With the digital era’s arrival, the way people conduct business, including buying and selling, has undergone a massive change. Today, e-commerce platforms have become essential for those who intend to set up their online businesses.
One crucial element in establishing an e-commerce website is selecting the right platform. Since several platforms are available today, the selection process can be daunting.
In this blog post, we will compare three e-commerce platforms: Zen Cart, osCommerce, and WordPress WooCommerce, to provide you with valuable insight into each.
Zen Cart
Zen Cart originated as an offshoot of osCommerce and has since become a separate entity. Zen Cart added more features to its template system than osCommerce, making it more appealing.
Compared to osCommerce templates, Zen Cart’s templates are more customized, user-friendly, and SEO-friendly. Additionally, it offers multiple add-ons and extensions, making it excellent for small to medium-sized businesses. According to Shopping Cart Migration, Zen Cart is faster and more secure than osCommerce.
osCommerce
osCommerce remains one of the top open-source e-commerce templates available today. It’s a free platform that provides a complete storefront solution. Like Zen Cart, it’s user-friendly, making it ideal for beginners in web design.
The developers released it under the GNU General Public License, allowing customization and adaptations. Zen Cart’s origins can be traced back to osCommerce before forking in 2003. Quikclicks reports that osCommerce’s significant software change led to the fork, separating the two platforms.
WordPress E-Commerce Plugin (WooCommerce)
WordPress is an enormous platform used by millions worldwide. Thanks to the availability of thousands of plugins and themes, it’s easy to customize and use.
One of the plugins currently used is WooCommerce, which offers cutting-edge e-commerce solutions. This plugin allows easy integrations with multiple payment processors and banks. It is also customizable and more time-efficient than manually building a shopping cart. More information about WooCommerce can be found on Quikclicks.
Comparison of Features and Functionality
Each platform offers unique options that suit different user requirements.
Zen Cart has a broad extension library, making it a more versatile platform. It also supports different payment options, including PayPal, credit cards, and the like.
osCommerce benefits from its broad user base and developer community. It provides an end-to-end experience that includes features such as product management and admin controls.
WooCommerce’s strengths include its customizable checkout process, various payment integrations, and scalability.
Market Share and Popularity
In an industry dominated by platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Ecwid, and Wix Stores, Zen Cart and osCommerce’s popularity has waned over the years. However, the need for an open-source shopping cart platform still exists.
Since WooCommerce can be used with WordPress, it offers a more user-friendly solution than Zen Cart or osCommerce. According to Cloudways, WooCommerce holds over 28% market share. Ecwid and Shopify are the other popular e-commerce platforms besides WooCommerce.
Other Open-Source E-Commerce Platforms
Various other open-source e-commerce platforms exist, providing different features and functionalities. Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop, VirtueMart, and X-Cart are among the open-source e-commerce platforms with broad usage appeal.
Final words
Selecting the right e-commerce platform depends on the user’s unique requirements. Zen Cart and osCommerce are powerful e-commerce templates providing similar functionalities.
WooCommerce offers a more user-friendly solution, suitable for beginners and expert developers alike. Factors like market share, scalability, availability of themes, and 3rd party extensions need consideration when deciding on the right platform. We hope this post has proved useful in helping you make that decision.
