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The most important strategy for e-commerce is to have a high performing shopping cart. Use one, and practically everything you need to set up in order to secure success for your online business will be a breeze.

There are a lot of options for an open shopping cart available today, and you can expect more to emerge in the coming months. Therefore, if you’re in search of one to use for your online business, the selection process may prove to be rather challenging. After all, these products tend to offer similar features and functionalities. The only reliable way to distinguish them from each other is to observe their actual performance.

Now, when it comes to solid performance, the open source shopping cart solution called OpenCart is a highly recommended option. It boasts of an abundance of useful features, and along with this, it is user- and search engine-friendly. OpenCart is deemed ideal for beginners, particularly for its intuitive interface which allows users to have complete control over their store. This means you can easily experiment with different looks for your site to effectively entice customers.

This shopping cart solution offers the following features and functionalities:

• Thousands of high-end e-commerce themes (you won’t have trouble creating a look for your site that really goes with your brand).
• 20+ payment gateways and 8+ shipping method integrations.
• It’s responsive, which means it can display properly across different devices.
• It can accommodate different currencies and languages.
• It can work for unlimited categories.
• It can display an unlimited amount of products; as such, increasing your offerings won’t require you to bump old products out of the lineup.
• Product reviews and ratings can easily be displayed.
• It can automatically resize images for better viewing and visibility.

Apart from this impressive range of features and functionalities, OpenCart logs high scores among internet merchants because it provides potential buyers the opportunity to give it a go before deciding to install. Plus, it offers free community and commercial support, as well as free user guides and video tutorials. OpenCart is also affordable, making it even more ideal for new businesses to use.

In the rankings game for open shopping cart solutions, OpenCart is often found second to Shopify, which remains to be the leading online shop builder in the world (powering over 300,000 online shops and generating over $20 billion worth of sales). Reviews claim it only falls behind Shopify by a few key features because Shopify has been quite successful in building relationships with other vendors such as theme designers and online tools providers, allowing the site to be a complete one-stop shop for the tools necessary for a successful online store. With that said, OpenCart still does a good job of delivering on its promises and meeting requirements.

If Shopify is the right choice for you, we offer conversions from OpenCart (or whichever platform you use). We will also give you an unlimited Shopify free trial, so you don't have to pay your monthly fees (in both places) until you are launched. You can keep that unlimited trial whether you work with us or not. If you want the regular 14 day trial, just click the banner below:

Many SMEs (small and medium enterprises) find themselves struggling with their decision on which e-commerce solution to use, open sourced or hosted. Unfortunately, there is no absolute answer for the question. If you’re facing this dilemma, your choice would have to depend on your unique e-commerce situation.

In determining whether you should opt for an open source or a hosted e-commerce program, consider these three vital factors:

• Budget – You might think that open source is the more economical choice, but consider a couple of things such as setup cost and hosting fees and you’ll see that this is not the case. With a hosted solution, the setup cost is usually low, unless you want a custom design, but even then, it would still be cheaper than setting up an open source store. With open source, the cost of setup is usually high, considering the work required. You’ll need to customize code, integrate template, test, and finally implement. As for hosting cost, a full service solution already includes hosting in the fee while an open source program requires you to provide your own hosting, for which you will be charged separately. So, it seems that you should choose the paid program if you’re going for a more affordable solution.
• Programming skills – Hosted platforms are usually easy to implement and maintain, even for people with moderate computer skills. Meanwhile, open source programs, while easily implemented and maintained by professional developers, present a high learning curve for many users. Again, a hosted solution is best for the layperson; however, if you have tech wizards on your staff, they can optimize the benefits that open source programs offer.
• Required store features – Hosted solutions would offer limited flexibility in comparison to open source ones in terms of features. Open source programs can be customized through paid for extensions and custom coding, lending them greater flexibility at quite the price. On the other hand, you can take it for granted that hosted programs would already have many useful features included in their plans. There’s no need to pay extra to utilize them.

What other factors should you consider in making your choice? Support is always something that should be taken into account. Hosted solutions typically offer full support through numerous contact channels, while open source software programs don’t really offer any official support.

Upgrades are another concern. With hosted e-commerce programs, upgrades, both bug fixes and new features, are automatically implemented. Meanwhile, open source upgrades would have to be manually integrated by the store owner or the developer.

Open source works really well for those sites that require a great deal of flexibility and have a big budget as well as specialized PHP developers managing them, but, at the end of the day, hosted is what many developers recommend.

