Over the past several years, the eCommerce boom has opened up a world of new opportunities for merchants of all sizes. Despite the limitations of having a physical shop, an online store eliminates that constraint and expands a business’s audience from a hyperlocal to a worldwide level. As a platform, eCommerce has nearly endless potential and will be the standard in a few decades. The abundance of open source and free eCommerce software apps accessible makes setting up an eCommerce platform easy.
A specialized integrated tool called eCommerce software lets users set up a website, create categories and product pages, manage inventory, handle payments, produce invoices, and fulfill orders, among other things. It is an all-in-one solution enabling business owners to manage and run a profitable eCommerce store successfully. There are others if you want to enter the eCommerce space but need more means to purchase eCommerce software. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to purchase and maintain a premium eCommerce software solution, particularly if you’re starting and can’t afford to make a large investment.
Best 8 Open Source And Free eCommerce Software
Let’s jump into the best free eCommerce software list and choose one which suits your budget and business requirements.
1. Magento
Magento is a well-known open source and free eCommerce software that provides users with all the essential tools to start a successful online retail business. