There are a number of options for shopping cart software, and OpenCart is one of them if you’re looking to create an online store free. Because of how user-friendly it is, this shopping cart has seen massive adoption all across the globe. From its definition and scope to its features and applications, we’ll cover it everything here.let start create online store free with Opencart
What is OpenCart?
OpenCart is a free and open source shopping cart system distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). OpenCart’s code repository is hosted on the popular code-sharing website GitHub. There is a free copy of the source code available, allowing you to create your online store free with Opencart
The original project for the shopping cart system written in Perl was started by Christopher G. Mann in 1998. Unfortunately, OpenCart was shut down in the year 2000. The PHP-based open source shopping cart system created by Daniel Kerr in 2009 was dubbed OpenCart. There are now three distinct releases of OpenCart as of February 2008.
Features of Using OpenCart
Those interested in creating an online shop using OpenCart may take advantage of the platform’s tools to make a professional-quality website. When deciding on a shopping cart solution, these are some of the benefits of OpenCart to think about.
Organizing Products in a Catalog
OpenCart allows you to create a catalog of items and display them in a way that makes sense. More than fifty standard product fields are available in OpenCart, allowing merchants to enter information including name, description, price, SKU/UPC, dimensions, options, characteristics, and more. Your consumers may use the filtering options to quickly zero in on the exact item they’re looking for. OpenCart also allows you to offer downloadable goods like music, Ebooks, and software by attaching files to certain products.
Delivery of Products and Method of Payment
Over 50 different payment plugins and dozens of shipping extensions are available for OpenCart. In addition, you may utilize a variety of third-party payment and shipping plugins. OpenCart supports numerous different payment channels out of the box, including PayPal, Amazon Payments, and more. Further, they provide bank transfers and cash on delivery as ways of payment. (COD).
They incorporate products delivery gateways such as FedEx, UPS, and many more. OpenCart Marketplace now has over 600 shipping plugins and over 1000 payment extensions.
Taking In Orders And Handling Clients
Accepting orders is the next step after establishing your product catalog and establishing your payment and delivery methods. OpenCart facilitates both order processing and client tracking. You may take orders, process them, make changes to them, send out invoices, and print shipping labels. Additionally, you may access and edit customer profiles, organize customers into groups, and examine each client’s purchase record. Customer feedback on OpenCart-built stores is solicited after each purchase. The website featuring the product in question will then show this review.
Set up Sales and Discounts
OpenCart provides many promotion management options. Price adjustments can be made individually for each product and for the duration of the sale. You may also establish wholesale pricing for items. OpenCart’s marketing campaign tracking allows you to monitor the success of each discount promotion you send out to clients via email newsletter.
The Reporting and Analytical Viewing Process
OpenCart itself may be used to generate reports and examine data. The following are examples of the reports it is capable of producing:
- The Sales Reports
- Review of an Item
- Market Research Reports on Customers
OpenCart doesn’t have its own built-in analysis system, but you may still connect it to your Google Analytics account by inserting some tracking code.
Other Additional Features
Not only the features above, OpenCart also offers several additional features that are useful for online shop owners such as:
- Manage multiple stores in the same admin interface
- Supports recurring payments via PayPal
- Affiliate tracking system
- Built-in Newsletter
- Custom product feeds
- And many more
Extension and Plugin OpenCart
OpenCart is an open-source shopping cart that features an extension system similar to those seen in other popular shopping carts. It may be used to improve your e-commerce site. OpenCart’s extensibility is reflected in the availability of tens of thousands of online add-ons for use with the platform.
- Payment plugins
- Shipping integration
- Marketing tools
- Extensions performance and optimization
- Improve product and order management
- And many more
OpenCart has everything you need to launch an e-commerce site on its own, but as your business expands, you may want to add on more features. Using these add-ons, you can:
- Shipping information and product catalogs may be imported and exported.
- Optimize your store’s performance and search engine rankings.
- Use OpenCart for all of your advertising and marketing needs.
- Increase the depth and breadth of your reporting and analysis.
You will also likely require a third-party plugin if you wish to utilize a different payment or delivery gateway.
There are various OpenCart add-ons available for free online. However, if safety is your first concern, you should only install modules obtained from the official OpenCart Marketplace. You’ll have an easier time locating add-ons on this site. In addition, you may learn from the experiences of other buyers by reading their feedback. If for any reason you’re not happy with the extensions you purchased from the OpenCart marketplace, you may ask for a full refund.
Could OpenCart Be a Better Option?
If you’re like most others, you’re probably thinking if OpenCart is the best option for your online business given the plethora of shopping cart solutions now available.
When OpenCart may be the best option:
- Seeking a more cost-effective means of creating an online shop?
- It would be easier to use OpenCart if you had some technical knowledge or a developer on staff.
- When in need of assistance, it is acceptable to hunt for answers online.
- Intentionally restricting the purpose of a website’s development to purely commercial purposes (i.e., the creation of an online store)
If any of the following apply to your situation, you may want to keep exploring for an alternative.
- Do you wish to launch an online store but would rather avoid the complexities of handling the technical aspects of doing so?
- Do you plan to create a massive internet marketplace?
- Need an easy-to-manage online retail solution?
- Do you want to add an online store to an existing website that also features a blog or other content?
Get OpenCart and the Best Hosting Available
OpenCart requires particular consideration in terms of web hosting. OpenCart is available without cost through its official website and the OpenCart GitHub repository.
If you want to open an online store, though, you’ll require affordable cloud hosting. Dependable hosting is essential to the smooth operation of any web business. For a reliable web shop, it’s best to go with a cloud hosting service that provides many options for the quickest hosting speeds, along with online data backup and an SSL certificate.
The conclusion
OpenCart is a great option for those looking for an open source shopping cart solution. OpenCart has been around for a while and has found widespread popularity. OpenCart is a popular e-commerce platform utilized by programmers and business owners all over the world because of its low cost and ease of use. For this reason, OpenCart will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. No harm, no foul if you try it out and see if it helps you. To that end, I present this piece with the sincerest of hopes.
I’m a Big Fan of C#, Open Cart and Magento, Digital E-Commerce this is my blog and let start share our knowledge, be productive fun an happy. cheers