Zen Cart vs WooCommerce Compared. Which Is The Best For Your Online Store?

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Zen Cart vs WooCommerce 2022 Comprehensive Review

Key Aspects Comparison Zen Cart is an open source e-commerce platform that is based on PHP and MySQL and you can download and use it for free. Zen Cart might be better suited for larger businesses who have access to large resources for web development. You can customise the templates but it requires PHP programming experience.

WooCommerce is an open source plugin that is free to download and use. It is a perfect option for those who’ve been using WordPress before and that currently have WordPress website online. This is because you can add an e-commerce function to your website in minutes and start selling products

Key Aspects Comparison

Zen Cart is not famous for an aesthetically pleasing solution for both storefront and admin area.When you first install Zen Cart, you will get a default template that almost no one will want to use. There are over 200 free templates available from the Zen Cart website and much more on Google. The thing you should know is that these templates are created by random developers so the quality and stability will vary.

The great thing about WooCommerce is that it works with any WordPress theme. If you already have an existing WordPress website, then you can just add the plugin to it without the need to purchase a new theme. Simply add products and a shop page to your menu. WooThemes (the creator of WooCommerce) also offers themes that are specifically designed to work perfectly with WooCommerce.

Key Aspects Comparison There are free plugins for Zen Cart available and that will help to keep the cost down a bit. The main cost will be a monthly hosting bill which will depend on the package you purchase. Typical cost for small stores would be around $5-10 per month. Besides getting a domain name and covering the hosting cost, you’ll need a skilled PHP developer.

It is fully free to download and install. Domain name is very cheap, around $10 per year and hosting plan costs will depend on the specs you need for your store, but in general, the cost should be around $5-10 per month for a basic hosting.

Key Aspects Comparison

The first thing you need to do is buy a domain and host it. Next, download the software which is easy, but installing it on your server will be a pain and for most people an impossibility. People get overwhelmed and nothing makes sense so you will probably need to hire some help. WYSIWYG editor and drag and drop tools don’t exist here.

WooCommerce integrates seamlessly with WordPress so if you’re already familiar with it, you will have no problems getting around. What’s great about WooCommerce is that it integrates with your WordPress website like any other plugin. All you have to do is just install and activate it, and you’re ready to go. After you activate it, you’ll be presented with a quick setup wizard that will go through a few steps in order to get you started properly.

Final decision Zen Cart is a pretty basic solution when compared to WooCommerce in every way and extensions are not excluded. While you can add plenty of basic features to it, WooCommerce just has the sheer numbers on its side. Plus, WooCommerce extensions integrate perfectly and easily with it which is not the case with Zen Cart.

Regardless of the store you choose, you can always perform an automated migration to Zen Cart or WooCommerce.

Set up the connection between stores;

Specify the entities you want to transfer; Start free Demo Migration to ensure everything works properly; Launch Full Migration.

Try Free Demo