If Shopify is the right choice for you, we offer conversions from whichever platform you use. Just contact us to get started. We will also give you an unlimited free trial, so you don't have to pay your monthly fees (in both places) until you are launched. You can keep that unlimited trial whether you work with us or not. If you want the regular 14 day trial, just click the banner below:

Your choice of e-commerce platform is of critical importance in the successful and efficient creation, management, and maintenance of your online store. Many online entrepreneurs and web developers are often torn between Magento and Shopify, two of the most popular e-commerce solutions available.

In pitting Magento vs. Shopify, you’ll find many similarities in their offering, but their fundamental differences are also clear. To begin with, Shopify is a commercial product while Magento is a free, open-source software program. This means that you have to pay to use Shopify. Another difference is that Shopify is a hosted solution while you have to arrange for your own hosting with Magento. This means that before you can create your Magento store, you need to get hosting, as well as install, set up, and configure everything. That requires more advanced web development and programming knowledge.

The following is a Magento vs Shopify comparison based on vital categories:

• Features – The two have many similarities, but you have to pay attention to see which one has the edge in each feature. For instance, Shopify is easier to set up when it comes to basic online store functionality. In terms of inventory management, both offer unlimited products, but you have to keep in mind that, with Magento, your choice of hosting could affect your loading speed if you have too many items on your online store. Shopify also offers more international payment gateway options. Meanwhile, Magento bests Shopify in its multilingual capabilities. As for themes, Magento may have more free variants than Shopify, but the general sentiment is that the free Shopify themes look more contemporary than the ones for Magento.
• Ease of use – Without a doubt, Shopify wins in this category. While both offer great e-commerce store platforms with a user-friendly interface, Shopify also has a wizard mode that makes everything even easier.
• Bandwidth charges – Shopify does not charge for bandwidth usage while Magento users base their bandwidth on the hosting they got.
• Theme prices – Both have a good number of free and paid themes, but Magento’s theme prices start at a mere dollar while Shopify’s start at $80.

Shopify has its strong points, as does Magento. Mainly, if you want the easier but more powerful solution, Shopify makes more sense with its hosting and fully managed service. If you’re after a free but effective product, Magento is the likely choice, but you do have to take care of hosting, maintenance, and other software or system setups that require higher level tech savvy.

If Shopify is the right choice for you, we offer conversions from Magento (or whichever platform you use). Just contact us to get started. We will also give you an unlimited free trial, so you don't have to pay your monthly fees (in both places) until you are launched. You can keep that unlimited trial whether you work with us or not. If you want the regular 14 day trial, just click the banner below:

Your choice of shopping cart for your e-commerce website can contribute significantly to the success of your business. Online consumers focus on the experience, and if your shopping cart makes purchasing too complicated, you will surely lose sales.

There is currently a long list of options for an online shopping cart; all of these options promise to deliver great services and create a positive user experience. But what qualities should you really look for in order to differentiate one shopping cart from another and determine what will work to your business’s advantage?

You know you’re working with the best e-commerce platform when it has the following qualities: 

1. Easy to use.

It should be easy to use for you and for your end users. Online transactions should always be easy; users are quite impatient and it’s no issue for them to find another site that offers similar products if your shopping cart is making the process too complicated for them.

2. Selection of payment methods.

It should accommodate different payment methods (PayPal and credit cards). Your business has everything to gain if your e-commerce store can accept different kinds of payments.

3. Online store set-up is easy.

It should make setting up your store a breeze without compromising the look that you wish to use for your brand. Online e-commerce platform Shopify scores high in this department for having 100 optimized online store designs, which are all beautiful, a breeze to customize, and optimized to generate good conversion rates from your visitors.

4. Budget-friendly.

It should be affordable yet packed with relevant features and functionalities. This is a huge advantage for new online businesses that are still working with a conservative budget.

5. Stays on top of transactions/processing.

It should be able to track and respond to orders effectively and in a completely organized manner.

6. Responsive and displays fast.

The site should load quickly across different mobile devices despite being feature-heavy. Studies reveal that “75% of online consumers express annoyance over poorly performing websites and apps; meanwhile, 69% said they get frustrated with slow e-commerce sites, and 19% said they distrust such sites and apps.”

7. Hosts the store for you.

No need for external web hosting.

8. Scales well.

It should be able to grow as your business grows.

9. Good customer service.

It should also come with a reliable support system despite being very easy to use for timely solutions to issues or concerns.

