If you’re looking to start an online store to benefit from this growth, choosing the right ecommerce platform is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Open-source ecommerce solutions let you access the source code to modify the platform to your liking.
Open-source ecommerce platforms
WooCommerce
- WooCommerce is a popular ecommerce plugin that gives the WordPress content management system ecommerce functionality, such as inventory management. It powers over 5 million ecommerce websites, including New Balance and Subaru.
- WooCommerce and Shopify are the most used ecommerce platforms among the top 1 million ecommerce websites, with WooCommerce having a 29% market share.
Adobe commerce
- Adobe Commerce is an ecommerce software that’s part of the Adobe Experience Cloud.
- Adobe Commerce is a powerful, flexible, scalable, and customizable open source platform used by online stores worldwide, which handle multiple products and heavy traffic. For instance, HP, formerly known as Hewlett-Packard, also uses Adobe Commerce.
Drupal commerce
- Drupal Commerce is an ecommerce platform built on the Drupal CMS, an open source CMS similar to WordPress.
- With Google algorithms changing to prefer and prioritize content marketing, ecommerce platforms alone aren’t going to cut it. Your ecommerce platform must incorporate a decent CMS feature if you want to rank for content. This is something Drupal Commerce offers.
- Being an open source CMS, Joomla offers you the flexibility to optimize the online store to your liking. You can use different templates for each piece of content.
Joomla
- Joomla is the second most popular open source CMS. It powers 2.5% of all websites and has 200,000+ members in its community. Like WordPress, you can use Joomla for ecommerce by adding an extension.
- Being an open source CMS, Joomla offers you the flexibility to optimize the online store to your liking. You can use different templates for each piece of content. However, like Adobe Commerce, it also requires advanced technical skills.
PrestaShop
- PrestaShop is an open source ecommerce platform built on Symfony, a framework that improves flexibility by letting you pick and add modules you need to your website or application.
- PrestaShop offers a fully managed solution that pairs hosting and maintenance with their open source software if you’re not tech-savvy.
OpenCart
OpenCart is an open source ecommerce platform 400,000+ website owners use worldwide, including Red Cross UK. It offers a range of features — from multi-store management from one interface to a marketplace full of themes and extensions.
Spree commerce
- A headless ecommerce platform lets you separate the from the backend You can prepare your frontend separately and connect it to the headless platform, offering an enriched customer experience.
- The open source version is free but has limited functionality, while Spree as a Service gives you extra functionality and lets you benefit from cloud hosting.
CubeCart
CubeCart uses a template-driven responsive skin that makes online stores visually appealing across different devices. However, its flexibility is limited to how it displays an online store on devices — it’s not equipped for enterprises due to a lack of features.
Shopware
- Shopware features include 4,000+ extensions, fully integrated CMS capabilities, and integrated SEO and marketing tools.
- The free version offers limited functionality, and as with CubeCart, customer support requires an additional subscription.
Solidus
- Solidus can function both as a monolithic platform and as a headless ecommerce platform like Spree.
- Solidus features a wide range of integrations and has an active community on Slack and Stack Overflow. Famous brands that use Solidus include MeUndies, Bonobos, and Ace & Tate.
Conclusion
Choosing an ecommerce platform is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as an ecommerce business owner. If you’re weighing your options, consider your products, technical expertise, and business size.
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