advantages/disadvantages of opencart

hi i am doubting which open webshop source i must start using, openchart, prestashop, nopcommerce, why and when should i choose opencart? what makes it better than all the rest, back-end and front-end? which things are free and to-pay? how does the software relates to high google-rankings? thx for all advices and aswers

Well, you have come to the right place. There are several active discussions on this topic that are yours to read and participate in. These discussions will tell you to try them all and will guide you in deciding which one fits your business and your budget best. Read through the previous discussions to learn what is going on. Welcome.

It all depends on what you want and what you are looking for.

I've spend the last 2 years looking for a replacement for my heavily modded version of osCommerce 2.2 store and after testing PrestaShop, osCommerce 3 and OpenCart I can fairly say that OpenCart offered me all I needed (and more).
Plus we have a great community, absolute fabulous coders and lots of helpful users.

lefebre wrote:which things are free and to-pay?

http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... /extension

how does the software relates to high google-rankings?

if only it was this easy

lefebre wrote:how does the software relates to high google-rankings?

In another post I stated that if your content is unique and to-the-point OpenCart will surely get you one of the best Google rankings.
I know, because my osCommerce store had good rankings and wih OpenCart it even got better.

Lefebre

Over the last few years I have used most of them, most recently Prestashop which I have found really good for features but very poor for mods or very expensive for them. I found that having mods done for Prestashop which I did do was virtually pointless as they release a new version well before ironing out any bugs in existing versions.

When I posted that I was thinking of moving away from PS to OC I got a PM from one of the PS team and although he agreed with me about the frequency of updating (way too often) and that bugs or features should be fully working before trying to implement new ones, nothing has changed.

Personally I am eagerly awaiting the new release although OC scores low here as I posted a PM to Daniel a while ago and never received a reply which has left me a bit miffed TBH and also seriously considering whether to move now. We all know it is OS but I only asked about the core files so I could look at having some mods carried out to make it better and more to my way of operating.

I will also say that templating for OC compared to PS is way better and far cheaper and the multi store feature (another point I pointed out to PS) is the way forward as well as the affiliate program in V1.5 as I have never been able to get one working properly with PS.

I would say personally that I really want to move from PS to OC but they have to answer PM's far quicker no matter how busy they are. If they had answered mine I would have had some great mods to make OC even better but I can't have them written without knowing about the core file structure.

PS, IMO, is terrible for having to change core files to do mods. Don't know about OC yet though.

Fingers crossed for a release on V1.5 soon, then I can give you more of an opinion.

Hope it helps but IMO it has to be between PS and OC.

I'm in the middle of the same sort of problems above.

I currently run OsCommerce but I've hacked it to death and there is little else that I can do with it. What I would say is that OsComm has so many free mods that there is the possibility of doing just about anything with your shop. That said, I spent literally hundreds of hours getting it the way I needed it with modification etc and it is not something that I would like to do again, hence the reason that I am looking at new carts at the moment.

I looked at open cart some time ago when it was in it's infancy and it just was not capable of doing anything that I needed it to do, but with the eagerly anticipated release of 1.5 I'm giving serious consideration to moving existing shops over to OC as well as using OC for any new ones as it has grown into something quite excellent.

Zen/OsC are just too much hard work to get up and running and zen cart admin is just a mess. PS seems OK but I haven't had a good look at it. That said, the admin is a bit fussy which I don't like, I don't like the default template (meaningless really but it is more work to sort out), some missing functionality for my requirements, the add-ons are a little pricey in areas and their French - nothing wrong with the French, had a delightful French gf but they speak a different language which I think could cause some problems.

I've also had a good look at Magento and quite frankly I think that it's the dogs’ danglies. If it wasn't for the fact that a customer made an enquiry about a shopping cart and me trying to find them something suitable and rediscovering OC, then I think I would be looking more at Magento as it is simply awesome. Trouble with it though is it is a bit of a nightmare to customize and track down which bits code do what and from where, takes a while to get you head around the way it works, it is a bit on the slow side without some software and server tweaking and really the only way to run is on a VPS as a minimum which is getting a little expensive.

I have looked at a few others but they just weren't up to much.

Some of the reasons that I like the idea of using OC are: The relatively simple admin interface is a delight to use, the template structure is good and intuitive and you can swap templates easily for different times of the year, the VQmod structure for add-ons, it looks good straight out of the box, the coding is nicely structured once you get your mind around it and once 1.5 is here it will have the majority of the required functionality that I personally need. It also seems to have a growing user base which is good for support and add-ons not to mention the fact that most of the commercial add-ons are very well priced, even the more complicated ones are not at all unreasonably priced.

