As the trend of bringing businesses online has taken over the market, open-source eCommerce platforms have become popular nowadays.
OpenCart is one such open-source, the free eCommerce platform that allows business owners to build a website for their enterprises.
Since bringing business online will help your company reach out to massive audiences, more people will start buying products from your website.
Therefore, the business gets scaled up, and you will notice a rapid growth in the number of your revenue with the help of OpenCart.
Additionally, building the website, updating the virtual store, and downloading several templates on OpenCart will cost you zero bucks.
But, like any other platform, OpenCart also features some perks and disadvantages. So, if you want to learn the upsides and downsides of this platform, check out the next section.
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Perks of the OpenCart Alternatives
On a platform like OpenCart, there is a dedicated eCommerce support community that offers necessary services to inexperienced business owners so that they can make their venture successful. So, if you are a person who has very little technical knowledge, it will not be much difficult for you to start your store on OpenCart. However, it is always advisable to consult with experts for the best results.
Below we have shared some of the advantages of OpenCart.
1. Advantage of the international eCommerce presence
If you want to make your business successful internationally, OpenCart is undoubtedly one of the best choices. As they easily translate information into multiple languages, several people can read them effortlessly. Therefore, language will not be a boundary for your company.
2. Reviewing the metrics of your business will be simpler
With OpenCart, you can smoothly check the stats, data, and your overall health business report. Therefore, you can receive an idea from the metrics and work accordingly to escalate the success rate of your eCommerce site.
Since all the graphs and data are on an efficiently designed dashboard, anyone can get the desired information at a glance.
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3. Manage the store like a pro
If you are planning for a startup, building a virtual store on OpenCart will be the best idea. Since you cannot afford to hire someone to look after your business, OpenCart will allow you to manage the enterprise single-handedly like a pro. Thanks to the add-ons, extensions, and plugins available on the platform for free.
Plus, OpenCart supports businesses from an extended range of niches. Therefore, companies from various industries can build their eCommerce sites on this platform.
4. Compatibility with several payment gateways and shipping methods
OpenCart is compatible with major payment gateways, including PayPal, E-way, Sage Pay, World Pay, and Amazon Payments; customers can peacefully purchase from the site.
The same thing applies to the shipping method too. As the platform integrates a wide range of shipping procedures, the customers will stay assured about the on-time delivery.
Apart from using the national postal systems, you can opt for FedEx, UPS, and other delivery partners. It is undoubtedly a massive advantage of OpenCart.
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5. Offers technical support
If you are new to the eCommerce platform, you may have doubts and confusion regarding the OpenCart platform and how to manage the store. That is why OpenCart has a dedicated technical team for offering support to entrepreneurs. Although it is a paid service, it is worth it.
Downsides of the OpenCart
Check below some of the disadvantages you can experience while using OpenCart.
1. The installations sometimes fail to work together.
While the free available add-ons, extensions, plugins, and modules make it straightforward to build an eCommerce site, sometimes they fail to work together. In that case, you might have to compromise the customer experience on your website. But, with premium content, you can avoid such issues.
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2. The checkout process can test your patience
While using the free plugins on your OpenCart eCommerce site, your customers will face a slower checkout experience than other eCommerce platforms.
Therefore, such inconveniences can welcome some of the worst consequences, like- losing potential customers. Fortunately, you can fix such an issue in 2 ways. Either you change the programming to settle the problem, or you can purchase the additional plugins.
That is why OpenCart is the best platform for small businesses with limited inventory.
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3. The lightweight sometimes hinders the growth of a business
Many business owners go for OpenCart, as it is a lightweight platform. By lightweight, we mean that the platform does not hamper the website by bloating an enormous amount of content. While it seems like an upside of OpenCart, there is a flipping segment too. While running your eCommerce site on a lightweight platform, you can face hindrances while improving your performance.
Even if you utilize a strong upgraded hosting platform, the scalability of your OpenCart eCommerce site can suffer. Therefore, if you are an ambitious business owner who wants to scale up your site instantly, OpenCart with its basic features can hinder growth.
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4. It Becomes challenging to import the inventory list
After uploading the initial goods and services to the website, the SQL database becomes challenging to modify. Although it does not happen all the time, only paid services can fix the problem. Therefore, you should maintain separate inventory data without fully depending on an online database.
5. Creates problems for SEO
The biggest problem with OpenCart is its creation of duplicate pages. While designing the site, you may notice that various site pages can feature several URLs. Such conditions can hamper your SEO strategy.
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Final Words
After going through the entire blog, you have probably understood the conveniences and inconveniences of using OpenCart and also how you can go for OpenCart Alternatives. If we conclude the article in one sentence, OpenCart is easy to install, straightforward to operate, and costs you zero buck. As the platform offers various free extensions, add-ons, and a high level of integrity, your business will receive an ultimate eCommerce solution. However, using premiere elements helps you avoid some glitches.
