OpenCart – The new kid on the block

Recently I came across a new piece of open source e-commerce software called OpenCart. After reading about it and doing a little research i decided to give it a try for a recent project i did for a client. This post is my initial thoughts and review of this relatively new open source peice of software.

Open cart is an open source cart developed by the Open Cart development community/team. It is currently at version 1.4.4 released March 15, 2009. OpenCart is programmed in PHP using an MVC(+L) style framework for the code. This is a good process they used to develop, as it separates the code into “layers”, so that core functions are separated from “display” elements. This allows OpenCart to be more easily modified for front end display and templates, and potentially be upgraded with bug fix released without having to affect display code as much. This also gives  OpenCart the ability to have it’s contributions for the community installed in an easier fashion then a piece of software like OsCommerce. Mind you, it still can take some manual file code modifications depending on the contribution, and it’s not as simple as download and install features like Joomla or WordPress have, but it is easier then dealing with osCommerce for adding contributions.

OpenCart features that come in the core download of the software include a simple content management system, a easy to manage product system, SEO features, several shipping and payment modules built in, the ability to turn on or off and move around the “side boxes” and much more. OpenCart also comes with a pretty nice looking default “theme” or template, and there are many available for free from the OpenCart site as well.

There are a few things I didn’t like about open cart, or things other developers should be aware of.

• There is no way to “copy” product attributes from one product to another, so if you have to work with a lot of products w/ attributes it can be very cumbersome.
• There is no way to import/export product data into a workable format to edit in excel or other editors (there is a great contribution for this that is easy to install)
• the front page text is edited on the store settings page, and is not in the content manager section, which can be a little confusing for people
• there is currently no working FREE ups or Fed-ex shipping modules (they are in development)
• ther “SEO” urls are a little buggy sometimes. A few times when re-importing products from the excel export contribution, the seo module no longer works for mod-writes unless you manually go back through all your products and re enter your seo url name. Also by default the SEO urls system does not add a file extension to the rewritten URL, so you need to specify the file extension in the field for the product

those are the main issues I have come across while using open cart myself. Overall I am VERY pleased with the cart, and think it has a lot of potential. In-fact I am considering switching over to it to use for my more simple e-commerce projects for clients who don’t need a lot of custom features for their store.

You can download and review the features of OpenCart at http://www.opencart.com/

What Type Of A Website For Your Business?

Depending on what kind of business you run, as well as what type of actual web site design you wish to have to represent your business online, you will need to plan out the sections needed for your web site design. Depending on the purpose of your company’s web site, you will need to have sections such as biography or company background, portfolio pages, contact pages, company staff or directory pages, services or products pages and more.. the sheer amount of possibilities for content of your site can be almost as overwhelming as the design process itself.

When I work with a client to plan or map out their web site design strategy, the first step for me is always a simple one… what is the main goal or purpose of the website.. and to break that down, it is simply a question of will the site be meant for providing information to the visitor about the company and it’s products or services, or will the web site design be geared more towards as e-commerce web site design, where the web site will function as an online commerce site to sell products and / or services on the web.

The Informational Web Site

The main goal of an informational web site is basically to act as a digital on-line portfolio for the business. To provide some background information on the company, information on the services or products they sell or provide, and give a means to contact them regarding sales leads and customer support.

An informational web site is usually developed using a CMS (Content Management System) such as Joomla or WordPress, but sometimes the site can be custom coded in flash, html, php, asp or a combination of any of these technologies. Informational web site designs are usually well suited for “trades” type businesses, such as landscapers, business professionals, schools or even clubs, as they generally do not have a tangible product to sell, but rather a service.

A typical informational type web site design may have the following pages and features:

• Home page with a welcome message, brief summary of the services or products or background on the company
• Company Information / About us page that has more details on the history of the company
• Services / Products pages that detail the services or products the company offers it’s customers or clients
• Portfolio page which has  samples of work done for pasty clients
• Testimonials page which would usually show  feedback about the experience past customers had with the business
• Contact Page which allows the visitors / clients / customers to contact the company

The E-Commerce Web Site Design

While the informational web site’s main purpose is to bring in sales leads and inform customers and potential customers about the products and services offered, an E-Commerce web site design’s purpose is to not only provide this information, but also entice the visitor to purchase a product or service, and pay for it online on the web site. Usually e-commerce sites offer tangible goods that are shipped to the customer, but I have had some clients who sell “services” in an e-commerce format as well in the past.

There are many open-source and commercial e-commerce platforms available in the market to choose from, some of the more popular ones are osCommerce, OpenSourceCart, ZenCart and Creloaded. Each has it’s own benefits and pitfalls, feature sets and scalability. Choosing what package to use is often a tricky balance between cost, scalability and features built-in.

Typically an E-Commerce web site design will have the following pages and basic features

• Home page which may provide some welcome information, company information and perhaps sale products or featured products for sale
• Company information page with background information on the company
• A products catalog which has categorized products the visitor can browse
• A shopping cart which allows the customer to add items to a virtual “basket” and then “check out” and pay for them
• Other e-commerce related information pages such as terms and conditions, shipping and ordering information / guidelines

So there is the basic breakdown of the two main types of web site designs for a company. Informational sites are meant as a portal to inform and educate the visitor on the company and it’s services, much like a digital brochure, while an E-Commerce web site design is geared more towards actually selling products online to consumers.

The Benefit Of Having an E-Commerce Web Site

The method of running a company has changed a lot today. Unlike the years past, business owners are now taking any means to brand their company, to promote services to achieve sales and promotions goals. The net is playing a huge part for these owners. How?