What do i need?

I think you're gonna need to go into more detail before anyone can offer you any help.

What is it you want to do next?

thx for ur reply andy

I have a (sort of ) shopping cart , but my host package says i have "secure server" when i hosted with them , but from what i understand is that i ll need to have SSL in order to take credit card details, are they the same thing or am i barking up the wrong tree?

Secure server and SSL are pretty much the same thing SSL (Secure Socket Layer), is a way of encrypting data passed around on a form in essence securing the server.

Most ISP's use shared SSL which essentially means they put the secure certificate on a domain they own (ie secure.theirname.com) then give you space in a subfolder (ie https://secure.theirname.com/yourname/), although it varies between ISP's.

You should really check with them how you use the secure space they provide.

Did the ISP provide the Shopping Cart for you or is it one you picked up off the web? While your talking to your ISP about the SSL see what they reccomend for their servers.

thx andy ,

Everything is all pre-installed (Hostroute), which is why im playing around with everything thats there(shopping carts, phpbb2, mysql ...), i couldnt get phpMyadmin working on my last hosting company , thats why i moved.

Anyway, im hoping to try and start a small online gifts store , whats the best way round for online payments in the UK? bear in mind its a very small store to start off with, paying by paypal ?

I go ask me Hosting Co

Thx a mill

If the shopping cart is preinstalled, then it should work straight out of the box. All you should need to do is add your products, twiddle with the design and put it live!

I run an online shop (ipodx.co.uk) selling ipod accessories n stuff and I've written myself a bespoke shopping cart system as I couldnt find a third part solution that worked the way I wanted and was really search engine friendly as standard (most consist of bloated, slow loading, unflexible table structures or just lack in features).

Of all the shopping cart systems I looked at My faves are probably either OScommerce or Actinic Catalog but nothing can ever beat a system designed exactly as you want it

BTW... I use paypal as well. We're finding a lot of people don't complete their order when they realise they have to pay with paypal, so we'll be moving to WorldPay in the next month or so I should imagine.

I don't know how good the Agora cart is, but I have in on my hosting accounts that have the "Fantastico" application features. They are all open source apps that can be installed/setup very easily for the end user. Most also need some configuration work after they are install however, and may or may not have a manual in the directory the app was installed in...

You should go to the Agora Cart site and look through the manual

I think they also have forums where you can ask questions as well. You are a brave one for digging into this on your own, but the worst is over, now you just need to figure out some of the remaining puzzle pieces. Your ISPs support / knowledge section should have some information for you as well. Good luck!

It's not really pre-installed its probaly cPANEL, the host can upload a script to one location and it makes it REALLY easy to setup right out of cPANEL.