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Store software free of charge - and the large, free support selection

Are you looking for a free software for your new online shop?

One thing is clear: THE software for every need does not exist. Each software sets its own priorities.Here, Fishnet Services explains why we chose Modified eCommerce (formerly “xtcModified”) and Shopware as our “in-house software”. And why “Shopify” is a new addition.

Spoiler:

In principle, you can do most things with Modified E-Commerce or the free Community Edition of Shopware .
Don't be fooled by the glossy demo shops of expensive providers. All this is also possible with free systems.
It is important that you understand: the appearance of the demo shop or the number of sales staff of a company has NOTHING to do with what their shop can do .

Preface:

Modified eCommerce has nothing to do with the company XT Commerce GmbH. Rather, when XT Commerce went the way of the paid version "Veyton", a small community got together to further develop the old - free and gratis - version XT Commerce 3.04 SP 2.1 independently and in their spare time.
The project succeeded, and how! Already at the beginning of 2010, in a survey by the shop operator blog, xtcModified was voted into a clear first place, ahead of the old and widely used version XT:C 3.04 (Source : Shopbetreiberblog)

Since then, the shop system has been freed from many hundreds of errors and security gaps and expanded by many useful functions.
Modified eCommerce is, in our opinion, a good shop system for start-ups and small businesses.

Here are the most important reasons in our opinion for choosing Modified E-Commerce.


GENERAL:

- free software
- active community, which helps friendly, competent, free and fast in their spare time
- easy and fast installation
- important security updates already integrated
- clear admin area, which makes reading the included thick manual almost superfluous.
- multi-language capable, several currencies possible - but: not multi-shop capable
- shop can be switched "offline" with a mouse click and instead e.g.
- Simply type in content, texts, etc., save, and you're done.
- Fast, lean shop that doesn't slow down over time.


SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION AND MARKETING:

- Search engine optimised links (URLS) can be activated directly after installation in less than 2 minutes.
- Fields for meta tags and keywords for the search engines only have to be filled in.
- Google Sitemap can be activated by 1 mouse click.
- Easy creation of special offers, also limited by time or number of items.
- By creating customer groups you can make certain prices, products or entire categories only accessible or visible to certain customers from the start.
- Vouchers and discount coupons possible, as a welcome, as a special promotion or also as a credit note for individual customers.
- Detailed statistics on turnover, customer visits, most-visited articles
- Promotion of top sellers and new products on the start page, each article can also be placed on the start page manually (1 mouse click!).)
- Easy connection to professional newsletter senders, e.g. Cleverreach.

 

LEGAL:

- General terms and conditions and cancellation policy are already available as boxes that the customer has to accept and are sent along by e-mail, they only have to be filled with content
- Interfaces to legal text providers such as Janolaw or IT Recht Kanzlei already included.
- template that can be easily redesigned
- exclusion of certain countries possible
- entry of packaging units possible (e.g. "100ml"), as well as quantities (e.g. "37ml content"), the shop automatically calculates the basic price and displays it to the customer.
- Shipping costs already linked to each product
- VAT information available for each product


CUSTOMER SERVICE:

- many payment methods can be installed simply with a mouse click: Cash payment, Paypal Checkout, Paypal on shopping cart page, direct debit, prepayment, cash on delivery, invoice, instalment purchase via Easycredit, credit card, Bancontact, BLIK, EPS, Giropay, Ideal, MyBank, Przelewy24, Sofort, Paypal Subscription, Trustly, Skrill, Billpay, Klarna, Micropayment, PayOne, Worldpay Junior
Other payment methods such as Amazon Payment can be easily installed.
- many shipping methods can be installed simply with a mouse click, such as DHL, DPD, Fed Ex, UPS, Hermes, GLS, Austrian Post, free shipping from x euros, flat-rate shipping costs or costs according to piece or weight or product price.
- Item ratings easily possible (if you as admin want and allow it)


STOCK MANAGEMENT:

- integrated stock management deducts stock on demand and informs the admin by email if reordering is necessary
- items that are not in stock can either be excluded from the purchase or the buyer is informed that the item is not available but can be pre-ordered.
- delivery status freely definable (e. g. 2 days, next week, next week, next week, next week).

b. 2 days, next week, not available, etc) and can be changed by mouse click for all or many items.

