OpenCart is an acclaimed by most for taking the notion of open-source eCommerce platform to an unexpected level. Needless to say, every new version comes as the better version of the earlier with bundles of new features and enhancements. In the ever-growing online shopping world, e-Merchants are seeking reliable eCommerce platforms to create business-centric online stores. OpenCart being free and still now an open-source, it’s the fastest way to get an online store developed in no time. While the codebase is cleaner and much better than others, it’s intuitive dashboard system makes store maintenance seamless and easier. Thus, to dig deep into the prominence of the platform, let’s find out its features at a glance.
#1 Extension marketplace
The Marketplace of the platform is added to the admin panel, thereby allowing store owners to access themes, modules or anything straight from store administration. The Marketplace of OpenCart is a prior feature which offers a custom search function and effective additional filters that enable the store to refine the search experience of customers.
#2 Bootstrap 3 integration
OpenCart’s latest version integrates Bootstrap 3 at the core of eCommerce site development. Thus, every store created using it becomes much more sleek, highly intuitive and robust than ever, capable of working fine on both desktops and mobile devices.
#3 Responsive store design
None of the online stores are going to make a mark among the online buyers if they are not responsive to mobile devices. The platform is sincerely preferred by the eCommerce merchants because it helps in creating stores that look great and pretty in all types of mobile devices including tablets and iPad.
#4 Intuitive dashboard
OpenCart’s intuitive dashboard is its biggest advantage which helps the store owners and operators to emphasis too many things at a time like sales analytics, total orders on process, total customers, people currently online etc. There is very few platform known that offers such easy and convenient way to interact with the store and keep track over its metrics and it is one of them.
#5 Extension installer
With OpenCart, installing themes or extensions are seemingly easier because of its exclusive extension installer. It enables the user with faster and precise process of installing extensions with no override file via FTP. Further, on completion of the upload of theme or any extension, one gets to see all the files that will probably be overridden as the installation proceeds. Thus, besides providing store owners with over 7000 extensions and a huge number of free and paid themes, it also makes installation of the same as effortless as ever.
#6 System of event notification
While maintaining a full-fledged eCommerce store is quite challenging and need many aspects to take into account, OpenCart makes things bit easier with the system of Event notification. It helps in inserting notification whenever an action is initiated within the store such as orders in status, customers waiting for confirmation, out of stocks, reviews pending for approval and so forth.
These features are sure to make OpenCart a great eCommerce environment to work. Besides flexibility and ease of use, the way it progressed over the years bringing something new to the table with every version release is one of the genuine reasons for its high preference in the market.
