Top Rated OpenCart Alternatives
so lets have a look at the pros of OpenCart and it's features and benefits:
It's OpenSource - What does this mean?
Well when we look at online web applications or software we see a lot of vendors out there most are using a model of pay monthly/weekly or annually, with OpenCart the model used is free and the only costs involved are the additional plugins or add on scripts and templates that extend the core functionality of the base system.
The code is also accessible this can allow you to modify the look and layout of the template files easily yourself or if you hire a designer or developer to do it for you. The layout system is easily understood as they template files in organised folders and these are known as TPL files which is of course short for template.
It's free!
This means you have no up front costs from the outset unless you need to modify the core code, the good thing is if you do not want to go down the route of hiring a developer or designer to do it for you, if you have confidence and time it is completely possible to do all manner of modifications if you understand even a little PHP.
Don't worry though if you get stuck their forum and it's users are very helpful and searching the internet can help with a lot of modifications that can be carried out on the application.
The Dashboard/Admin section
Let's now look at the most useful functions of the software/application, it's very comprehensive dashboard tracks a lot of the activity on the site managed by the software.
If we look at some of these features like the amount of registered users, tracking visitors and pages they visit the obvious section that is most sought after is the sales, returns and refunds section not only is this accessible from the dashboard but you get a very comprehensive overview which is essential in any online store.
Products, when we look at the products section or when adding products you have a good base for basic stores with functions like:
1) standard products
2) Variable products
3) Digital products
4) Sizes/colours or other attributes of some products
Add on scripts or plugins can extend the base functionality of the products in the store depending on your needs.
Theme the store!
So when a lot of shopping cat software users look for software they look for the ease of creating your own look so your store can be unique.
Well! OpenCart is so simple to theme once you get your head round the Template system, it can be a small learning curve but once you spend a little time on this you reap the rewards and can give yourself a pat on the back. You can create a great store out of the box or go for a unique store of your own.
Hey! but what if I want to use a bought template?
This is simple too, you can buy from their template section of their website some really good templates that are easily added if you can use FTP or Cpanel or something similar by uploading it to your server in the correct folder, this may seem daunting but is usually documented with the template you buy or instructions given in their user doc's.
I have been using OpenCart for shopping cart design for over 8 years and have used it since the early days of inception, I would highly reccomend this software for it's ease of use and simplicity to setup. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Cons?
Not many although some may see the cost of some of the add on that they may require from the add on section of their website to be a bit expensive, if you look at the possible return for that investment it then is very much worth it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
103 out of 104 Total Reviews for OpenCart
Overall Review Sentiment for OpenCart
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Really easy to implement, configure and use. I am using v4.0.2.3 which is slightly fresh, but still find the new technology useful for creating new functionality. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The layout of screens and emails leave a bit to be desired, so I have used Journal for screens and Email pro for emails. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
OpenCart's flexibility in terms of extending through OCMods and the theme are foundational to it's power, unlike competitors, it's simple and straightforward MVC layout coupled with trivial themeing making it a no-brainer for eCommerce stores of any complexity. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
OpenCart does take a developer if you are looking to make more significant modifications to the code. I would also really appreciate a built-in database migration tool. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
- Very easy to install and configure
- Offered as an automatically installed and setup application by almost ALL web hosting companies
- Easily runs small and medium sized businesses using simple and cost-effective shared hosting
- Lots of add-ons and expanded features
- Easy to administrate for local staff after configuration
- Built-in backup systems for DB Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
- The admin interface could use a little work
- The location of some elements is a bit weird until you get used to it
- The app store they have is a bit confusing at times and shows lots of plugins one would commonly need as something you have to purchase, but a bit of web searching reveals even better options made for free Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
User-friendly interface: OpenCart's interface is intuitive and easy to use, even for those who are not familiar with website development or eCommerce.
Customization options: OpenCart provides a wide range of templates and themes that can be customized to match the branding and style of the store.
Robust features: OpenCart offers a lot of features to manage products, customers, orders, and shipping, including multiple payment gateways and integration with third-party shipping providers.
Active community support: OpenCart has an active community of users who provide support through documentation, forums, and tutorials.
Open-source and free: OpenCart is an open-source platform, which means it is free to use, and users can modify the code to fit their needs. This makes it accessible to small businesses and startups that may not have a large budget for eCommerce platforms. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Performance issues: OpenCart can be slow to load, especially when there are a lot of products or traffic on the site. This can be mitigated by optimizing the server and caching, but it can still be a challenge for merchants who are not familiar with web development.
Limited scalability: OpenCart may not be the best solution for very large eCommerce websites or those with complex requirements. It may require additional customization or integration with third-party tools to meet the needs of larger businesses.
Limited customer support: While OpenCart has an active community of users who provide support through documentation, forums, and tutorials, the platform does not offer dedicated customer support, which can be a challenge for merchants who need immediate assistance.
Limited mobile responsiveness: While OpenCart provides responsive themes that work well on mobile devices, some users have reported that the platform could still improve in terms of mobile responsiveness and design.
