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www.ecommerce-guide.com/resources/product_reviews/article.php/186421
By Kevin Reichard August 20, 1999 One of the more complete e-commerce solutions on the market, TalentSoft''s Web+Shop combines a shopping cart, storefront builder and online transaction engine in a rich development environment. While Web+Shop can be used right out of the box to create an attractive storefront, larger enterprises will want to look at it as the basis of further development efforts. Web+Shop is built on Talentsoft''s Web+ Markup Language (WML), a scripting language based combining the BASIC programming language and HTML. With it, you can create Internet-based client-server applications that don''t involve CGI programs. WML is particularly strong when working with back-end data sources. In addition to generic ODBC database connectivity, Web+ includes native drivers for mySQL, miniSQL, and PostgreSQL databases, the leading databases in the Linux and FreeBSD worlds and popular in the general UNIX world. Users can download an 60-day shareware evaluation from the Talentsoft Web site. Web+Shop integrates the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) with CyberCash Register and NetVERIFY to manage real-time credit-card transactions. However, users need to purchase these products and arrange for a merchant-banking account. With this combination, merchants can accept and validate in real time a wide range of credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, et al. This back-end processing is also tied into Web+Shop''s support for customer accounts. When a user enters into a purchase, they''re prompted to open a customer account with a user name and password. At that point the customer has the option of storing their payment information -- including credit-card information and shipping information -- on your server via Web+Shop. We downloaded Web+Shop, all 14 megabytes worth, and installed it on a Windows NT server. It didn''t take long to create a storefront using the included tools, basing our store on an existing template, although it would have been easy enough to generate a storefront with a customized interface. During the process, users can select a shipping method and a sales-tax structure, both of which are automatically added to an order. We would have preferred more flexibility in the shipping area, as we were basically limited to a single shopping method and customers like to have the power to select from many different shipping methods. Web+Shop also includes a host of tools that make the shopping experience easier for users, including a search engine and the automatic generation of online invoices and paper invoices. In addition, you can specify data sources either on the local server or elsewhere on the network. The preferred method is to use Web+Shop as the front end to the SQL or ODBC-compliant database storing inventory data. Supported databases include Microsoft Access and SQL Server, mySQL, miniSQL, PostgreSQL or any other ODBC-compliant database. After a storefront is built and placed on the server, Web+Shop is administered via a browser-based administration tool, which means it can be administered from anywhere on the Internet. Web+Shop is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to launch an online store on your Web site. While it''s not especially suited toward larger enterprise sites or ISPs wishing to host multiple stores, it''s an excellent tool for a business that wants to control in-house e-commerce while not putting a ton of development money into a custom solution. Pros: Excellent back-end integration with SQL and ODBC databases; easy to install and set up a store; good support for online transactions; relatively inexpensive. Cons: Limitations in the selection of shipping methods. Web sites using Web+Shop: Red Roof Inns Reviewed by: Kevin Reichard |
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