It’s always a challenge to compare a paid ecommerce service with a free one, but if you have dealt with freeware software before then you may already know that it has its price. These drawbacks could be a lack of features, poorer ease of use, or the need to install widgets and apps that require a subscription plan.
On the other hand, not all paid services are worth the money, so in order to make a good decision for the future of the online store you are about to launch, it’s best to have an idea about whichever potential ecommerce platforms that you might have suggested. In this case it’s two powerful solutions, 3dcart and OpenCart, that are side by side to help you make a well-informed decision.
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Shift4Shop
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OpenCart
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Brand/logo
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Visit brand site
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Read review
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Rating
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Free templates
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91
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131
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Mobile ready
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Customize checkout
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Customizable themes
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Compared to OpenCart, 3dcart carries all the advantages of hosted ecommerce platforms: it’s relatively easy to use and saves its customers the time and effort to identify the technical requirements necessary for the platform to operate properly, such as creating a web server and selecting a hosting provider and plan. 3dcart provides all these features out of the box alongside a number of free and paid themes that users can choose from.
Although some minimal coding skills are welcome to slightly customize the look of the store, it’s still relatively easy to make the selected theme reflect your personal style. Combine this with a series of powerful SEO tools and more than 100 payment gateways and you have a service that allows users to move into the world of ecommerce very quickly.
Regardless of whether it’s physical or digital products you aim to sell, having access to all the potential online marketplaces that people access to buy products – such as eBay – is a welcome addition, which 3dcart makes possible through modules available in its own marketplace. For $19.99 per month users get access to the convenient features of a hosted platform, which means a handful of built-in features, security features, and 24/7 support accessible via whichever is their preferred communication channels.
Sometimes convenience is the price users must pay to get quick access to services in order to speed up the launch of an online store. Hosted platforms such as 3dcart provide all the necessary features that online store owners are looking for, but on top of the flat monthly fee that they need to pay for its ease of use, they also must endure the limitations imposed on them by the selected ecommerce platform. This isn’t something you will get with OpenCart, because that’s just one of the major advantages of free ecommerce software.
While there are certain costs that come with OpenCart – such as hosting and domain names – it includes all the benefits of a self-hosted ecommerce platform and the amazing power of software polished by a dedicated community. For example, OpenCart has more than 300 free themes and more than 1,300 paid themes to choose from, as well as a stunning marketplace with more than 13,000 different extensions to select from. This is one of the biggest ecommerce marketplaces available in the industry, so it is worth considering.
Checking the reviews of the extensions will immediately help users spot the right options for them, enabling this platform to include all the core elements that they might need to create a stunning shopping experience. There is customer support via phone available during Hong Kong business hours and there’s online support from the community, but that’s the only price to pay for opting to use completely free ecommerce software.
The major difference between a hosted and a self-hosted ecommerce platform is the upfront investment that entrepreneurs will need to pay in order to get started. Both services have their costs and their advantages, so it ultimately depends on you how the situation is best handled by you. Are you willing to accept the security challenges of a self-hosted platform, or will you favor the convenience and limitations of a hosted service for that monthly fee? That’s the question you need to answer when choosing between either 3dcart or OpenCart, as both platforms are very powerful.
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