Magento vs. OpenCart: Which is better for eCommerce Application Development?

In addition to being an open source programming language, PHP is also compatible with major browsers, operating systems, databases, and servers. The latest version of the popular server-side programming language further comes with enhanced speed, reduced resource consumption, and a number of new language features.  That is why; many enterprises adopt PHP for ecommerce application development.

The PHP-based ecommerce platforms and shopping cart solutions further help developers to simplify and speedup development of custom web stores. Each PHP programmer has option to choose from a wide range of open source ecommerce platforms and shopping cart solutions according to the precise needs of each project. Both Magento and OpenCart help PHP programmers to build custom ecommerce applications without putting extra time and effort.

Magento is an enterprise class ecommerce platform, whereas OpenCart is a shopping cart solution. Magento is written in PHP, while OpenCart is a PHP-based online store management system. OpenCart is open source and free. But developers have option to choose from several editions of Magento – community, enterprise, enterprise cloud, commerce order management and business intelligence. The two PHP-based ecommerce solutions further differ from each other in terms of features, performance, and usage.

Understanding Major Differences between Magento and OpenCart

Design

Magento was designed from the very beginning as a flexible ecommerce platform. It enables users to make the web store accessible and look good on both computers and mobile devices by facilitating responsive web design. The PHP programmers can take advantage of responsive Magento themes to optimize the web store for mobile devices. Also, they can customize the existing themes fully according to their specific needs. At the same time, OpenCart also allows PHP programmers to choose from several free and paid responsive themes. Also, it allows users to customize the themes according to their precise needs. However, Magento allows users to choose from more themes than OpenCart.

Features

Both Magento and OpenCart support multiple languages, currencies, payment gateways, and shipping options. OpenCart enables PHP programmers to avail robust shopping cart facilities, and upload and categorize products without any restriction. It further helps developers to add custom functionality to the web store by integrating specific extensions. On the other hand, Magento is designed with features to meet the requirements of customer friendly and fast growing web stores. The users can easily extend or modify the custom features of the web store by extending Magento’s plug-in architecture. Also, they can easily implement custom functionality by taking advantage of the varying plug-ins and extensions for Magento.

Installation and Set up

OpenCart requires users to install and host ecommerce applications manually. Hence, an enterprise has to deploy skilled developers to deploy the ecommerce application smoothly and efficiently. The users have to put extra time and effort to install Magento properly. But they can easily build and deploy ecommerce applications after installing the ecommerce platform. The performance of the Magento application will still be impacted by the hosting option selected by the enterprise. An enterprise must host the ecommerce application on a dedicated web server to avail adequate bandwidth, storage space, and similar hosting resources.

Suitability

Both Magento and OpenCart come with features to simplify custom web store development. But Magento is more scalable and customizable than other ecommerce solutions including OpenCart. Many PHP developers consider Magento ideal for enterprise usage. They also use the ecommerce platforms to develop, customize, and maintain large web stores efficiently. On the other hand, OpenCart is not used widely for developing big-sized web store. Many PHP programmers use OpenCart for developing web stores that are small and do not require customization.

Customization Options

While developing ecommerce applications developers have to customize it according to precise business requirements. Also, they need to make changes to the web store’s look and feel to make it appear different and appealing. The features and tools provided by Magento make it easier for PHP programmers to customize web stores. The users even have option to choose from several editions of the ecommerce platforms according to precise needs of each project. OpenCart, on the other hand, does not provide any robust features or tools for customizing ecommerce applications. Often developers have to put additional time and effort to customize the ecommerce application while using OpenCart.

Search Engine Optimization Resources

The search engine visibility and ranking of the ecommerce website will directly affect its popularity and user experience. That is why; developers have to optimize the ecommerce website according to major search engine guidelines and metrics during development process. Magento helps developers to enhance the search engine visibility and ranking of the ecommerce website by optimizing title, images and URLs. OpenCart requires developers to use specific extensions and plug-in to boost the search engine ranking of the website. But developers often find the SEO resources provide by OpenCart to be both complex and inadequate.

Learning Curve

The features provided by Magento helps PHP programmers to write large and complex ecommerce applications rapidly. But the additional features make Magento complex. The beginners have to put additional time and effort to use Magento efficiently. Also, they have to identify the features and tools relevant for each project. On the other hand, OpenCart is easy to learn and use. The beginners can start developing custom ecommerce applications with OpenCart within a short amount of time.

Cost

OpenCart is open source and free. The PHP programmers can download and update the shopping cart solution without paying any monthly fees. But they have to incur addition expenses to avail the commercial themes, modules, payment gateways, shipping methods, and reports from OpenCart Marketplace. On the other hand, the users have option to choose from several editions of Magento - community, enterprise, enterprise cloud, commerce order management and business intelligence. They can use the community edition of Magento without paying any fees. But they have to incur additional expenses to avail the advanced features provided by commercial editions of the ecommerce platform.

Popularity and Market Share

The usage statistics posted on various websites depict that Magento is currently much more popular than OpenCart. According to a study conducted by aheadworks, “Magento continues to dominate the market and takes 29.1% of the total market share.” The study indicates that a large percentage of PHP programmers prefer Magento to OpenCart while developing custom ecommerce applications. Also, Magento is supported by a larger and more active developer community than OpenCart.

On the whole, both Magento and OpenCart come with features to simplify and speed up custom ecommerce application development. But each of these two PHP-based ecommerce solutions has its own pros and cons. Hence, the smart PHP programmers always compare Magento and OpenCart based on the precise needs of each ecommerce application development project.