Download/HomepageMallsurfer is a shopping cart generation software. It creates a
"virtual store front" with various items for sale listed under categories. I
tested it out by creating a giftbasket shop. I created categories for house warming
giftbaskets, birthday gift baskets, graduation giftbaskets, etc. Under each category, I
listed one or two items for sale. I then chose the font colors, the layout of my new
giftbasket shop, the shipping prices for my giftbaskets, the mailing address, and the web
site I wanted my new shop to be uploaded to. I then hit the "create" button
Mallsurfer generate all the html (the menu, the checkout page, the category listing page,
etc.), javascript, frames that my new shop needed. My new shop was up and running once I
uploaded it to my website.
Is it god's gift to wannabe web entrepreneurs with limited html knowledge? Yes and no.
Although Mallsurfer is the best free storefront software I have tried so far, it did come
with a few quirks. I got javascript error messages when checking out items; the shop
creation process would sometimes prove tricky if my mouse was not in the correct box when
I created a new category and I'd have to do it a few times just to get it right. Moreover,
once you've created a category in a new shop, it can't be edited, you have to delete it
and start all over again...so watch out for typos. The folks at MallSurfer shop, however,
answered all my questions within a few hours of receiving them and were extremely helpful.
I would suggest that anyone wanting to use this program have at least elementary knowledge
of html. Why? If you want to make changes to one of the html files that Mallsurfer
creates, Mallsurfer will not edit and upload just that one file, it will upload
everything, which may take some time for larger shops with several categories. Another
reason why the user should have a minimum amount of html knowledge is that Mallsurfer only
includes limited meta tags, descriptions, and keywords for each shop created. Some users
may want to include more keywords, or change the description, for greater web traffic and
this entails tweaking some of the html files beyond which is allowable under Mallsurfer
shop.
Despite the few problems I encountered using Mallsurfer, I still recommend this program to
any wannabe web entrepreneurs with a limited budget hoping to make a few bucks from their
virtual store on the net.
Return to SharewareJunkies.com
