osCommerce is an e-commerce software that has online store management features that could be used on any web server running MySQL or PHP. It is freeware software and has had a wide appeal to many online shoppers. It is very user friendly and can be customized to meet the needs of a wide variety of businesses. osCommerce was started in March 2000 and is still considered to be in the development stage. osCommerce is one of the earliest shopping cart software distributions to use PHP making it extremely interactive. The use of PHP has enabled the integration of online databases and information retrieval to be easy and efficient. osCommerce has attracted a large influx of e-commerce communities encompassing over 190,000 developers and storeowners who work together and improve the osCommerce Online Merchant by contributing add-ons on a daily basis. At the time of this writing, there were over 5,000 of these customizable add-ons that are available free to osCommerce Online Merchant subscribers and these have greatly boosted online sales for its members. The 14,000 or so online shops on osCommerce that register voluntarily have added a 'live shopping' experience for many users. Furthermore, osCommerce powers thousands of other online shops worldwide increasing the overall traffic.
osCommerce has recently gone to the next level to become an e-commerce framework solution that is easy to install, maintain and manage online content. Store administrators can customize osCommerce to customers' unique requirements. osCommerce is compatible with all PHP versions and has an object-oriented backend. In customization, the software can be adapted with ease to support unlimited categories, dynamic images and backend functionality while allowing for easy integration to the existing site. osCommerce has the capability to deal with direct email contacts to clients and newsletter customization. One can print invoices and check statistics of customers and products. It has support for a number of languages and currency exchanges with automatic update of exchange rates. When displaying one's wares, on can decide what information is to be displayed on the product-listing page and in what order.
An online database allows customers start and maintain online accounts while allowing store administrators maintain and support address book and customer listings. The software even includes a temporary shopping cart for guests. A fast and a friendly advanced quick search allows users to find what they are looking for not only fast but can specify product details like price, make and other information which is customizable by the store administrator. A permanent shopping cart for online buyers on osCommerce allows them to view what they have ordered based on varying search options. Breadcrumb trails allow for an easy navigation through a store. Payment functionality features accept a number of offline payment modes like cheque, offline credit processing and money orders. An automated display of special products can be enabled while controlling out-of-stock products listings, which can also be displayed.
osCommerce community support forums allow people to discuss features and development issues that have greatly contributed to the advancement of the add-ons. osCommerce is a good example of how the general community can help improve software capabilities targeted at users, with amazing success.
