The 5 Absolute Best Open Source eCommerce Platforms for 2021

April 3, 2021 | Wisitech Content Team Open source eCommerce platform options are becoming hugely popular because of the scalability, customizability, and cost effectiveness that they offer, especially in times of diminishing marketing budgets. You ought to choose an open source eRetail setup when unique branding and advanced functionality are very important for your product and custom features that will drive product differentiation are an absolute criteria for your market. You should also be prepared to deploy a strong team of eCommerce developers who can provide you with the necessary expertise needed to take full advantage of the power that publicly accessible platform coding provides.This article will show reasons why the top 5 open source eCommerce platforms are as popular as they are and what features make each of them suitable for different requirements. The alternatives given here have not been ranked in any particular order and there is little to prefer one over the other save for usability in distinct circumstances.

1. WooCommerce

Those familiar with WordPress as the world’s most popular content management system would also be familiar with WooCommerce, the online shopping platform based on WordPress. Technically, WooCommerce is just an extension of the original WordPress structure that successfully integrates commerce with content. You have thousands of choices for design and numerous plugins add extra functionality including shopping carts, inventory management, product listings, wishlists, integrated payment solutions, and minimum barriers to checkout. Also, as far as scalability goes, there is no upper limit to the number of products and users you can add (unlike Amazon) and no limits on the number of orders you can take. You get to control which algorithms bring up top ranked products and you are not bound by stringent listing policies that frustrate your sales efforts at every turn.Why is it on this list? More than 22% of the world’s top 1 million eCommerce sites use WooCommerce and nearly 4.5 million sites are currently live on this platform as of the beginning of 2021. Furthermore, WooCommerce powers almost 30% of all online stores worldwide and has a massive 82.5 million downloads so far and counting.

2. Magento

As far as robustness of code, customer support, and aesthetic design go, there are few rivals to PHP-based Magento. Feature-rich, user-friendly, and scalable are just some of the descriptions associated with this Adobe-owned eCommerce platform. Like WooCommerce, numerous plugins and extensions are available to add functionality and features supported by a growing community. Some of these are even better developed than the ones on WooCommerce. Magento 2, the latest version makes it possible to integrate next-generation technology, such as AI, to accurately match platform reactions to user behavior. This makes it quite simple to create engaging user experiences while shopping.Why is it on this list? Magento currently powers over 270,000 merchants to run their online stores. It handles $100 billion plus worth of merchandise annually and between 10 to 80 percent of businesses have reported revenue increases post Magento shifts.3. CS CartCS Cart is great for creating multi-vendor virtual marketplaces at a fraction of the cost of other alternatives on this list. For one thing, CS Cart requires you to pay only once for the core software. With other platforms, you will incur a monthly subscription charge. Much of the online storefront is already in place with the adoption of this platform and entrepreneurs with simple businesses in their infancy will find this platform very attractive and easy to implement.Why is it on this list? CS Cart is used by 0.1% of all websites currently and if you’ve chosen this option you’re in very respectable company with the likes of eplus.jp, iquos.com, and vawoo.co.uk, to name just a few. It is still a relevant feature-rich, mobile responsive platform with an excellent admin panel for small stores looking to get high traffic quickly.

4. OpenCart

OpenCart is said to more powerful than a WordPress plugin with a detailed CRM and in-built solutions for data security and multi-channel marketing. It does enable you to run multiple e-shops simultaneously and has some basic abilities in handling B2B traffic. However, it has relatively fewer templates, fewer support options, and fewer smartphone-ready features currently. Why is it on this list? OpenCart is used by 1.1% of all websites and has seen steady growth is popularity in recent times.5. PrestaShopPrestaShop is another alternative that has seen popularity soar in recent times with a great feature-set and an expanding menu of modules becoming available. As far as comparisons go, PrestaShop has all the goods in place, including multi-channel marketing, multiple stores, email marketing and SEO support in conjunction with other regular eRetail features such as inventory and order management. However, Magento may have the edge when it comes to SEO deployment and the overall number of features.Why is it on this list? More than 700,000 sites are either currently running or have run PrestaShop before. PrestaShop regularly features in top 10 lists of the most popular open source eCommerce platforms since 2018.Many other well-known open platforms are available for online business in 2021. However, the ones mentioned above are currently the most popular by market share. As you can see, setting up storefronts with open platforms requires developer expertise. However, because these platforms are well-established and have been available for years, good developers are easily available. Want a free consultation? Contact us today.

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