OpenCart is one of the most widely acknowledged open-source ecommerce programs for a variety of reasons.It’s comparatively easy to integrate, user-friendly, extremely extensible, and supports an array of different categories and product listings. This is why the platform has become a favourite among the developers.

OpenCart is ideally suitable for small and medium ecommerce businesses, primarily because it can be used to set up quickly and has an intuitive and simple interface. It’s lightweight, yet packed with excellent functionalities. Also, from a programming perspective, the process of integration doesn’t have to be too complex on the back end. Only some configuration is required if you’re hosting your ecommerce shop on your own server.

If you have chosen an OpenCart solution, the first question that you need to address is how much development support you’ll be required either to begin the operations or to enhance the existing platform.

Now, listed below are some ways that developers can boost an ecommerce site byintegrating with the OpenCart platform.

1. Developers can work with the virtual file structures like VQMOD and OCMOD

Modifying the core of the CMS isn’t a wise idea, but sometimes in a custom coding project, it’s unavoidable. The reason why it’s confusing is that editing the core will make it impossible to update, or an update will prompt some of the vital changes to be erased. And not updating isn’t an option. This is because there are a lot of bugs inside every CMS that are easily removed by updating the core.

To make this simpler, OpenCart has introduced a version of vQmod developed by Google. It allows the developers to edit files in the core of the CMS without any significant modifications. Special files save the particular instructions for changes which are carried out inside the core. The actual files are not modified, and instead, the vQmod presents a virtual copy of them, and they’re overwritten by the vQmod instructions PHP file.

2. Developers can easily set up the store

The straightforward process of setup is possibly the most prominent advantages of integrating OpenCart for an ecommerce business. This platform is designed with the users in mind. In fact, not only the seasoned developers, but the novices can also easily set up the OpenCart program. It takes only 4 simple steps to integrate the system.

• Install OpenCart.
• Select a suitable theme from a vast range of options available.
• Include the products and also add the product information.
• Configure the essential functions like payment, languages, and shipment methods.

And there you go! Now the ecommerce site is ready for placing orders and selling products. So, it’s quite evident that the process of installation is pretty simple and doesn’t have to be based on technical knowledge.

3. Developers can take care of the elements of usability and performance

Site speed is one major concern that adversely impacts a customer’s shopping experience. That’s why most developers prefer to implement the OpenCart shopping cart. It presents a lightweight e-Commerce solution that adopts the AJAX technology which minimizes the load time and hence increases store speed.

OpenCart admin panel is quite simple to integrate, so it doesn’t need a great deal of time to get past the learning curve. This is why managing the ecommerce store becomes absolutely hassle-free. On the other hand, this system offers a possibility for the developers to adopt a multitude of features to elevate usability for clients. The features include smart site structure, one-page checkout that simplifies shop navigation, accurate search results, etc.

4. There are innumerable extensions and modules to choose from

Since the platform already includes numerous modules, you don’t have to develop your own module until you’ve gone through the forums and store for the available OpenCart modules.

“You will findnew features, parsers, modifications, marketing tools, etc. Prices of the modules begin from $10, and in fact, some of them come for free. The official OpenCart website offers 12,325 templates, extensions, and modules. The following are some of the features and extensions that OpenCart offers:

• OpenCart presents the opportunity for the developer to integrate various tax zones, so this ensures that taxes are paid depending on the tax laws of the country where goods will be bought and shipped to.

• Developers can also choose from a variety of payment gateways that are available on the platform by default. And additional ones can be accessed from the OpenCart extension section.

• Also, having an advanced reporting system, it will be easy to calculate the total number of sales per day or week or month. Furthermore, it will also assist in tracking which products customers are most interested in.

5. Developers can leverage the Multi-store functionality

OpenCart supports multi-store function, which enables the developers to manage multiple different stores from a single admin panel. This means you can carry out the following functions.

• Create customer groups based on each store. This function offers an opportunity to categorize separate stores for retail customer and also for wholesale.

• Localize the stores based on the different countries by integrating a default currency, tax and language categories.

• Use specific themes for various shops.

• Maintain a single inventory for multiplestores.

6. Developers can maintain the SEO of the ecommerce website with OpenCart

The fact that Google has an affinity for OpenCart is not a secret. That’s why many developers emphasize on creating an SEO URL from scratch and even opt for the suffix (like“/”or“.html”),

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