INTERFACES:
- already prepared for order transfer to Afterbuy, connection to PayPal, Skrill and Sofortueberweisung.de
- interfaces to DHL, Amazon, Ebay, Yatego, MeinPaket.de etc are easily possible.


OPEN SOURCE AND GPL LICENSE:
The shop system is unencrypted and not bound to any domain. You can hire any programmer you like.

 

Shopware:

 
  • Shopware is a stable, widely used, market-proven product for everyday use.
  • It includes an extensive extension and integrator ecosystem with many plugins.
  • The plugins can usually be installed easily and by yourself (as long as you have made a backup copy of your shop beforehand, because - as with Wordpress - problems can rarely occur).
  • There are tons of instructions, videos, help pages - and a free forum "merchants help merchants".
  • Even without changes, there are already a lot of functions in the free version.
  • API first: you can plug in almost any other system here, as long as they support it.

Shopware already includes things in the free version that are not available in Modified:

  • Risk management (e.g. "Block purchase on account if order value > 50 euros and customer group is not a regular customer, OR if reminder level 1 has been reached with the customer.")
  • Customer streams - combine certain types of customers into a "stream" (something similar to a customer group).
  • Create template pages of the shop with a click and show them only for certain streams or only for certain devices (for example only horizontally held tablets)
  • Add images, videos, banners, texts etc simply by clicking.
  • Premium items from a minimum order value.
  • Analyse abandoned shopping baskets
  • Comparison analysis with other shops in your sector (BI analysis)
  • Simple update possible with a mouse click, based on a standard shopware system.
  • Security updates can even be installed automatically.
  • With Shopware you can set up several shops with just a few clicks, without programming knowledge. This works by setting up so-called CHANNELS in the admin area, each of which can then be accessed under a different domain. This gives you a multi-shop system with a common admin interface.
  • Shopware is easier for programmers to understand and is programmed in a more encapsulated way - everything is separate from each other. For you as a user this means: Your shop will be ready faster and cheaper than with other shop systems.

Optionally available is the merchandise management system PICKWARE, with which the balancing act between shop and retail shop also works.

Shopware is also available in various paid versions in addition to the free COMMUNITY EDITION, RISE, EVOLVE and BEYOND

In RISE is included:

  • a blog system,
  • a staging environment where you can test your updates before they go live
  • a return management system for orders
  • an export/import for the Flow Manager, so you can export flows and import them into another one
  • a preview for the flow manager and also for the rule builder, so you can see "what if?" directly.
  • Support by Shopware (8 hours reaction from 9-17h via ticket system)
You should calculate at least 600 euros per month for RISE, and this figure can increase depending on your turnover.
 

In EVOLVE there are additional design options, an extended search, a storytelling preview, an extended flow builder, an extended rule builder, 4 staging environments, a "dynamic access", a flow promotion manager, as well as telephone support with a response of 4 hours from 7-19h. You should calculate at least 2400 euros per month for EVOLVE, and this figure can increase depending on your turnover.

And in BEYOND there is then a premium support with 60 minutes response time, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
In the shop system, there is then Guided Live Shopping via video connection between seller and customer, customer-specific price options, unlimited stages, as well as all the options that the Rule Builder and the Flow Builder can offer.
In addition, a multi-warehouse system, extended return management and delayed flows. You should calculate at least 6500 euros per month for RISE, and this figure can increase depending on your turnover.

Shopify

Somewhere in the middle between Modified and Shopware is the cloud system “Shopify”.

Because Shopify is a cloud software, there are no hosting costs - or these are already included in the monthly costs - and you don't have to worry about updates, as these are also included. Or maybe you do: whenever you have a customized theme, you will have to adapt it when you update it. However, if you buy a theme in the Shopify Store and don't change it any further, this is not necessary.

