If you’re an online merchant looking for the best eCommerce platform for your company, the two options that have been at odds for a long time are OpenCart vs. WooCommerce. These open-source eCommerce platforms are popular choices for online companies.
WooCommerce and OpenCart are two of the most widely used platforms for eCommerce websites. This makes determining which platform will come out on top quite difficult.
To assist you in making a wise decision, we will compare WooCommerce vs. OpenCart in several factors to determine which is a better alternative. By the end of this article, you should have a much better notion of what platform you want to utilize for your online store!
Let’s dig in.
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that allows you to set up an e-commerce store. It was first introduced in 2011 and has grown fast since then.
The intriguing thing about it is that it is a WordPress plugin that, once installed on your website, converts it into an e-commerce store with all of the essential capabilities such as order processing, monitoring, analytics, and inventory management.
WooCommerce was introduced a few years after OpenCart, but it has a far larger user base and is far more popular. One of the key reasons for this is its open-source nature, which implies that anyone may design their plugins and themes and put them on their WooCommerce store without limitations.
OpenCart has been in existence since 2005, with the initial version released a year later. This open-source platform makes use of MySQL and PHP to provide a dependable and scalable eCommerce solution that facilitates the setup and management of online stores.
OpenCart is a stand-alone system that provides a comprehensive framework for your store. While WooCommerce depends on WordPress as its core, OpenCart is independent and self-contained. However, you must require a domain name and hosting to get started.
OpenCart offers dozens of modules (plugins) and themes available from the OpenCart Marketplace to add additional capabilities and a distinctive appearance to stores.
In addition to modules and themes, other features include social media, reporting, payment processors, shipping options, language packs, and many more.
Market share is a crucial factor to consider when comparing the two e-commerce platforms since it provides a clear picture of their breadth. Increased revenues, a stronger position against rivals, and the capacity to introduce new features are all associated with a larger market share.
According to BuiltWith, WooCommerce has a 29% market share of all websites that sell using e-commerce systems. Currently, the plugin has over 5 million active installations.
Conversely, OpenCart was introduced in 2005, much earlier than WooCommerce. Still, the eCommerce platform holds a 0.21% market share.
Without question, WooCommerce is the clear winner in this category. A larger market share suggests that store owners will attract more customers, resulting in significant growth.
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WooCommerce: It offers over 2,100 free themes as well as over 30,000 premium themes to store owners. WooCommerce can provide you with magazine themes, SEO-powered themes, e-commerce themes, and even business-specific themes. All of the themes are designed specifically for WooCommerce, allowing developers to quickly create beautiful websites.
OpenCart: While WooCommerce theme options are never-ending, OpenCart themes are extremely limited. There are just 500 paid and free themes available on this platform, and they range in price from $60 to $70. However, you can quickly and simply change the appearance and feel of your online store thanks to its sophisticated template system.
The verdict: WooCommerce themes are far superior to OpenCart themes in terms of aesthetics and responsive design. Also, WooCommerce provides a ton of free themes in contrast to OpenCart.
Woocommerce: Installing WooCommerce is similar to installing any other WordPress plugin since it is a plugin. There are no monthly subscriptions required, and the software is free and open-source.
WooCommerce is quite simple to set up! Just navigate to the “Plugins” section on the left sidebar, look up “WooCommerce,” and select “Install Now.” After the plugin has been activated, the setup wizard will appear. Once you have completed the required fields, you will be finished.
Opencart: When it comes to storing setup in OpenCart, you have two options. The first simple setup option costs between $3 and $15 and uses a one-click installation provided by the hosting provider. Second, you can manually set up the OpenCart store.
You will discover, though, that the process is very involved because you will require some basic technical knowledge to complete it. For example, you will need to know how to use FTP to move the OpenCart archive to your server and phpMyAdmin to create a database.
The final verdict: WooCommerce installation is simpler than OpenCart, particularly if you want to install OpenCart manually. WooCommerce, on the other hand, allows you to simply look for the plugin and click to install it.
Wocommerce: It provides all the essential functionalities required to manage an online business. The ability to handle payments, quickly change shipping and tax rates, choose the currency and measurement units, and much more are just a few of the features of WooCommerce. WooCommerce allows you to sell any kind of product, digital or physical, and it also makes inventory management quite simple.
In addition, you gain features like the ability to upsell products, display recently seen products, and apply sales prices to products. And if you feel like you need extra functionality, you can easily discover a variety of free plugins to meet your requirements.
OpenCart: WooCommerce faces stiff competition from OpenCart in terms of features. Opencart allows you to sell both digital and physical goods. You can even design discount coupons and gift cards.
It has built-in multilingual capabilities that enable you to translate your websites into over 40 languages and promote your goods in several currencies. Additionally, OpenCart has options for many websites, and you can create and manage multiple websites without the need for any third-party plugins.
The final verdict: The final verdict would be a tie. While OpenCart has built-in features, WooCommerce offers similar features through the use of free, lightweight plugins.
Woocommerce: This platform has a very effective inventory management system. To start, WooCommerce’s single-page layout and simple settings make adding a product quite simple.
Additionally, WooCommerce provides you with the ability to edit numerous products at once with a bulk edit feature. When it comes to WooCommerce order administration, all the benefits of product management are also available.
Opencart: The inventory section of the OpenCart dashboard is not very user-friendly. There are several tabs in the layout while producing a single product, which may be time-consuming and confusing. Additionally, OpenCart does not offer a bulk edit feature for your products; instead, you must modify each one separately.
