Does OpenCart support multi-shop?

I mean that many shops can work separately within one OpenCart system.

It does not have this feature but, it can be done.

I did it with 2 sites before.

Can someone explain how it is achieved with two sites? Can you do it with one database and display at multi-site? The reason I'm asking is because it's one of the deal breakers I've come across with some clients who've been recommended Magento.

I'm interested in it too, could be possible also to do one big with in all shops with in it all other indipendnt shops eachone on them different domain?
Could be suepr also to use the same files to not multiply for 10 the same fiel for 10 different domains-shops.

Ok how would you want something like that to work?

Lets have a bit of a development discussion.

Features required for a multi store:

1. You would want a different store depending on the domain name the customer comes from.
2. Separate Templates.
3. Separate Categories.
4. Separate Products.
5. Would you want shared cart so if you buy from a mulit store you can pay together?
6. Would you want shared customer accounts?
7. Would you want shared coupon system?
8. Settings like store name, meta tags, welcome message should be Separate. I think most of the options can be the same though.



I have a feeling if I implemented this I would be getting no end of complaints.

1. Why can't my store only accept payment modules one store and not the other store.
2. I don't want my customers being accounts mixed up with my other store.
3. I only want people from one country access one store and not the other etc..
4. I don't want people using coupons on multiple stores.

Hi Daniel,

I didn't get the impression that they wanted something that complicated.

I maybe wrong but I think they are on about sharing the databases across sites so that would be really simple just alter the database connection information from "localhost" to an ip address eg. "192.168.1.1" and they are done.

They can then tailor things like templates to each site.

If they wanted different things setup for each site like shipping and payment methods for example then that would be more difficult.

Phil

This is pretty much what I am thnking...

Centralized opencart install - how to setup opencart to have a single codebase shared across many virtual accounts on a server. So that can set up multiple shops, but using the same code base? and just have different themes and even a different database for each. So it's all just using the same code base though.

This is something i'm working on aswell. clients can just fill out a form and have a shop ready. a bit like basecamp.

Sounds very good! In my concept, it can be imagined as a commercial mall.
1 Super-Admin(mall host) and other shop owner (inside this mall).

Hope can see more details in this module.

Daniel,

I'm very much interested in creating multi-store site like flying-cart or shopify. I've looked around and would like to consider opencart as my code base.

Do you have any update on your progress on this? What should I consider when trying to code this?

I am very interested with this feature as well.
I love the simplicity of opencart and would be useful to have the multi-shop function.

I would love to have the shop owner to register and given their own seperate shop. Something like bigcartel.

The only problem with big cartel, it is not really community based like etsy.... But I think most of my client
has different set of target audience.

Either way, etsy-like or bigcartel-like, I just hope open cart will be able to do that in the near future.

I already install on one client who has no experience in e-commerce and from the feedback, they really love
how clean simple open cart is.

are there any plans for multi shops feature in open cart? the last post about it was in june so i was wondering if there is any progress on that?

It's been half year since my original post about the multi store. And finally I manage to finished the customization to make multi-store platform based on opencart.

Please check http://Lot.my. It is based on Opencart 1.3.X. It allowed user to create their own online store very quickly.

For sample of stores created using the platform: http://shopatmoleq.lot.my/ and http://demo.lot.my/.

Please have a look!

SparxGroup wrote:This is pretty much what I am thnking...

Centralized opencart install - how to setup opencart to have a single codebase shared across many virtual accounts on a server. So that can set up multiple shops, but using the same code base? and just have different themes and even a different database for each. So it's all just using the same code base though.

You can do this by using a symbolic link to the installation. eg. domain1 contains the installation files. domain2,3,4,5,6... link to it via symbolic link.

But this is not a mall, and not a multi-vendor setup - it is simply reusing the same codebase.

Hello group

we have developed extensions to enable multi shop functions in open cart

we are in the final stages of releasing this as an addon .
Meanwhile feel free to connect for a demo .

Best Regards

Karan Ahuja,
www.kodeplay.com

multishop will be in the next version.

CubeCart will do this, simply by using a prefix in the database link, in fact when doing an install it even has a field for this.

BUT - it is still a shared database. Everyone has access to everyone elses' customer and sales info. Fine if they are all your shops with a different face / template / domain on each, but hardly a mall type situation.

There are few real mall / multi-store scripts available, by their very nature most of the malls use a common checkout, which leaves one person supplying the payment processing for all. This amounts to all the other merchants being affiliates and the poor guy with the payment account holding the bag for charge backs and scam claims.

Be certain to consider all of the ramifications of this type operation.

Daniel wrote:It does not have this feature but, it can be done.

I did it with 2 sites before.

Hi Daniel, could you please share the trick? Thanks in advance!

aidan wrote:It's been half year since my original post about the multi store. And finally I manage to finished the customization to make multi-store platform based on opencart.

Please check http://Lot.my. It is based on Opencart 1.3.X. It allowed user to create their own online store very quickly.

For sample of stores created using the platform: http://shopatmoleq.lot.my/ and http://demo.lot.my/.

Please have a look!

Hi aidan, that looks awesome! Could you please share the trick? Thank you very much!

I'm attempting something similar, although less complex.
I have two domains that are both hosted on the same account. One is currently running as a retail store, and I'd like the other to use the same templates, same modules, same database, same OpenCart base for wholesale.

So foo-retail.com is the normal site and foo-wholesale.com points to the same hosting account. I have some hacky code in my theme files that checks $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] and swaps out things like the logo and site title based on the domain the user is requesting. This will work, but I can't help but think there's a better way to do this. Even if there were a fairly clean way to switch themes based on domain name, that would be great. Any ideas?