WooCommerce v/s OpenCart: Which Shopping Cart Rows Your Boat?
Picking an ideal shopping cart to make an eCommerce Store is a tricky business. You need to have complete information about the platform. You need information that includes features, installation, SEO compatibility, community support, upgrade processes and a lot more.
Here are 6 factors that will help you to pick a one in a battle between WooCommerce v/s OpenCart.
1.Installation
OpenCart
Installation process of OpenCart is fairly simple. As a free open source platform it is easy to install and download. Its ease of use has made it fairly popular among amateur online entrepreneurs
WooCommerce
WooCommerce came to the internet 2 years after the arrival of OpenCart. As a result, people have usually opted for OpenCart as it is considered more developed and reliable because of its years of existence.
Despite its fairly recent arrival, WooCommerce has taken the online market by a stride. The minimum requirements for WooCommerce plugin installation is that you need to have a
WordPress website so that you can add the WooCommerce plugin.
2.Template Customization
OpenCart
When it comes to template customization OpenCart is not the ideal source. Amateurs cannot code their way to customizing their OpenCart template. It is a hefty task that requires a high level of coding.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a sure shot winner when it comes to template customization. It is flexible and easy for coders to manage as compared to OpenCart.
3.Marketing
OpenCart
OpenCart gets a little complicated when it comes to SEO optimization. For users who wish to see their websites rank higher on Google, OpenCart would require a lot more effort as compared to WooCommerce.
WooCommerce
When it comes to online marketing, Woocommerce beats OpenCart to the curb. As it is a WordPress plugin, you can easily market your store via the WordPress blog option. This option is not available to OpenCart users.
WooCommerce has many features that will help you to optimize your website so that it easily gains the top ranks in Google rankings. As such for customers who want to market their website on a bigger scale WooCommerce is the way to go.
4.Community Assistance
OpenCart
OpenCart again loses the candle to WooCommerce in the case of community assistance. It is not easy to track and locate OpenCart forums for coders who are on the lookout for customization solutions for the construction of their web stores.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce again emerges victorious when it comes to community assistance as there is a whole group of developers who are always at the ready to impart their wisdom to other learners. This makes WooCommerce bug solving an easier task as compared to OpenCart.
5.Set Up Speed
OpenCart
If you want a speedy installation and setup process, then OpenCart is the sure shot way to go. Its
limited customization options make the upload process a breeze. If you want a basic shopping cart that is ready for business, then with the help of OpenCart you can create an online store in next to no time.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce also has a fast setup installation and upload process. However, compared to OpenCart, it is still slow. Its diverse plug-ins and customization options make the setup process a little longer than OpenCart.
However, via the use of this process the online store will be comparatively more efficient as compared to OpenCart.
6.Payment Option
OpenCart
When it comes to the payment option, OpenCart becomes an instant favorite among users as it has over 20 inbuilt gateways that it does not charge for. This option makes the installation and upload process extremely simple as compared to other platforms.
WooCommerce
When it comes to WooCommerce the options of most payment gateways are not in built. If you wish to add other payment gateways or pick different ones, then the option available to you is one of either purchasing the plug-in or creating a custom plug-in.
How to pick between the two?
As you can see in the above graph, WooCommerce and OpenCart have a neck to neck competition that makes it hard to decide which platform gives the best results.
Here is a quick comparison between the two platforms:
Features | WooCommerce | OpenCart |
Ease of Customization | A+ | B+ |
Plugins/ Extensions | 37,576+ | 9000+ |
Facebook Likes | 484 | 421 |
Software form | Plug-in | Platform |
Maintenance | Low | Low |
Installation | Easy | Easy |
PCI Compliance | Yes | Yes |
SEO Optimization | Easy | Tough |
Setup Time | Fast | Super Fast |
When it comes to picking an eCommerce platform the option, the choice is not about picking a better platform. It is about picking the right one. Every business has different needs and requirements. It will best for you to review all the factors and then decide the factors that will work in your favor and those that won’t.
If you want a fast setup process, then OpenCart is the sure shot way to go. However, if you have an urgent need for marketing your services, then WooCommerce will offer better help and assistance.