PinnacleCart Review
PinnacleCart is an e-commerce platform that enables merchants to create an intuitive checkout process on their websites. PinnacleCart Software as a Service platform (SaaS) is one of the easiest to use when creating custom e-commerce websites. The service also includes web hosting and maintenance of site security.
Overview of PinnacleCart
Since establishment in 2004, PinnacleCart has created a strong reputation with online storefront offerings. Its list of clients includes big brands like NBA, QBG Brands, HBO UFC, International Health, and A&E, among others. PinnacleCart offers e-commerce templates you can order for your website design. The themes are customizable, allowing you to edit with an HTML or CSS editor. It is also easy to optimize images and text on your website.
PinnacleCart’s extensive list of offerings includes:
- Shopping carts and check out systems
- Custom web templates
- Product catalogs
- Internet marketing tools
- Customer support
- Email list features
- Promo codes
- Gift certificates
- Recommended products
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Web analytics
PinnacleCart has a free 14-day trial period for interested clients to put the service to the test before making a decision to buy. It would be good to use the trial period before you make a subscription because the company does not offer refunds. The company doesn’t charge transaction fees.
When subscribing to the platform, there are three payment options available. The Startup plan is $45 per month; the Standard plan is $95 per month while the Advanced plan is $200 per month. All the plans have unlimited products and services, backups, SSL certificate, and customer support.
PinnacleCart Plans & Pricing
One remarkable aspect of this e-commerce SaaS platform is that it is highly scalable and can grow alongside your business. From the three payment plans, you can choose one or upgrade to another so that you get to pay a price that matches the traffic and storage needs on your website. With all of these plans, you have access to the same features with only a few exceptions.
PinnacleCart Features
PinnacleCart Features
E-commerce integrations
PinnacleCart enables merchants to improve the functionality of their website with add-ons. The add-ons you can integrate with PinnacleCart include Webgility for managing your sales taxes online, MailChimp for Email marketing, AddShoppers for tracking the success of your social media campaigns through analytics and ShipWire, an e-commerce shipping tool for monitoring packages and running postage reports. There are many other countless add-ons that you can use with PinnacleCart.
Site security
PinnacleCart uses the SSL technology to encrypt website data and connections between the web browser and the servers. This technology helps to secure your customers’ information on your website to hide their data from cybercriminals. It is a safety requirement for all e-commerce stores.
Advanced payment technology
The e-commerce platform supports more than 20 different payment methods, allowing clients from all over the world to shop on your site. You can also choose to use e-wallets for your website or set up FirstData payment options that charge low merchant rates.
Secure Checkout
The checkout system provided by Pinnacle Cart is PCI-compliant. The standards for this regulation are credit card data security and up to date website antivirus. Your customers get to shop with peace of mind.
Analytics & SEO
The e-commerce platform has extensive SEO tools you can employ in your marketing strategy. These among others include custom URLs, meta descriptions, robot text file, and site maps. You can also track your sales reports and site performance. When it comes to Content Marketing, you can use WordPress or adopt a PinnacleCart theme.
Social media integration
You can transfer your e-commerce store layout as it is to your Facebook pages so that your social media fans can share products with ease. This feature works for Google + and Twitter as well.
Integration with Google Analytics
When running online campaigns for your products or brand, you can easily use Google AdWords with PinnacleCart. All your web pages will be indexed by Google and other search engines.
Integration with e-commerce stores
PinnacleCart will enable you to export your product catalogs to websites such as eBay, Google Merchant, Amazon, Shop Zilla, and Yahoo Shopping among others. The platform also provides a QR response code for scanning magazine ads. Other marketing features include sending product updates and promotional emails, automatic email reminders and live chat with customers.
Product merchandising
Whether you are dealing with digital products or physical goods, Pinnacle Cart enables you to manage your inventories. You can place download limitations on your digital files so that customers can receive download links via email only after making payments. For physical goods, you can organize your inventory based on price, features, and manufacturer. The platform will also automatically notify you when your stock runs out.
