My opinion is that open cart is a basic free e-commerce system. But to get functions that you would asume was already built in you end up paying lots of $$ for. And i think that the themes available for opencart looks the same.
OpenCart is best for small business where as magento is best for both small business as well as big business.
Magento offers strong features in each department, for example, in seo, you can have product pages, cms, category and every page with different meta information without using any extra plugin. From the design stand point it allows deeper customization level on product pages which no other ecommerce platform does. It has huge community with huge number of plugins and themes. The only draw back is heavy load time. If your business needs are big, use magento otherwise opencart.
Have a look at this infographic that compares Magento with Opencart and Prestashop in detail Here is the link http://www.webnethosting.net/prestashop-vs-magento-vs-opencart-detailed-comparison-infographic/
I recommend to start with OpenCart or PrestaShop. After you business growth a while, get a proof of concept and some revenue - it's good to migrate to dedicated server and Magento installed. There's a bunch of free data import tools available(if you highly skilled IT-guy) as well as commercial ones (for non-tech persons). Start from small, but start quickly.
Yes right in my opinion, Opencart is the best thing to start with as compared to Magento which has significantly more resource requirement,
Neither. But if you have to choose between the both, opencart is the way to go. But I highly recommend you use Prestashop. The latest 1.5.4 version just rocks. cheers.
Both Magento and OpenCart have strong support for product inventory management (tracking, product variants options etc). From my initial reading of your "high level" requirements, both Magento and OpenCart would fulfill your needs, however there are a host of alternatives. Magento is a mature offering but has more cost involved in terms of price and education. OpenCart can offer savings with budget and getting up to speed, as it has a fairly intuitive interface that does not require heavy technical skill. Both should handle busy ecommerce site with high transactional volumes and many skus.
Magento is the most popular eCommerce platform for a reason. OpenCart definitely has some upsides, but ultimately if you have a larger online store or one that you expect to scale, Magento is going to be the best option. There are a huge amount of extensions at Magento Connect, which will help you realize any vision you have for your store. The Magento community is passionate, active, and helpful. This article looks into some of the advantages of Magento with a bit more detail - http://blog.nexcess.net/2013/08/05/magento-should-be-your-first-choice-for-ecommerce-heres-why/
My vote goes for Magento, great features, is what you need, besides that, you should work more on marketing resources when you deal with a eCommerce business. Good luck!
Magento has been one of the most used e-Commerce platform, but if you want to learn more about different e-Commerce platforms here is the link and I hope it could help you decide what to use, http://weboutsourcing-gateway.com/blog/2013/03/pick-your-e-commerce-platform/
If you used Magento I would strongly recommend a lot of optimization on your server because it can become quite slow, however it is very good at its job.
Actually it's ecommerce system with CMS integrated, and it required more resources and Opencart is comparatively light weight. No doubt Magento is best Ecommerce system.
I would go with Magento platform Why only magento platform? Here are some facts to make your choice more obvious for Magento platform: unlimited categories/products unlimited pictures and images for products opportunity to control and manage several autonomic internet stores from same admin page 6 types of products (Simple Products,Grouped Products,Configurable Products,Virtual Products,Bundled Products,Downloadable Products) product options (size, colour, weight and many many more) tunable filter of products in catalog Magento block ”similar products” Magento block “related products” Magento block “Crosell” product comparison different client categories support (retail, wholesale, vip, etc…) different prices for different categories of customers full stock control possibility of creation promotional coupons and discounts promo circumstances for purchasing all varieties of discounts and sales (buy for XXX $ – get free/ get discount/ buy one get one/etc…) import price lists from CSV files and other integral CMS for work with simple pages and separate HTML blocks integral modules of mailing services, votes and feedbacks modules of payment systems and shipping varieties(paid and free) modules of unloadings and synchronizations (paid and free) 1000 different modules varieties in general endless extensions, and many many more…
Definitely OpenCart! I run a few shops using it very successfully. The down side to Magento is the modules and plugins are VERY expensive, while Opencart is much cheaper and easier to customize.
hi, Both platforms have their own specifications. Opencart might be your choice if you are running a small business that don’t need the level of customizability or the advanced features of Magento.Fast and easy to install .
Magento hogs processing. You will require a powerful hosting package. Possibly a VPS. In addition Magento's backend admin is has a steep learning curve. I would suggest Opencart Prashant Telan Transpacfic Software
Magento offers you all the horse power you want when you're looking for expansion, plus it has good support and integration with number of third party services including your CRMs and ERPs down to low level stuff like list managers (malichimp etc). As a serious business, you'll have to deal with lot of data and reports and analysis and Magento is the suite you wanna be in. OpenCart is very good if you want things light and don't mind not having that big suite that Magento offers. I develop custom themes and write custom modules for Magento and other PHP based open source ecomm platforms including OpenCart so if you have any question(s), feel free to drop me a mssg