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.
A general vision
Zen Cart is online software designed exclusively for eCommerce 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 eCommerce solution. Being open source like WordPress, the software is free for anyone to use and allows anyone to modify, develop and distribute it.
Facilities
Most hosting companies offer Simple Scripts or Fantastico, which are application installers to help install Zen Cart. I would recommend using them as it saves time and also the hassle of setting up the 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 provided instructions and it will take some time to complete. I would only recommend this route if you have a solid understanding of PHP and MySQL as it will require you to edit some files and use FTP tools.
The pros of the Zen stroller
It is a free package with plugins available
It’s great online software and best of all, it’s free. Since its inception over 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 on the go 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 products in bulk using the Easy Populate plugin
* Create special offers and featured products
* Write reviews for 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 have used to date and everything is at your fingertips as it is linked 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 you have 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 around $50 and up. Here are two sites I recommend: Algozone and Template Monster.
Forum and community support is good
Unfortunately, there is no formal Zen Cart support or a contracted team to handle customer service, as it is a free product. Although there is a solid forum and community that are supportive and do their best 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 must admit it does get a bit technical and if you don’t have PHP knowledge I agree it can be quite frustrating to find a solution.
Documentation is also available in a Wiki and FAQ section on their website. If you are looking for a detailed manual, there is one just for administrators and it can be downloaded from a PDF file. If all else fails, try finding an experienced programmer and pay to help you fix your problem. They won’t cost too much and are very reasonable in what they do. I used a programmer to make some modifications to my website before and found them on the forum as well. Simply put up a post requesting a programmer and specify what you want to do. I’m sure you’ll get people to respond if you pay them.
Export to major accounting software is available
It currently supports QuickBooks and MYOB accounting. However, one module is free and the other costs. So if you’re looking to implement it for your internet business, you’ll want to consider which accounting package to use. There is currently a free QuickBooks export module that you can download and install available in the Downloads section of Zen Cart.
The cons of the 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 was going to be a lot of customization to be done. 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 to any new user who wants to use it as their e-commerce system.
Very basic reports
Most of the basic reports are available and include products viewed, products purchased, and customer orders. It lacks more sophisticated reports, such as sales by products, profits of each product, profit margins obtained, etc. There are additional plugins that can be installed but are not quite up to the task yet. Basically, you wouldn’t expect in-depth analysis of sales, customers, and products coming through the door. You will need to generate these reports from your accounting software.
Updates and plugin integrations are difficult
This is the big drawback of Zen Cart. Once you’ve installed Zen Cart and made changes to the software, don’t expect to update it for a long time. In my past experience, if you decide to upgrade to the next version, you basically have to start from scratch again. The system is not designed to be upgraded without overwriting all your plugins and customizations. So if I were to make any modifications like I have on my websites, I’d be very wary of sticking to the existing version. Unlike WordPress, for example, if there are major updates or updates to plugins, it’s a simple mouse click and the rest of the system will do the updating for you.
My rating for Zen Cart is a 7 out of 10 and I would recommend it as a starting solution for any small or medium business owner.