Similar to Shopware, Shopify also works with plugins. This means that we do not change any core files but write a plugin that attaches itself to the store. Interfaces to other providers are realized by means of API programming. A lot is possible here, but not as much as with Shopware.
There is also a Point of Sale extension for Shopify, so you can synchronize the stocks of your store and online store. The POS also allows you to order online and pick up offline. Or to have goods sent to you and return them in-store. It also offers a preview of your future sales, and spits out warnings if your stock is running low very quickly, allowing you to send your orders to your suppliers in good time. 
Shopify's programming language is a bit special. For Modified, but also for Shopware, you will find more programmers who know their languages than for Shopify. 

Our CONCLUSION on the subject of online shop comparisons:

We here in northern Germany like to think in terms of ships:
If Modified Ecommerce is a light cruiser, then Shopify is a heavy cruiser and Shopware is an aircraft carrier. The Shopware system can definitely do more than Modified and is programmed in a more modern way. Plugins can be purchased and added with one click. There are many more plugins and programmers who are familiar with Shopware than for Modified. Shopify is somewhere in between, there are also several thousand plugins, but if you plan to change VERY MUCH or get VERY DEEP into the programming, you should not necessarily choose Shopify.

However, it has to be said that Shopware requires extra training for the programmer, as the programming is very specialized. This takes several months.  Modified, on the other hand, can be learned by any PHP programmer in a very short time, as PHP is an integral part of computer science studies. The number of programmers who COULD maintain Modified is therefore higher. However, the number of SPECIALISTS can be estimated to be higher for Shopware, as Shopware is now better known and presumably more widespread.  The number of Shopify specialists is likely to be somewhat lower, as the programming language is very specialized. 

In our opinion, Modified Ecommerce is the shop system with the best price-performance ratio in terms of everyday "maintenance" and the costs for templates and further developments. So if you have to scrimp, but still want a beautiful and individually designed shop, you're better off with Modified.
If you're happy with a standard store and don't want to worry about updates - and perhaps also want to connect a store - Shopify is the best choice. 

Shopware usually generates higher hosting costs because it requires a stronger server, and the programming costs for individual adjustments are usually at least three times as high as with Modified, for the same result.
On the other hand, Shopware can be updated with a few mouse clicks, provided that all installed plug-ins and the template also support the update. Nevertheless, it is essential to make a backup beforehand.

The special thing about Shopware are the many automations, such as "Free shipping on Sundays for product X for customers from the USA", or "10 Euro discount if shopping cart > 500 Euro and payment method = prepayment and delivery address in Germany". These can be easily clicked together in the admin even as a layman and do not require a programmer.

So:

  1. If you want an individually designed shop with extra programming, but need to stay within budget, go for Modified Ecommerce.
  2. If you want to connect several channels such as shop, Ebay, shop, ideally with each other, or if you want to automate many things, with a shop system that can be easily updated, and are also prepared to invest money for this, then choose the Shopware Community Edition.
  3. If you want to use the Shopware Cloud, test updates at your leisure, use a blog and/or have support from Shopware AG, then choose Shopware RISE, EVOLVE or BEYOND.

CURIOUS?

You can click here to go to the download page of xtcModified.
You can find an online version for a trial period here
An online manual ("wiki") for Modified can be foundherefree of charge.

We can provide you with a Shopware shop for testing purposes on request.

And if you click here, you can try Shopify completely free for 3 days and then pay just 1 euro each for 3 months. Fair, right?


Do you need help deciding?

Then read our FAQ through.

 

AND WHAT DOES FISHNET SERVICES DO ?

With us, you get shop support that is tailored exactly to you and your shop. We work as individually as you want, as quickly as you need, as cheaply as you can afford.
And: as good Hamburg businessmen, we work with a handshake. Forget thick contracts and minimum contract periods.

Whether administration, consulting, programming, web design, print design or marketing: just let us know if you need help. We'll do it.

Contact us now for a free introductory meeting.

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