Most functionality that I require is either built in (or will be, soon, hopefully!) and the rest can be sorted with free or paid add-ons and the paid ones won't be that expensive. With that covered, then the thing that swings it for me is the admin interface as this is where you could end up spending a lot of time and you need something that is easy to use and something that you are comfortable

advantage it's user friendly, disadvantage SEO rewrite but they say it's not that important

i have helped many people migrate from OSCom/Zen to OC i mean i suggest it to them and the result is they like it

Well, I am sorry for those that have to move from one cart to another, thats pure pain!

The only disdvantage i can think for Open Cart in comparison with Zen Cart is the template engine. Its really hard for people not well familiar with the Smarty Model to do modifications, and most of the people need to do that.

Just my 5 cents about it.

zencarthelp wrote:The only disdvantage i can think for Open Cart in comparison with Zen Cart is the template engine. Its really hard for people not well familiar with the Smarty Model to do modifications, and most of the people need to do that.

Just my 5 cents about it.

that makes no sense because opencart does not use smarty for templating, and honestly IMO the template system in zen is horrible.

Hello everyone,

I am new in OC, and web shop business in general also, but beacause you have to start somewhere, I have to make a decision which app to use. Then, I looked around and saw OsComm, but their site didn't attract me, there is a download section, and few other pages, but no forum, or some general support. Maybe is a good app, I can't judge how well is structured, or how easy is to administer, but I choose to pass this. Then, I looked another app, zen cart I think, but as I remember there is a free version, with no support, and a version which is not free, but you have to pay some amount, and you get a support. I also looked for some other stuff (there are lots of them), one which looked interesting was cart written in C#, and looked interesting, but I didn't figure out where could I test it for free, except locally, because I didn't want to open hosting account just for testing purposes. So I stuck with OC. And for now, my experience is good. I had some quircks here and there, but I found my way around.

So, in short, advantages are it is relativelly simple to install, and administer, with good design.
Disadvantage, for now, there isn't a IDE like VWD, to help you in managing the application.

These are MHOs

I have tried Oscommerce, Magento and Opencart.

In my opinion:

- Magento: If you need robust store with lots of different type of products and features. The system is good but is not easy to change fast the design of the web. So is very slow if you want to create custom design of all. If you are ok with just one template is a good option to think about it. Also have extensions free or paying.

- Opencart: By default is simple but have all the main features that a shop should have. After paying some euros you can get a very good shop. Also is very very easy to customizing/translate and with a very clear file system.

The main disadvantages for me of Opencart are: 1. Image Manager is very slow when you have a big catalog so is slow to change / put the image of the products. For small/medium product catalogs enough. 2. The cache is not well managed and if you have lots of visits in your shop you are probably going to have problems with your server. Fortunately there are 2 plugins (paying some euros) that solve this.


I have made right now: 11 shops with Opencart and 2 shops with Magento. So my option right now is to continue using Opencart.

OpenCart, off course!

I had nothing else than advantages so far. Easy to edit source, templates and languages. This is super-simple and magically mega-fast software if you compare with others.

I think it comes down to how many stores you are going to run & the features you need. If only one or if you want multiple stores with individual controls, zencart, oscommerce, or practically any will work.

If you want multistores controlled under 1 admin panel, there are only 3 I know of that do that: Opencart, Magento, and CS-Cart (coming soon with them).

I cannot say about CS-Cart as their mutlistores version isn't out yet (though a friend of mine adores them). Between opencart and magento:

Magento will require a much bigger learning period as I think everyone agrees they are hard to set up. They have training available but it will take at least twice as long to get up and running, even if you have a lot of ecommerce/html experience. Magento is also no longer free so you will need to consider the cost of it plus any mods you want to add to it.

Opencart is free and runs perfectly for many stores out of the box, though odds are you will want at least a few mods so think about that cost as well. Personally, I spent about $250 on mods to get 36 stores up and running in less than 1 month, so well worth it imo.

labeshops wrote: Magento will require a much bigger learning period as I think everyone agrees they are hard to set up. They have training available but it will take at least twice as long to get up and running, even if you have a lot of ecommerce/html experience. Magento is also no longer free so you will need to consider the cost of it plus any mods you want to add to it.