Similarly, there isn’t a bulk edit feature for orders in order management. However, when it comes to ordering invoices PDFs, OpenCart provides a better choice. Order invoices can be downloaded/printed directly from the product order page, without the need for an external plugin.
The Final verdict: WooCommerce is the winner because it provides more convenient inventory and order management features.
Woocommerce: If you use WooCommerce as your e-commerce platform, you will be able to take advantage of WordPress’s significant SEO advantage over other CMS. WordPress is built on SEO-friendly PHP codes, which Google and other search engines prefer. This means that a WordPress-powered website or business automatically gains an SEO advantage.
Furthermore, there are various WooCommerce SEO plugins that you can put on your WooCommerce store for additional SEO features, such as metadata, that will help you rank your site higher in search engine results.
OpenCart: This platform does not include SEO-friendly code, however, it does allow you to change your store’s meta information. For your store and product pages, you can also utilize URLs that are optimized for search engines.
However, you will need to learn a lot more about code or hire a developer to do it for you if you want to delve deeper into OpenCart’s SEO features.
Final Verdict: WooCommerce is the apparent winner in the SEO round since it takes advantage of WordPress’s SEO benefits as well as the features of SEO plugins like Yoast and Rank Math.
WooCommerce: It provides a great deal of customization options, as it is based on WordPress. With just the embedding of an appropriate WordPress Plugin, WooCommerce users can take advantage of the WordPress market and begin customizing.
You can also utilize WooCommerce-specific extensions if you’re seeking extensions that are specifically designed for e-commerce. There are enough extensions available to help you increase the functionality of your store. One advantage of utilizing WooCommerce is that the modification procedure is rather simple.
OpenCart: Opencart Marketplace offers around 13,000 paid and free extensions covering nearly every category to help customize your OpenCart store. Additionally, you can build additional online stores with the same account and synchronize them in real time.
While building a new shop is simple, syncing it with existing shops may necessitate advanced programming expertise. Furthermore, as both OpenCart and WooCommerce are open-source systems, users can dynamically customize their stores with them.
The final verdict: These two platforms offer comparable customizing options. However, WooCommerce might emerge victorious due to its extensive range of extensions, which can simplify and speed up your customization process.
OpenCart and WooCommerce are both open-source, free e-commerce platforms. But you also need to consider the extra expenses that come with setting up a fully functional store, such as hosting, a domain name, any extra extensions, and an SSL certificate.
Woocommerce: You won’t have to spend anything upfront because WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that can be downloaded for free. Nevertheless, to activate your WordPress website with WooCommerce, you must purchase a hosting plan separately; this can be as little as $12 per month.
A premium theme will set you back between $30 and $500, and paid extensions will cost you similarly. You can select from a variety of free themes and extensions. Get a WooCommerce pricing idea here – How much will WooCommerce cost you?
OpenCart: It’s also open-source, so you can download it for free from their official site and then hire a developer to set up it and design your store. The cost of getting an OpenCart store up and running is similar to that of WooCommerce; you will need to choose a separate hosting provider and install premium themes and extensions. The average price for Opencart themes and plugins is a bit higher than WooCommerce.
The final verdict: This round is a tie because both platforms are free to use and the cost to develop a store on either platform is around the same. Whichever option you choose, you will still need to pay for some standard website operation costs.
If you are still confused and are looking for professional guidance to assist you in choosing the right one, then Krisha Web has got you covered. Our leading team of experts will look after your project needs and help you choose the right online platform for eCommerce development.
It all depends on what you expect from your online store. If you want to start a small company with little customizations, OpenCart is the way to go. If you want to establish a growing business, WooCommerce is the way to go. It has an infinite number of modules, themes, and add-ons, which you will need for your business needs.
OpenCart and WooCommerce are both open-source systems, support is available. If you need help with your online store, WooCommerce support is available via email through the WooCommerce website. Additional assistance is also available in the WordPress forums. For general inquiries, OpenCart provides customer assistance. If you are willing to pay, OpenCart offers dedicated support starting at $120 per month.
Pros
– Extremely simple to use & install
– Easily accessible monitoring dashboard
– Vast marketplace for themes and extensions
– Many alternatives from third parties for plugins and themes
– Suitable for both small and large organizations
Cons
– To function, a WordPress installation is required
– Is vulnerable to the same flaws as WordPress
Pros
– Users can manage multiple stores from a single admin interface,
– Accommodates numerous payment gateways
– Have various extensions to boost security
– It supports multiple languages and currencies
– OpenCart offers responsive design features,
Cons of OpenCart
– The setup necessitates manual database development.
– Requires modest technical proficiency
– A steeper learning curve
We understand there’s a lot to process here. In addition to their many benefits, WooCommerce vs. OpenCart also has certain drawbacks. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to selecting a suitable e-commerce platform, and the right one will be based on your unique business requirements.
If you enjoy the freedom of an open-source solution but prefer something a little more user-friendly, WooCommerce is the option for you. Alternatively, if you want complete control and don’t mind a little code, OpenCart could be the solution for you. By now, you should have all of your questions answered after reading our thorough OpenCart vs. WooCommerce comparison till the end.
A Technical Architect, proficient in WordPress, Drupal, Laravel, and DevOps tasks, crafts robust IT solutions with a blend of expertise and versatility in web development and infrastructure management.
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