OpenCart is one of the eCommerce platforms that has gained immense popularity and attention which explains its bright future in the years ahead. Although, eCommerce stores have numerous options to choose from but making the right choice will set your online business in the right direction. You may not consider it as an important part in an eCommerce business scenario but a wrong decision regarding eCommerce platform can do a grave injustice to your store in terms of customer engagement, conversion rates and product sales.
If you are unable to arrive at a proper conclusion regarding the selection of OpenCart platform for eCommerce sites, you need to analyze the pros and cons of this widely used eCommerce platform. Here are some of the merits and demerits of this OpenCart platform which is explained as follows:
Merits of OpenCart
The platform is open source and free
The OpenCart platform is an open source platform which means it can be easily modified and customized as per your business requirements. The store owners can avail the wonderful features and functionalities of this eCommerce platform without even spending a single penny as it is available for free of cost.
It consists of a huge active community of OpenCart developers
Having a problem in an eCommerce platform is a simple routine but it often becomes challenging if that problem remains unresolved. Thanks to the huge experienced community of OpenCart developers and programmers that can provide technical support to OpenCart users round the clock.
No Technical Knowledge is required
Store admin can focus more on their business with OpenCart CMS platform. The store admin with little or no technical background can easily add, manage and edit information on their store built using OpenCart platform
The platform has a vast library of themes and modules
This eCommerce platform has a vast range of themes and OpenCart modules that have the potential to improve the performance of any online store. Apart from the built-in modules, users can also avail the amazing third party OpenCart modules from Knowband store which is packed with numerous features and functionalities.
Multi-store management from a single dashboard
The multi-store compatibility is one of the biggest advantages of OpenCart. Having and managing multiple stores can be very complicated and time consuming. However, there are times when having more than one stores becomes inevitable. OpenCart allows you to build multiple eCommerce store and manage them from a single interface. You can evaluate your current orders, track your customers, sales etc. All of this happens from the same section of the website.
Excellent for beginners, small and medium eCommerce businesses
The OpenCart platform is a feature-packed eCommerce package that offers easy store management services to its eCommerce customers. If you are an eCommerce beginner, has small and medium eCommerce stores, this OpenCart platform is definitely the right choice for your online business.
Demerits of Using OpenCart
Making customization and changes in OpenCart is difficult
It is actually much difficult to make any desired changes in an OpenCart platform due to the absence of an effective Event system. In fact, events have just been incorporated into the OpenCart 2.0 version and are in the early development phase only. vQmod is another alternative to perform the required changes in an OpenCart platform but it often creates a problem in the core files. This critical task needs the assistance of an effective OpenCart expert only.
It is not ideal for supporting multi lingual customers
The OpenCart platform is not meant for catering multi lingual customers due to the problem which is caused in the interpretations. With this feature, it becomes extremely difficult to target multi lingual customers. If you are having an eCommerce store which has customers all around the world with different languages, you need to find out any other alternative apart from this OpenCart platform.
Not optimized for SEO
OpenCart has miles to go when it comes to SEO. This being one of the most important aspects for the success of eCommerce store may lead to some negative impact in the long run. As per experts, there were flaws with SEO in the OpenCart versions 1.5 to version 2.2, and it’s possible that in OpenCart 3.0 will have the same issues.
Owing to all the merits discussed above, it won’t be wrong to state that OpenCart remains one of the most popular eCommerce solutions. In addition to it, there are OpenCart extensions available that can optimize your site in accordance to the latest technologies and as per the expectation of customers. If you already have an OpenCart store or are planning to have one, then, you should simultaneously start thinking of the optimizing the setup.
OpenCart Extensions that can Boost the Functionality of your Store
Take a look at some of these hand-picked plugins that’ll improve the UI and UX of your OpenCart site.
