Interspire Shopping Cart Blog - http://www.thestoresuiteblog.com
Which Shipping Methods Do You Need?
http://www.thestoresuiteblog.com/articles/15/1/Which-Shipping-Methods-Do-You-Need/Page1.html
By Mitchell Harper
Published on 08/7/2007
 
I'm now at the "fun" part of developing StoreSuite - shipping. There are a thousand different ways shipping can be implemented into an eCommerce system, and I've looked at most eCommerce systems and the way they have shipping implemented is confusing to say the least...

Which Shipping Methods Do You Need?
I'm now at the "fun" part of developing StoreSuite - shipping. There are a thousand different ways shipping can be implemented into an eCommerce system, and I've looked at every eCommerce system available and the way they have shipping implemented is confusing to say the least.

For example, some shipping companies require specific data. Every eCommerce solution I've looked at (both PHP driven and hosted solutions which I've signed up to test) assumes that you or your client are familiar with shipping lingo and methods, which of course is never the case.

I already have a plan for how shipping method selection will be implemented into both StoreSuite's control panel and front-end, and my number one goal is to make it usable and self-explanatory. You shouldn't have to know much (if anything) about shipping and how each different company works just to setup your store.

During my research I've found out how to implement real-time live shipping rates from UPS, USPS, FedEx and Australia Post. StoreSuite will also allow flat-rate shipping, by weight, by order amount, etc, etc, etc. Basically you can use one or a combination of shipping methods to sell your products online.

My question is, which other shipping companies do you want included in StoreSuite by default? I'm mainly asking this question to readers who are not in the US or Australia, because I'm not too familiar with shipping companies in Europe, Canada and Asia, for example.

Please use the comments for below to let me know :)