Popular with businesses and developers, OpenCart is an open source, free to download software that lets users build online stores with unlimited products.
Overview:
OpenCart is a popular choice amongst E-commerce businesses because it is free to download and seemingly easy to get started. Users are able sell unlimited products and manage multiple stores from a single interface, which is definitely appealing. However, we’ve found that you’ll need at least some basic development knowledge in order to use OpenCart to its fullest capabilities. For example, users are responsible for finding their own domain name, hosting their own website, and obtaining an SSL certificate. In addition, while there are a variety of built-in services and extensions, users need to pay for some App add-ons in the marketplace. This can get relatively pricey. If you have some development experience, OpenCart may be a great option for you. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a more all-in-one solution, we suggest checking out some other options.
Feature Overview:
- Sell unlimited products with unlimited categories and subcategories
- Also create filters to help customers narrow down products
- Manage multiple stores from one interface
- Sell internationally with any currency and 40+ language translation capability
- Built in reports such as inventory, sales, and customer information
- Browse more features
Highlights:
- Free to download
- Built-in extensions such as marketing campaigns, powerful SEO and more
- Users can also choose from thousands of extensions and themes in the marketplace—though this can get pricey
- Some development knowledge required
- Users are responsible for finding a domain name, hosting their own store, obtaining an SSL certificate and more
- Contact form available on their website for support
Ezra
The service is fine as-is before you start going into the code and moving things around to your liking. It’s pretty easy, at first glance. That being said, you really feel the software’s power when you open the backend hood, so to speak. Most highly customizable eCommerce platform I’ve come across! I’d say spring for a paid platform like Shopify or Volusion if you don’t have coding experience, but if you know how to code and prefer customization (like me), this is your solution!
Stefanie
Started up a handmade jewelry and accessory business with a girlfriend of mine and we tried downloading Open cart because it was free. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that we both got overwhelmed and confused pretty quickly. I’m sure they’re great, but we threw in the towel and went for something simpler (moved over to LemonStand).