OpenCart Spin and Win
With so many online options to choose, you make the UI of your site attractive enough to keep your customers hooked. OpenCart Spin and Win extension incorporates a gamified spin the wheel interface in the front-end of the site. This roulette-type popup can be placed anywhere on the site and can even be used as an exit popup. The alluring approach is one of the ways to curb the exit-intent of the customers and compel them to spend some more time on your site. So, if you are looking to earn some credits for the look and feel of your site straight-away, this is the smartest solution for you.
OpenCart Social Loginizer
Starting from the time when the customers enter the site to the moment when they check out, the shopping experience has to be flawless. OpenCart social loginizer plugin is one such option that can incorporate the social login options on your site. The online shoppers are mostly not a fan of lengthy registration processes. The quick login options make the sign up a matter of moment.
OpenCart Search More extension
Moving on to the category pages, making the site navigation easier for the store visitors is another important factor. OpenCart Search More plugin makes navigation easier. The customers can view the suggested products right after they type first several letters in the search box. With easy navigation, you can effortlessly boost the user engagement and the session time.
OpenCart Product Video
Product pages are where the actual sales pitch is offered. Hence, it should be readily designed to offer best possible information to the customer. OpenCart product video plugin allows the admin to display the product video and other related videos on the web page without making any code changes in the site. Provide the real-life feel of the product to the customers and enhance the chances of conversions.
OpenCart One Click Checkout (Buy Now)
OpenCart One Click Checkout (Buy Now) plugin adds a buy now button on the products page. The customers can checkout with a single product without removing the products saved in their cart by clicking on this button. The hassle-free checkout triggers the instant purchase decision of the customers.
OpenCart Review Incentive
The reviews and rating of the product pages are another key factors to motivate the customers to place the order. With the help of OpenCart Review Incentive extension, the store admin can offer incentives to the customers in return of their reviews. This is one of the ways to boost the number of reviews on the product page. Enhance the rating of the products and motivate more and more visitors to the checkout page.
OpenCart One page checkout extension
A complicated checkout process can raise the cart abandoned rate of your site. Simplify the checkout process of your site with OpenCart One page checkout plugin. The single page checkout incorporated by the extension offers social login and guest login options as well. Thus, this is one of the ways to optimize the conversion funnel of your site.
OpenCart Price Alert
A high-priced product shouldn’t mean a lost customer. Motivate the store visitors to return back to the site who abandoned the cart because of the product costing with OpenCart Price Alert extension. The OpenCart extension allows the store visitors to subscribe for an alert whenever there is a change in the product. The store admin can send reminders regarding the change in the product pricing. With the automated approach, you can motivate the customers to return back and place the order of the product that they left.
OpenCart Mobile App Builder
The customers these days prefer using mobile apps over the shopping sites. It is high time for the store owners to take a step ahead and stay abreast of the trends and technological advancement. OpenCart Android/iOS Mobile App Builder extensions can help you create a fully-functional mobile store at a few button clicks. The OpenCart store owners can now go mobile and tap a larger audience base with great ease.
OpenCart Multi vendor marketplace plugin
If you already own a eCommerce store based on OpenCart, then, you can even have a marketplace like eBay, Etsy and others. There are no code changes required for it. OpenCart marketplace extension can enable the multi-seller feature in your site without making any changes in the basic code of the site. Along with upgrading the site into a marketplace, the OpenCart multi seller marketplace module even makes the management effortless. The third-party sellers and their products as well as sales can be tracked and managed from a single interface. Not just this, even the vendors get an easy option to manage their shop from the dashboard itself. The profile, product and sales management are done from a single interface. In return of the rented space, the store admin can charge commission from the sellers. This commission is fixed at a button click. The fixed or percentage amount is automatically deducted from the vendors’ revenue.
It is important to have a clear view of all the possibilities and limitations of an eCommerce platform so that you don’t have to regret your choice later on. Don’t make wild guesses while selecting an eCommerce platform for your online store but analyze this eCommerce platform for the right decision. Understand the current eCommerce business scenario and go for this OpenCart platform without any second thought.
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