to add
items and set up your store right away!
One
reviewer of NeuCart
said that "our site was up and selling in literally a few hours, that is starting from buying the domain name!"
For upgrades, you simply upload the upgrade package, navigate
to a URL, and click two or three links! The entire upgrade process generally takes fewer than 10 seconds.
Where can I see a demo?
See the
Demo Sites page for a list of some active websites
using NeuCart.
Are customer newsletters personalized?
Yes. Newsletters are emailed one-by-one to customers, not as a
single email with everyone copied on it. In addition, the text of the newsletter
can be customized to include the recipient's name anywhere within the message.
Are digital download links really secure?
Yes. When a customer purchases a downloadable file, your store
will send this customer an email with a unique link to download all
the products from the order. Only this customer will have the unique link to the
order information.
The product downloads page lists each product for the order
with a link to code that will determine if the product can be downloaded,
based on rules configured for your store. (Rules include the number of attempts to
download the file, the amount of time allowed, and enforcing download retries from
the same location.) Because none of the links point directly to a file, your digital
files are always secure.
In addition, you can secure your PDF products by using the watermark feature, which
will imprint customizable text onto each page of your PDF. This text can include the
order number and the customer's name, to deter the customer from freely distributing
your digital products.
Are customers required to create accounts during checkout?
No. This is a configuration setting that you can enable or disable for your store. The
behaviors allowed for accounts are:
- Customers are required to create accounts to check out.
- Customers can create accounts if they want during checkout, but it is not required.
- The store does not allow accounts of any kind.