New versions of software need not necessarily look entirely new. A case in point is the e-commerce shopping cart application ShopSite 8, which retains the same user interface as its predecessor ShopSite 7. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

Though it looks the same as its forebear, ShopSite 8 adds a bevy of new features that existing ShopSite users will definitely clamor for. ShopSite 8 also does not loose anything of consequence from ShopSite 7, which was already a very decent, feature-rich application that was relatively easy to use and set up.

Getting Started
There are a number of different ways to get started with ShopSite 8. Much like its competitor Miva (which we reviewed), ShopSite is available as a standalone product for end users to load and set up on their own host, or as the e-commerce engine for an ISP e-commerce hosting package (Verio is among those that use ShopSite, though Verio at press time was still using ShopSite 7).

What's Old
As with its predecessor ShopSite 8, new users will likely start their e-commerce journey with the application via the nine-step wizard. The nine steps are: Storefront information, add products, add pages, sales tax, payment, shipping, layout and theme, publish and finishing up.

Though the wizard is easy to use and follow, in our experience, it's not quite sufficient to leave you with a fully-functioning store by the time you've finished the wizard. A wizard is supposed to provide a guided process to setting up a storefront, which this wizard does. It doesn't, however, fully clue you into all the potential options that you have (and ShopSite is a very option-rich application).

For instance, the Shipping wizard screen is too simple, letting the user define up to three shipping services, each with a simple rate plan. You must provide a description and shipping charge for each shipping service. The wizard screen does, however, state, "You can later configure more sophisticated shipping options using ShopSite's Commerce Setup."

I would suspect that many newbies would like to know in the wizard that they can setup UPS as a shipping service with all of its associated options. Certainly, this is an option that you can dig out later on, but why go through the shipping setup process twice?

The same simplicity is espoused in the payment section of the wizard. ShopSite 8's wizard payment screen states, "The Wizard assumes that your staff will process all payments offline or via PayPal. You can later set up automatic credit card processing using a ShopSite payment gateway partner under the commerce setup button."

ShopSite 8's main control panel is easy to use. Users of version 7 will notice more options in version 8.

We would have liked to have a bit more power in the wizard itself to avoid undo replication of efforts. Miva, for example, has basic and advanced modes, which gives its users a choice of how simple or complex they want their administration to be. The final step of the wizard after all is called "finishing up" and is intended for tweaking.

What's New
ShopSite 8 adds a number of new features that really serve to extend the practical utility of the solution. On the payments side, there is now an "Option Not to Store Credit Card Numbers" which may sound like a simple thing, but is very important as it helps to prevent fraud and mis-use. Helping to prevent fraud is also enhanced by support for Verified by Visa as well as Verisign's Fraud Control system. Support for PayPal Website Payments Pro is now also in the solution.

On the fulfillment side, you can now print packing slips directly from the application. An order API enables user to download all order information in a standard XML format that is compatible with other applications (such as QuickBooks).

"Tell a Friend" functionality has also been added to the new ShopSite, which is always a good thing to have, as word of mouth is often a site's best marketing tool.

ShopSite Your Site
Overall, ShopSite improves on its predecessor in some incremental, yet very important, ways. In this day and age when fraud prevention is so critical the additional protection afforded by ShopSite should not be overlooked by legacy users that have not yet upgraded. The core simplicity and ease of use remain intact, which is a strong suit in many respects. Certainly, we would have like more robustness in the wizard, but we can also understand the need for (extreme) simplicity when all you want to do is to just get started.

In terms of overall features, new, old and improved, ShopSite is not lacking. Core product listing functionality (which can be uploaded and/or download to a database), template editing (it's not WYSIWG but is still quite good), shipping, payment and merchandising options will not likely disappoint either the e-commerce veteran or the newbie alike.

Sean Michael Kerner is a regular contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com.