EZ-Shop Hosting: Compare Hosting

EZ-Shop is an open source e-commerce solution from SourceForge.net — a host for open source software development projects. As a software project, EZ-Shop is designed to support successful product marketing and sales on users’ e-commerce websites. Better yet, it does not demand significant technical knowledge from merchants.

Just about any online retailer can use EZ-Shop to interact with customers. This entry level e-commerce system is fast and small, yet also rich in practical features. It uses a “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) editor, allowing site owners to tailor content to their needs, and requiring no prior knowledge of HTML. Layouts are also customizable through CSS editing.

Features of the EZ-Shop software make it easy for online merchants to cater to their customers. Special offer, discount, and gift bundle systems help you create enticing packages, and multiple shipping options let the buyers make purchases on their own terms. Display your products with small, medium, or large images, while keeping customers abreast of changes and improvements with regular newsletters. Organize your merchandise into several categories and sub categories. Finally, you can monitor transactions and products with account histories and order tracking.

Key Features of EZ-Shop Ecommerce

Multiple categories and sub-categories

Groups products by category and also by sub-category. Products can be included in more than one category. Users can search for products by category.

Easy access to CSS files for customizing look and feel

The styles, colors, and layout of your ecommerce shop can be customized directly by editing the CSS files.

Coupon codes for percentage-based and fixed-amount discounts

Create, update, and expire coupon and discount codes. Coupon codes can be single-use only or unlimited, and can be restricted to certain products or used store-wide.

User history and order tracking

Customers can register with the site. The store will then remember previous purchases. (This can be used to suggest new products!) Users can log in to check order status, shipping, or handle returns and receipts.

Wish list and email features

Registered customers can create wish lists to keep track of desired products. Wish lists and specific requests for products can be emailed to friends from inside the store system.

Special offers system

Create temporary discounts, special pricing bundles, sales, and other special offers with several different types of pricing control.

Gift bundle system

The gift bundle system allows you to offer a “free gift” with the purchase of other items. The gift bundle can be set to expire at a certain time and can include or exclude specific products or be based on a particular dollar amount.

Small/Medium/Large product images

Upload a single image for a product and the system will automatically resize as needed for different views. Alternatively, you can upload specific images for each size to exert more control over the way your product is displayed.

Multiple manufacturer and brand support

Products can be grouped together under different manufacturers or brands, similar to category groupings. Customers can then search the e-store for products based on the manufacturer or brand. Products can belong to more than one manufacturer or brand.

Multiple shipping options

Set up different shipping options to be slected at checkout. Allow users to choose from different carriers, or to select different speeds within a single carrier. Also offer free shipping, which can be triggered by a specific dollar amount in the shopping cart at checkout.

Order quantity/stock levels and inventory control

Include a quantity for physical items, which is then decremented whenever one of that item is sold. Set up low-stock alerts when quantities drop below a certain amount. Display low-stock and out-of-stock messages in the e-store.

Customer newsletters Send email newsletters to customers from inside the store admin area. Create and edit the newsletters using a built-in WYSIWYG editor. Include links to products, discount codes, and special deals in newsletters. Segment newsletter delivery based on products purchased or other user profile details.

EZ-Shop Downsides

EZ-Shop is a free e-commerce solution with a lot of great features. However, it is no longer under active development and the documentation is a bit sparse. If it has the features you are looking for, there’s nothing stopping you from using it. (It still works.) But if you run into problems, you will likely be on your own.

EZ-Shop Hosting

EZ-Shop requires PHP and MySQL. Some web hosting companies offer it as a free one-click install from the hosting control panel.