You need something that can:
- be easily installed in a low-budget LAMP server
- implement an online store in a few clicks
- be used and administrated mostly by non-tech people
I’m working on formulating your second requirement now. Some higher level features will certainly require a backend of some sort, but my original hypothesize was to eliminate a backend server and database if I can.
Some of my biggest challenges with Wordpress in the past were staying on top of updates and making sure my plugins didn’t get hacked.
I’m thinking I’m going to offer a simple and cheap hosted version soon that non tech people can login to and administrate all their content.