Regular hacks, slow websites, lack of support from community, less developers and expensive hosting are some of the common complaints for companies using OpenCart. It was a great project from inception – ahead of its time but just when other Ecommerce platforms have progressed with the speed of Usain Bolt, unfortunately OpenCart couldn’t!
There are approx. 450K+ websites in the world powered by OpenCart and yet the chatter around the internet is all against using it. Few of the biggest problems with the platform is its sluggish checkout process, the difficulty in importing the checkout process, slow contribution from the open-source community and the regular hack attempts.
Now, the question is, where does it leave the companies who have spent a lot of money and built their websites and systems using this technology?
The simpler answer is that they must switch to a better platform, but since I get 2 to 3 customers every quarter with the same problem, I understand that getting this monkey off their backs is laboursome, time intensive and costly. Therefore, I don’t suggest the switching option to everyone, especially SMEs. There are a few advantages for using OpenCart that we can focus on instead and save the day. For instance,
It’s easier to implement internationalisation into OpenCart. This includes multi-currency and multilingual abilities
It’s easy to manage store from the back end
There is a big range of payment gateways to choose from
Extensions are available in the marketplace and most of them are free
The reporting is relevant and extensive
Additionally, while you’re using the platform without having an option to switch it, it’s best to follow some practices that will help in keeping your online store from crashing down.
Taking hourly backups
Working on SEO improvements to help with the rankings
Manage hosting closely
At Smart Web Agency, we do not support starting a new project with OpenCart anymore (and that’s purely because of the significantly less contribution from open-source community for the adaptability of the platform), but we are an expert in house team that can help maintaining your OpenCart websites for you. When in trouble, give us a shout!
