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Catalook is probably one of the oldest and most installed e-commerce modules used in the DotNetNuke environment. Its low entry price and tremendous list of features and options make in one of the modules that is loved and hated by many people that work with it on a regular basis.  We’ll take a look at what makes it magnificent, and the flawed details underneath the hood.

I get the opportunity to work with companies both big and small that sell their wares on the internet. I’ve learned over the years that there is no “one product fits all” solution out there. Each company has different needs; the solution they end up with must be a close fit to both their knowledge level as well as their business needs.

When we get that call that starts off with “I need an e-commerce website…”, we find ourselves asking the same questions over and over again. Based on their responses we can then find a suitable match for their needs as well as help guide them down the e-commerce path.

OK, so by now, you know what PCI compliance is (If you skipped that part – go back and read part 1 of this series) and now you know how to get your website to pass PCI compliance scans (that was part 2 – which hopefully you read). Now it’s time to talk about the hard part of PCI Compliance – the business practices part…

Ok… so you’ve already read Part 1 of this series and know all about PCI Compliance and you are ready to secure your DotNetNuke website for that PCI scan you so desperately need. (WHAT? You didn’t read that post?! Go read it now you idiot - You can’t do this part until you know what it is!) . The website scan for PCI compliance is pretty easy to pass and falls into two main parts.

As a long time internet citizen and web developer, I have heard the same question over and over. Each time I answer the same way, “Yes, DotNetNuke can be PCI Compliance – but you aren’t.” Each time I get the same puzzled look and I have to teach vendors, merchants, financial professionals and anyone wanting to be PCI compliant what it really means. It’s not the software you silly fool! It’s YOU that has to be PCI compliant! To really answer that burning question on your mind “Is DotNetNuke PCI Compliant” you have to know more…

With the groundbreaking release of DotNetNuke 6.0, a new eCommerce module has been added to the DNN Professional landscape. This module is best summed up in this one statement – “It’s not a shopping cart, it’s an extension of DotNetNuke membership and a digital delivery mechanism for software sales.” 

When it comes to selling physical goods that require shipping charges or variants, you probably want to look elsewhere. This module is not intended to provide the functionality needed to sell physical goods (at least not yet).

With that said… there are some great things this module can do right, and we’ll explore them and why it might just be the perfect fit in some cases…

I reviewed 6 different storefront modules for this blog series and rated them based on installation, ease of use, documentation, features, customization and scalability. The only module that is obviously absent from these reviews is the long established and top selling Catalook. DNNSoft was unable to provide me a trial version of their product at this time. I look forward to updating this post in the future once I am able to test it.

I would definitely add Cart Viper to your radar if you are considering a basic e-commerce storefront on DNN.  It has a pretty solid feature set and is one step above the basic features found in the simplest carts.  If you need re-occurring billing, or quantity discounts this module isn’t for you… but it’s worth taking a look at either way.  It holds the promise of a bright future if development continues.

Revindex is not for the faint of heart and is designed for programmers wanting an e-commerce storefront. It’s the most complex module on the market when it comes to customization, but that comes at a cost of time and learning curve. If you want something fast and simple stay away from this module. If you want your storefront to look *exactly* the way you want it and are willing to learn some XSL – this is your best option.

If you want a free storefront that is *absolutely no frills* – this is the one you want to use. With an utter lack of features it can only score highly on the installation/ease of use and scalability categories because there isn’t anything there to break

Forget this module if you need anything that would be normal in a storefront (like coupons, taxes based on state, live shipping etc.).

The classic tale of “you get what you pay for”, this free storefront isn’t for the entry level user in DotNetNuke. A basic lack of documentation will frustrate the average user and make day to day tasks seem like chores. If you can get past that little detail you will find a highly scalable product that *may* allow some design customization. In short – stay away from this one if you are looking for a simple/fast solution.

Smith Cart is one of the most popular e-commerce modules on snowcovered at the moment and it’s easy to see why. It has a huge feature set, well written documentation and an aggressive release schedule. It is probably the most complete e-commerce solution in the DNN market right now and supports features not found elsewhere.

One of the largest drawbacks to smith cart is its huge feature set - with so many options it’s difficult to figure out what and where to configure – it’s easy to get lost while trying to hunt down that one checkbox you are looking for.

Smith cart is ideal for the more advanced DNN Admin and storefront that needs to have multiple features. If your business is using Quickbooks or re-occurring payments– it’s a shoe in and you don’t need to look any further.

Out of all the ecommerce modules I’ve looked at – I have to say that this one is by far the most professional looking modules I’ve seen to date. It’s presentation to the store admin makes it a breeze to work with and has the lowest learning curve to deployment of any module I’ve ever reviewed.

Although the module looks well and is perfect for a small storefront, it does have some significant limitations that prevent it from being used widely and I consider show stoppers (see Features and Stability).

If you are looking for a simple and easy to use e-commerce module with 1-35 products this would be an ideal solution. This is definitely one module to keep on your radar and watch for future growth.