You can also skip the whole inventory management set up and use the platform’s free Doba integration. This is a drop shipping feature that allows you to sell products from wholesalers without ever having to store them yourself. Once a customer orders, the supplier takes care of all transactions and logistical details.
Comma Separated File catalogues
You can switch between shopping cart providers without having to create new product catalogues. PinnacleCart enables the importation of product catalogues into the platform through a CSV file system. This system allows for the PinnacleCart’s data programs to read the file in excel format.
PinnacleCart Payment Processing
The platform’s payment gateway of choice is FirstData. This payment processing system has the Small Biz plan that merchants can take advantage of to enjoy low rates. FirstData’s transaction rate for PinnacleCart clients is about 2.7% + $0.10. That is a decent offer, but a shrewd businessperson would first do their research before making the final decision. There are usually other factors to consider apart from transaction rates.
The platform has a limitless array of payment processing options apart from FirstData. PinnacleCart supports numerous payment processors, credit and debit cards and e-wallets. You can customize payment methods to allow for offline payments. You also get to control the type of credit cards that are acceptable on your e-commerce website.
If you run a subscription-based business, Pinnacle Cart will allow you to set up a recurring billing system for your subscribers. The system also provides multiple currencies and language selections. Then there is the ‘Credit Card Storage’ feature which will enable you to set up payment methods that can securely store credit card data for offline processing for not more than three months.
Templates & Design Elements
PinnacleCart Themes & Designs
Your PinnacleCart account will give you a free pool of templates to choose from and customize for your website. The templates are also mobile responsive. The best thing about using these designs is that you don’t have to be a programming geek. Creating a remarkable storefront is easy – you only have to drag and drop items in the cart designer.
The themes include XHTML templates, W3C and CSS/XHTML designs for web optimization. The Pinnacle Cart platform also enables you to create image zoom functionalities on your product images, lightbox and photo galleries.
If you need to get your website custom-designed by experts, you can get PinnacleCart to do that for you at a small fee. The platform offers web design services from $2100 to $5200. You can also request help with a single design aspect at a lower cost.
Help and Support
PinnacleCart Online Customer Support
PinnacleCart has a reliable client support team. The company website provides all the information through articles and video tutorials. You can also talk to a customer agent via email, phone or live chat. When you first get your account, you will receive emails guiding on how to use the features of the platform. You can also use the Quick Start guide to help you set up your e-commerce store with PinnacleCart.
The company also provides emergency support services all day long. Other ways clients can access help include following the PinnacleCart user forums. The discussions can keep you up to date with features and help you solve glitches. You can also follow the FAQ section on the company’s home page.
Pros & Cons of PinnacleCart
Compared to other e-commerce platforms in the market, PinnacleCart has a couple of strong points and downsides as well.
Pros
- PinnacleCart has positive reviews when it comes to customer support. Many clients have praised the quick response and professionalism of the customer support team
- PinnacleCart is compatible with many add-ons and third-party apps that can help in marketing, inventory management, and administration
- The data security and credit card security features offered by this e-commerce platform are top of the mark. These include SSL certificates and PCI compliance
- Using the design elements and themes to optimize e-commerce websites is easy even for those with no knowledge of programming
Cons
- PinnacleCart does not have a feature to track sales from your physical store
- There is no in-built blogging function or product review feature
- For programmers, PinnacleCart coding is sometimes difficult especially when creating advanced modifications to templates
- The platform has limited language capabilities, and international clients also face difficulties accepting payments outside of the US
- No customer loyalty programme
- New users can find the platform difficult to navigate
The Verdict
Is Pinnacle Cart an excellent e-commerce software? The answer is yes. Despite its downsides, it delivers well in its mandate to make e-commerce websites intuitive, customer friendly and profitable. You can also access the platform across all your devices on the cloud.
