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Although I will be honest and say that Zen Cart is not perfect and I am always looking for better systems like Magento Commerce. I’ll be reviewing it shortly too, so stay tuned.
An overview
Zen Cart is online software designed exclusively for e-commerce businesses. It uses PHP, MySQL, and is an open source project that was developed by a community of store owners, programmers, designers, and consultants who just wanted a simple e-commerce solution. Being open source like WordPress, the software is free for anyone and allows anyone to modify, develop and distribute it.
Installation
Most hosting companies offer Simple Scripts or Fantastico, which are application installers to help you install Zen Cart. I would recommend using them as it saves time and also the hassle of setting up databases yourself. Zen Cart is one of the standard shopping carts available for installation, so it should be very easy to install. If you decide to go ahead and install Zen Cart yourself, you will need to read the instructions provided and it will take some time to complete. I would only recommend this route if you have a great knowledge of PHP and MySQL as it will require you to edit some files and use FTP tools.
The pros of Zen Cart
It is a free package with add-ons available
It’s great online software and best of all, it’s free. Since its inception more than 5 years ago, many developers have created numerous plugins that can be downloaded and installed on the Zen Cart system at any time. They are publicly available on the Zen Cart website and provide additional functionality to your ecommerce software. You can download plugins ranging from administrative tools anywhere to adding additional languages.
A great product management system
The key to running any successful ecommerce business is how well you can manage your products. With it, you are provided with a wide range of product options, such as:
* Allows you to sort your products into categories and subcategories
* Manage and control your stock levels.
* Create attributes for your products such as colors, sizes and much more.
* The ability to create bulk products using the Easy Populate plugin
* Create special offers and featured products
* Write reviews of each product
Each option can be turned on when you need it or turned off. Zen Cart’s Product Management System is by far the most comprehensive system I’ve used to date and it’s all at your fingertips as everything is tied to your orders and customers.
A wide range of free and paid templates available
Most internet businesses usually want a custom website and want different features to show their customers, so it has a wide range of free and paid templates. You will find free basic templates available on the website that can be easily installed by changing the colors and layout of your website. If you want more customization, try some paid templates that start from about $ 50 and up. Here are two sites that I recommend: Algozone and Template Monster.
Community and forum support is good
Unfortunately, there is no formal support from Zen Cart or a team hired to handle customer service as a free product. Although there is a strong forum and community that are supportive and go out of their way to help. I have posted on your forum many times and got a pretty quick response. Most of the answers are found by running a quick search and most of the time they will have a step-by-step process to fix the problem. I have to admit that although it does get a bit technical and if you are unfamiliar with PHP I agree that it can be quite frustrating to find a solution.
There is also some documentation available in a Wiki and FAQ section on their website. If you are looking for a detailed manual, there is one for administrators only and it can be downloaded from a PDF file. If all else fails, try to find an experienced programmer and pay to help fix your problem. They won’t cost too much and they are very reasonable at what they do. I used a programmer to make some modifications to my website previously and also found them in the forum. Just place a post requesting a developer and specify what you want done. I’m sure people will respond if you pay them.
Export to the main accounting software available
It currently supports QuickBooks and MYOB accounting. However, one module is free and the other costs. So if you are looking to implement it in your internet business, you will want to consider which accounting package to use. Currently, there is a free QuickBooks Export module that you can download and install available in the Downloads section of Zen Cart.
The cons of Zen Cart
Not aesthetically attractive
Originally, when I started using Zen Cart, I was not very impressed by the not-so-attractive website after installation. As with most open source “out of the box” solutions, I knew there would be a lot of customization to do. What I found at first was that the default skin it provided had a lot of “stuff” that wasn’t necessary and made the whole store look a bit cluttered for my liking. Also, it was extra work to turn off all the banner ads and also rearrange the boxes to have a simplistic look. I think there has to be some element of visual appeal for any new user who wants to use it as their e-commerce system.
Very basic reports
Most of the basic reports are available, including products viewed, products purchased, and customer orders. It lacks more sophisticated reports, such as sales by product, profit for each product, profit margins earned, etc. There are additional plugins that can be installed but are not up to the mark yet. Basically, you wouldn’t expect in-depth analysis of the sales, customers, and products that come through the door. You will need to generate these reports from your accounting software.
Plugin updates and integrations are difficult
This is the great disadvantage of Zen Cart. Once you have installed Zen Cart and made modifications to the software, don’t expect to update for a long time. In my previous experience, if you decide to upgrade to the next version, you will basically have to start all over again. The system is not designed to be updated without overwriting all its add-ons and customizations. So if I did any mods like the one I have on my websites, I would be very cautious if I stick to the existing version. Unlike WordPress, for example, if there are major updates or updates for plugins, it is a simple click of the mouse and the rest of the system will do the update for you.
My rating for Zen Cart is a 7 out of 10 and I would recommend it as a starter solution for any small and medium business owner.