OpenCart or WordPress?

Hey everyone

I am of the opinion that OpenCart is the best at handling ecommerce, however I've come in to some issues at work.

First off the webshop we operate is an old version of OpenCart (1.5.6) and I am currently trying to upgrade it, but have no real experience with OpenCart, so I'm going to ask my boss to get ExcelPort to make the transition easier.
He has asked some people that sometimes support us with the website and they said that while they think it should be upgraded, they think it would be better if we move the shop to WordPress.

The main problem with upgrading the shop was not losing any data, so as I see it, wouldn't we have to start all over if we instead have our shop in WordPress? Our database won't work then?

Also my boss is now convinced that WordPress is the best solution (he's very oldschool and know next to little about computers) just because they told him.

Can I get some unbiased opinions on the subject? Wouldn't moving to WordPress be too much of a hassle, and isn't OpenCart better in general for webshops?

If indeed it is better to have the webshop in WordPress, I would love to hear some reasons why.

I am quite new with webshops and I used to code in VisualStudio so I feel pretty blank with CMS.

Hope you can help!

Nathalie

Well, OpenCart is a pure e-commerce solution, WordPress is a blogging platform, which can have e-commerce functionality with extensions like WooCommerce. OpenCart is better in terms of expandability related specifically to ecommerce, but completely sucks ass in terms on upgrades, bug fixing and code structure. WordPress is completely the opposite: great with upgrades, very nice code, new versions come out regularly, but less options, when it comes to e-commerce functionality. OpenCart is some kind of e-commerce dinosaur among other platforms, if you ask me. But still does the job, so you might wanna keep using it or select another e-commerce platform, not WordPress, if you want something strictly e-commerce related.

Rabell wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:36 pm

Wouldn't moving to WordPress be too much of a hassle, and isn't OpenCart better in general for webshops?

Yes.

My general recommendation is: if the main purpose of the site is ecommerce, use ecommerce software as the base (like OpenCart). If the main purpose of the site is informational, with maybe selling a few things on the side, then use a CMS (like WordPress). You can certainly use WordPress for an ecommerce site, as long as you get the right plugins, but it's not designed to do that out of the box, so you'll have to adapt it to get it to work strictly for that purpose.

In my experience, usually when support people or web designers recommend things it's because it's easier for them, not necessarily because it's the best option for the project. OpenCart has its downsides, but it's leaner than a Wordpress installation that uses a bunch of plugins, so it's usually easier to work with if you're only using it for ecommerce. Updating is a pain, but you really don't need to update unless you absolutely need some feature or bugfix for a later version.

If you're not comfortable updating OpenCart yourself, I'd highly recommend hiring someone to do it for you. There are some upgrade services available for purchase on the opencart.com marketplace, or if you need to find a developer, you can post a request in the OpenCart "Commercial Support" forum. You can also try checking out the OpenCart "Partners" area.

If you do end up upgrading, right at the moment I'd go with OpenCart 2.3. OpenCart 3.0 has a few bugs still, and OpenCart 3.1 will be released soon, but I'd wait on that for live stores. If you can wait then it may be a good option in a few months, but right now I'd recommend 2.3.0.2.

+1 for Opencart
and
+1 for version 2.3.0.2
Opencart gives more flexibility for the eCommerce and also there are a lot of blog extensions you can add if you need this functionality.
You even don't need some expensive extensions to make the data transfer, just start with empty new version and transfer your products and customers with the free import/export extension by JNeuhoff
https://www.opencart.com/index.php?rout ... sion_id=17
This way you can keep your site structure and indexed links.
If you move to Wordpress you probably will loose your indexed content and it will be like new site for robots.(the product urls will change)
Also WP has security issues all the time.
Here is an old joke still true:
Wordpress is an unauthenticated remote shell that, as a useful side feature, also contains a blog.

agatha65 wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 04, 2018 6:22 am

Also WP has security issues all the time.

Comparing to OpenCart WP has ZERO security issues and bugs in general. Very smooth, very nicely coded framework with great hook/action system and absolutely fantastic backward compatibility.

Depends on your requirement it differs if you have high numbers of requirement than open cart is best way and easy to use while for shorter number you can use wordpress.

thekrotek wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 04, 2018 6:58 am

agatha65 wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 04, 2018 6:22 am

Also WP has security issues all the time.

Comparing to OpenCart WP has ZERO security issues and bugs in general. Very smooth, very nicely coded framework with great hook/action system and absolutely fantastic backward compatibility.

https://sucuri.net/reports/2017-hacked-website-report
https://www.wordfence.com/blog/

About the wp architecture i don't want to remember even. Just want to remind that the site speed is a ranking factor now.

Rabell wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:36 pm

First off the webshop we operate is an old version of OpenCart (1.5.6) and I am currently trying to upgrade it, but have no real experience with OpenCart

If you have difficulties with this kind of thing, look in the commercial services (fee-based services) section to find someone good to hire to do the work for you.

He has asked some people that sometimes support us with the website and they said that while they think it should be upgraded, they think it would be better if we move the shop to WordPress.

Also my boss is now convinced that WordPress is the best solution (he's very oldschool and know next to little about computers) just because they told him.

Ah, yes, the Pointy-Haired Boss Syndrome! All joking aside, "experts" always recommend what they are most familiar with (fewest surprises for them, most likely to finish on time and budget, most likely to make a profit). If you were running Wordpress/Woocommerce right now, and asked OpenCart experts for their opinion, guess what it would be? They would tell your boss to switch over to OC pronto. You should be able to migrate smoothly to a better version of OC, with no data loss, but either way you're going to have to shell out for some expert help.

Also, find out how much experience these experts have with Woocommerce, and not just with WordPress in general, before committing to a platform change. Do you have other site content on WP, or is this a standalone shop? If other content, how important is it for the entire site to be smoothly integrated and "as a whole", even at the cost of some shop functionality?