It's worth noting that some of these issues can be mitigated through customization or third-party integrations, and the benefits of OpenCart may still outweigh any drawbacks for many businesses. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There are so many good features included with the Opencart base software to list. In a nutshell, it provides you a solid and secure system for creating your own e-commerce website.
I've tried nearly every cart/e-commerce system available and Opencart is my preferred choice. Written in PHP in a MVC(L) structure, Opencarts layout and system are very easy to understand and build on. There are different methods for developing modules to extend the functionality of your store, Opencart includes something called OCMOD which helps you track changes and core edits. This makes the upgrading process (which can be a nightmare with some platforms) relatively straightforward. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There is not much to dislike about Opencart, apart from it's release cycles.
From a security perspective, new version releases can introduce security issues and bugs. I've always found it better to stay a little behind the curve, opting for the versions before the current release - this allows time for the community and users to pinpoint any bugs or issues.
Commercial/Free Modules - It's great that Opencart provides modules to extend the functionality however a word of caution - Opencart seems more interested in making a profit on these modules rather than their functionality. I develop modules myself and as I'm pro-opensource I give these back to the community at no charge (there are also a fair few other developers who offer modules for free, however, this is becoming less and less). The main points to watch out for are:
1) Use only known/recommended developers - Opencart does not take any responsibility for modules purchased on their website and the ill effects it may cause.
There have been several users which I've helped that had installed a commercial extension, only for this to either introduce security issues or take down their e-commerce store altogether.
As always it's recommended to test any modules in a development environment before going live.
2) Do research first.
There are a lot of modules that get ripped off, including ones I have developed and released. So-called 'developers' take your free (even commercial) work and rebrand (some blatantly sell as is) and sell these through the Opencart Extension store to make a profit.
3) Don't trust others - check their work.
There have been a couple of occasions where seasoned developers have released modules with severe problems in the background. I have previously purchased modules and had to point out to the developers that they left the store open to attack (two examples - Notifications module which allowed direct SQL injection! Payment module with CRSF issues). Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
In a comparison of other eCommerce solutions, Opencart is the best one I ever found whether it is easy to use or customize there are n no. of possibilities only your requirements are limit here, to many payment modules to suit your best same goes for shipping methods. There are a lot of possibilities for anyone to extend their store with feature enrich modules. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
In My experience, I did not find anything I dislike so far very good. For developers, I found one downfall in the latest Opencart version 4.0 which is the removal of OCMOD which I believe should be enhanced events are better until there are easy changes to make. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Easy to set up and user-friendly software. One of the biggest attractions is it is open source and written in PHP language, PHP is a widely used scripting language thus for developers #opencart brings freedom of code with minimum restrictions. Users who are not familiar with programming also love to use #opencart when it is a matter of scaling their bussiness with #opencart one does not need to worry about the coding and or hiring expensive developers most of the required solutions are already available on the marketplace provided. moreover, opencart module sellers are very friendly and helpful to every customer/user of opencart. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
From my experience, there's nothing to dislike about the opencart platform. In a world full of possibilities there is always room for improvements and it is the only iteration that makes things best over time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
That, I can build a professional web store system with it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The basic template is not too nice, and not too feature-rich. Of course, I can solve this problem with extensions, but an average user, who has to choose which platform wan to use, and just glanced at the demo store, maybe the average user may think Shopify is a better choice. But no. NO. No NO! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
After trying several e-commerce systems, we landed on OpenCart. Magento, Nopcommerce Woocommerce quickly would become way to expensive to use and maintain. With OpenCart, we were able to keep the cost low, do everything ourselves without having a programming background. We integrated our store with our accounting system, Facebook, Google Merchant Center, Trustpilot, NitroPack, and Mailchimp with ease. Optimizing speed for SEO was much less work than expected and scoring 80-100 points on mobile all over and 95-100 on desktop all over.
Hosting was easy through a2hosting with a shared setup which we can scale up to dedicated when needed. Since OpenCart is light on server usage, we won`t need this until we have 50-100 active users on the site, and even then, a dedicated server is not expensive.
All in all, without any programming background, we were able to set up a fully functional store with so many modules and functions that woulld be near impossible to get with any other platform. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Hoping that in the future that inventory value, average value, restock system would be more widely avaliable. We bought an extra module that only cost 29$, but it`s not an optimal solution but functional. A better WYSIWYG would also improve product descriptions, but it`s better than most other e-commerce systems. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
No need for extensions as it works straight out of the box. (not like Magento). So far I havent purchased any extensions and my ecommerce store works great. However if you need extensions many of them come less than $20 and the support system of extensions is excellent. Just so happy I found Opencart and love the interface. The support on forums is awesome too. I would give 5 stars to Opencart as I ve used many open source platforms and OPENCART STANDS OUT Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Wish the forums has less arguments between users and some users are biased to not help users and only out to sell extensions. Lets have a protocol in place to not put people down and not force users to buy extensions for an easy solution which exists. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
