Magento is the best out there and yes a dedicated server is recommended it is not a must.

Later development updates are getting better.

Yes, I am new, I have only been in web development for 6 years.

I have deployed a magento shopping cart with 300 page views a day with no issues.

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I've heard good things about Magento but never taken the time to check it out. Not sure why it requires a dedicated server to run I'm gonna try and set it up on localhost this weekend and see what all the fuss is about

Sounds like oscommerce is going to be your best choice and magneto does work on shared hosting and any shared service or shared reseller will boot you once the traffic picks up, it's the nature of the business.

Magento is undeniably the most comprehensive, professional open source shopping cart. It can be a little complicated to get adapted to though.

True, Dave@hivelocity.com has it correct.

It does use its fair amount of resources and once traffic picks up you will be booted or forced to upgrade to a better hosting solution however for small sites Magento is just fine and those who are not small can afford to have a better hosting service.

I have been looking into OscMax more and I would rate it up their with

Magento and Prestashop.

I will say that I wont go back to Oscommerce unless a client really wants it.

I used to use this cart years ago:

http://cpcommerce.cpradio.org/

There's lot's of screen shots to compliment the package, but not just to compliment as I remember it as a very simple, stable, and well documented cart as well.

Good Luck!

You might want to take a look at our list of Top 10 E-Commerce Platforms.

Although they're not free, I'd recommend a hosted shopping cart solution (like Volusion) for your situation. It requires little knowledge of the programming and there is a wide selection of templates. Also, the provider will be able to assist you in setting up payment accounts, products, and any other questions you have. And because it's hosted, you won't have to worry about the complexities of finding your own host and setting up SSL, etc.

Very Good list, We have used most of those carts and would agree that those are the best of the best.

Originally Posted by Dave@Hivelociy

Sounds like oscommerce is going to be your best choice and magneto does work on shared hosting and any shared service or shared reseller will boot you once the traffic picks up, it's the nature of the business.

but if traffic picks up then surely you can afford to pay for a better host, no?

I am currently working on a e-commerce project. I decided to give Magento a shot since I read good things about it and so far I have to say I am very impressed.

Takes FOREVER to upload though! (install files) but once it is up it runs real smoothly.

Originally Posted by DigitalScience

You might want to take a look at our list of Top 10 E-Commerce Platforms.

As one of the people who made comments told, this is really strange list. It has so different solutions for different business types, so it seems to be rather confusing, especially for beginners.

Magneto, Oscommerce and lots of more i think you should research for your requirement it would give you a fair picture.

Originally Posted by TripleMoons

A note about Magento...You need a dedicated server to run it. I tried installing it and my host told me it wasn't permitted on my type of hosting account and my database programmer confirmed the requirement Magento doesn't list on their system requirements. I was very disappointed because it has a beautiful backend interface that would have been easy for clients to work with.

This is not correct. I am running a magento based store on shared hosting $100/year, the host specifically says they are magento ready though...very fast and reliable.

Originally Posted by fitrev

This is not correct. I am running a magento based store on shared hosting $100/year, the host specifically says they are magento ready though...very fast and reliable.

It is correct...This is what my host told me the reason for me not being able to run Magento. Note that you are running on a host that is specifically setup for Magento...I am not. For those with standard hosting, like myself, they require you have a dedicated server or they can boot you (if that is there policy). They might not catch you, but could eventually. I had issues uploading the files and contacted my host about it, this is how I found that they require a dedicated server if you wish to run something like Magento.

Zen Cart is very easy to skin - one of the criteria the OP has - and the hardware requirements are very standard.

It does have a bit of a learning curve, but spend some time with a demo install first and you'll be fine.

Sometimes the free software is very hard to modify and customize. That's why you should research the other options. Probably it will be better to buy a solution that supports all the features that you need for your online business. Another thing to mention is the issue: Is the design of the shopping cart easy to change. In my opinion the eye catchy vision will bring you many clients. So be sure that the software that you use allows you easy and quickly to integrate your skin.