Opencart is free and runs perfectly for many stores out of the box, though odds are you will want at least a few mods so think about that cost as well. Personally, I spent about $250 on mods to get 36 stores up and running in less than 1 month, so well worth it imo.

Along those lines .... I think you will also find (as I have) that most of the better extensions, themes and component integration offerings available for Magento are much much more expensive (almost annoyingly/arrogantly so) than are the virtual/relative comparable counterparts for OpenCart ... which is most definitely a welcome difference (and one which I hope will continue, even as OpenCart continues to grow in exposure, use and popularity).

Over the last year I have migrated 20 Zen Cart stores to Open Cart, all i can say is OC is sooooo much better and easier to use. Its so easy to template, and modify, the VQ Mod system means you can make core changes to the code with out breaking it, so you can update when you want, I want anyone to do that witn zen/oscomm. There is even a mod you can buy that transfers your Zen Cart/OS Comm database to opencart.

All of my clients are extremely happy with Opencart, for users who haven't a clue it takes a short training session and they are good to go, even with multi-stores working.

I have tried most of the other contenders and the cost spirals with Magneto and Presta, and they are just not as user friendly to setup. Open cart is intuitive, and almost hand holds you through the process. It will also work on a low powered server try to do that with magneto and it will fall apart.

Just my 2 pence worth, I hope it helps.

Since opencart is often compared with magento here is what I found on the internet and what seems to be true:
"advantages of OpenCart over Magento.

OpenCart is lightweight, easy to download and install, unlike Magento, which is quite demanding in terms of hosting environment.
OpenCart is easy in administration. The control panel is clear and convenient so no special technical skills are required. Magento in these terms is more complicated, and is quite confusing at the beginning of exploitation.
OpenCart is accessible regarding considerable range of documentation that can be found online. It provides free support and software updates. Magento users have often complications searching the answers, though developed Magento community can be useful in this case.
OpenCart is optimal for startups as it enables to open the store shortly after software installation. Magento, being a complicated platform,may require more time for preparation and evaluation period before it starts functioning properly."

MarieM wrote:Since opencart is often compared with magento here is what I found on the internet and what seems to be true:
"advantages of OpenCart over Magento.

OpenCart is lightweight, easy to download and install, unlike Magento, which is quite demanding in terms of hosting environment.
OpenCart is easy in administration. The control panel is clear and convenient so no special technical skills are required. Magento in these terms is more complicated, and is quite confusing at the beginning of exploitation.
OpenCart is accessible regarding considerable range of documentation that can be found online. It provides free support and software updates. Magento users have often complications searching the answers, though developed Magento community can be useful in this case.
OpenCart is optimal for startups as it enables to open the store shortly after software installation. Magento, being a complicated platform,may require more time for preparation and evaluation period before it starts functioning properly."

I'd say you're spot on with your assessment.

MarieM wrote:Since opencart is often compared with magento here is what I found on the internet and what seems to be true:
"advantages of OpenCart over Magento.

OpenCart is lightweight, easy to download and install, unlike Magento, which is quite demanding in terms of hosting environment.
OpenCart is easy in administration. The control panel is clear and convenient so no special technical skills are required. Magento in these terms is more complicated, and is quite confusing at the beginning of exploitation.
OpenCart is accessible regarding considerable range of documentation that can be found online. It provides free support and software updates. Magento users have often complications searching the answers, though developed Magento community can be useful in this case.
OpenCart is optimal for startups as it enables to open the store shortly after software installation. Magento, being a complicated platform,may require more time for preparation and evaluation period before it starts functioning properly."

I totally agree. Magento is a pain in the neck to try to set up - even if you have ecommerce experience. I messed with it for more then 3 months (on and off) and couldn't figure out how to set up multistores or payments in it. Had my opencart stores running in less than 2 weeks.

CS-cart has just released a multistore capable version btw. A friend of mine loves them and the look pretty good though I have no experience with them and it is not free.

As far as I've found, the only stores that do multistore are opencart, magento, cs-cart and prestacart (I think?). Opencart wins for sure for me.

Well, it is totally depend on what kind of goods you want to sell.

There are lots of options available for you nowadays. If you want to create a small store and see niche items then you can use OpenCart or Wordpress woocommerce. If you want to build big store then you can use Magento or Shopify.

It all depends on what is your products and demographics.

I hope this helps.