17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Opencart to Magento...should I fully convert?

by overtonis
14 replies
  • ECOMMERCE
    • |
Hello,
Currently running opencart (no problems) but have person who thinks we should convert to Magento because its superior. I have to admit the magento site looks more professional and looks like it would give us more room to grow. But I was checking out support forum for Magento and ...uhh it's basically non-existent. Not saying opencart support is great either. I am also sitting on fence of just going to Blue Commerce but not fan of extra fees at all. What would you do?
#convert #fully #magentoshould #opencart
  • Profile picture of the author OnlineStoreHelp
    Originally Posted by overtonis View Post

    Hello,
    Currently running opencart (no problems) but have person who thinks we should convert to Magento because its superior. I have to admit the magento site looks more professional and looks like it would give us more room to grow. But I was checking out support forum for Magento and ...uhh it's basically non-existent. Not saying opencart support is great either. I am also sitting on fence of just going to Blue Commerce but not fan of extra fees at all. What would you do?
    What exactly is OpenCart not doing for you that Magento can do? The number of OpenCart stores is about the same as Magento so this idea that if you don't go to Magento you are unprofessional is rubbish. What makes it superior as there are some beautiful Opencart themes I have seen. Also, are you running your site on shared hosting? Something to consider since Magento is a much heavier application and not suggested for a shared hosting environment.

    Transferring carts is a PITA so I would wait before I went about the hassle and figure out what magento can do that Opencart cant...
    Signature
    Learn how to set up a powerful, functional yet easy to use e-commerce website at cartprep.com.

    Not sure what ecommerce solution to use? Watch my video walk through of popular shopping carts.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8441402].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author javarog
    Right off the bat you need to get some better hosting because your load time is way to slow on the Magento site.
    Signature

    And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

    Abraham Lincoln

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8441704].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author overtonis
      Originally Posted by javarog View Post

      Right off the bat you need to get some better hosting because your load time is way to slow on the Magento site.
      that is test domain...not real domain. I will switch to reseller account with hostgator if I decide to go with magento...but how bout sites? which is looking better? worth the move?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8441814].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author phpg
    As far as i know, openCart forum is very active and supportive. Though it's understandable people there are not very enthusiastic to give advices how to better switch from openCart to something else .

    Overall, "magento being superior" is not a serious argument. There is no easy way to switch from one ecommerse platform to another, and you need some real reason to do that.

    With openCart you have 10,000 extensions (70% of them are not free though), it is much easier to customize, cheaper if you'd like to hire a programmer or an expert, and generally faster. Magento just has this reputation of being more "professional".

    Also, which one is better looking is a matter of theme / templates you use, not a platform. You can make openCart look exactly like Magento if you want.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8443517].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JDMellow
    I discovered many different shopping carts. Most of them have their own features.
    Magento is the most resource-consuming platform ever.
    OpenCart is more flexible and use-friendly.
    However, everything depends on your skills and opportunities.

    Check this comparison and I think you will make a decision by yourself.



    Cheers
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8443579].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author phpg
      Originally Posted by JDMellow View Post

      Check this comparison
      Though it might be helpful, i don't think this comparison is very accurate.

      OC is definately lighter and faster than magento, but it's still not really lightweight, not lightning fast and demands resources if you have many products and / or traffic. But there are extensions which help with performance optimization.

      Some features this page lists as lacking in OC are actually built into it (order history, wish lists, multi stores, SEO URLs to some extent), and most others are available in extensions.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8443650].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Fantastic
    I'm not sure how they are "Behind The Scenes" as I don't do eCommerce (yet)


    BUT...


    I kind of like your current site a little better even tough...

    The second one isn't done.


    Just my two cents.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8444808].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author OnlineStoreHelp
      Well to be honest, from what I can see, there won't be a huge difference in look and feel of the site, maybe slightly different layouts but again, what will Magento do for you that Opencart won't as I don't see a huge difference in look but the feel will be slower.

      When people talked about upgrading your hosting for Magento, hostgator reseller is not what people were thinking...
      Signature
      Learn how to set up a powerful, functional yet easy to use e-commerce website at cartprep.com.

      Not sure what ecommerce solution to use? Watch my video walk through of popular shopping carts.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8445327].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author TPS2012
        We extensively work on Magento and OpenCart. Off late we have received many requests for migrating carts from Magento to OpenCart. Some of the reasons: Magento is over complicated, a dedicated IT/Magento resource needs to be maintained for managing Magento backend. Learning curve is too steep; Need to keep on upgrading hosting package for Magento. More time is spent of managing cart over doing business.
        May be you too will encounter these issues when you migrate from OC to Magento. If you are satisfied with your OC except that it needs to look more professional I suggest you to maintain OpenCart and look for a better theme. Upgrade to latest 1.5.6 OC version.

        Prashant
        TransPacific Software
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8602056].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author phpg
          Originally Posted by TPS2012 View Post

          Upgrade to latest 1.5.6 OC version.
          It's better to use 1.5.5.1, 1.5.6 is full of bugs and not stable enough. Wait for 1.5.6.1 or whatever version they release next.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8602101].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author thefasninja
    I think you shoudl go with the person who said. For me it is the best choice and also good as well for the big e commerce business. Its templet and features are proven to be the best ever.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8903655].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author njolakoski
    You will need a minimum of a nice sized package VPS to run Magento, shared hosting/reseller hosting will not work, most likely won't even run due to shared hosting restrictions, that being said, the costs are not worth it. I assume you are going with the community package which is free, but lacks many features that will require you to buy plugins for, also increasing your costs.

    If you want a more professional look, look into getting a fully customized design/template for your cart.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8903834].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author tridung
    You should try with LitExtension , it allows to migrate unlimited data such as: product, customer, orders, customer password,.... with a few clicks
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9810318].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author PaulConner
    Nowadays, more and more businesses have trend to use Magento shopping cart. Because this platform gives clients more features to improve performance. Magento team have many development to satisfy developers and store owners. Magento 2.0 has released at the end of 2015 with optimize cost for business. I think today is suitable time to change from your old Opencart to Magento platform.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10562915].message }}

Trending Topics