The best performing e-commerce platforms possess most of these qualities, but Shopify takes the number one spot in product reviews. Not only does it have all these qualities, but it even does so much more — and it’s cheaper than most other options. So if you’re looking for a solid e-commerce platform to use, study this option and discover how it can ensure success for your online business venture.

If Shopify is the right choice for you, we offer an unlimited free trial (until you launch).  Sign up below and then contact us:

In choosing an e-commerce solution, you need to decide what suits your needs the best. There are several options on the market, so it’s best that you research to determine which would be the most suitable for your online store.

Two options that are very popular with many e-commerce entrepreneurs and are frequently endorsed by web developers are WooCommerce and Shopify. In comparing WooCommerce vs. Shopify, you can find out how they’re different from each other by exploring the pros and cons of each one.

WooCommerce

A WordPress plugin that allows you to transform a WordPress site into an online store.   WooCommerce provides an easy way for you to take care of such matters as inventory, payments, shipping, and more as well as access reports on both your products and customers. It works with almost any theme and easily integrates into an existing site. Its different features include products (unlimited number), inventory management, payment methods, coupons, shipping methods, reports, marketing, and tax support.

As mentioned, there are many WordPress themes compatible with WooCommerce. WooThemes was specifically designed for WooCommerce, but there are also many others that work with this particular plugin. There are also hundreds of extensions for expanding the functionality of WooCommerce in a variety of categories, including accounting, marketing, payment gateways, subscriptions, and many more. Some of them are product search, antifraud, future pay, affiliate software, recommendations, etc.

What are the advantages of using WooCommerce?

• You don’t have to pay for the plugin.
• You can expand it through extensions.
• You get to use the WordPress platform.
• You enjoy complete ownership since you’ll be taking care of your own domain and hosting.
• You can customize extensively.
• You have a choice of payment gateways.

WooCommerce does have some points working against it, such as the fact that you’ll have to be responsible for your site’s security and maintenance. Customizing it is also considered to be at a higher level of difficulty.

However, if it is the right solution for you, it's important to get really good hosting.  We recommend: WP Engine

Shopify

An outright e-commerce platform that allows you to create and customize your own online store, Shopify has a multitude of store templates. Nonetheless, it also allows you to build one according to your own needs and preferences.

Shopify is a complete WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) CMS, allowing you control over every aspect. It also has a blogging platform that enables interaction with users through comments. It provides your own URL, website builder, a blogging platform, customizable and responsive features, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited products, more than 70 international payment methods, gift card support, shipping options, global tax support, analytics, built-in SEO, and 24/7 support.

Shopify has both free and paid themes with the most popular ones costing about $140. Many of the themes contain features like dropdown menus, zoom-in product images, subcategories, newsletter integrations, etc.

What are the advantages of using Shopify?

• You’ll have an easy time using it.
• You can get started right away.
• You can leave security and updates to Shopify.
• You can expand with the use of apps.

The thing with Shopify is that there is only one host, so it’s like you’re renting instead of owning, but that’s a minor caveat considering that setting up shop is so fast and easy. Using it is simple and you don’t have to worry about maintaining it yourself.

At the end of the day, when you pit WooCommerce vs Shopify, your choice will depend on what you value more. Both have their good points and make solid choices, but many designers endorse Shopify for ease, convenience, and excellent features.

If Shopify is the right choice for you, we offer conversions from WooCommerce (or whichever platform you use).  Just contact us to get started.  We will also give you an unlimited free trial, so you don't have to pay your monthly fees (in both places) until you are launched. You can keep that unlimited trial whether you work with us or not.  If you want the regular 14 day trial, just click the banner below:

Yep, this is our first blog post for my new brand: Ultrafade.  In case you were wondering, we specialize in helping Shopify store owners increase traffic to their website.  Why Shopify?  We've tried other e-commerce solutions over the past decade and have not found any that are as easy to use as Shopify.  Not only is it easy to use, but the support and community surrounding it are superb! 

If you're not convinced that Shopify is the best solution, then stick around.  The next series of blog posts, we will be comparing Shopify to some of the other e-commerce solutions out there.

I'm going to keep this first blog post short because I'm starting to sound like an ad for Shopify which is actually not like me at all.  I've spent the previous years prior to Shopify - complaining about other e-commerce solutions, so I guess I'm just excited that I don't really have a lot of complaints any more.   

OK, I'm gonna go now even though I'm breaking the rule of thumb of 250 words or more for blog posts.  Someday, I'll post about why that matters (and why I sometimes break the rules), but until then I need to start on my series.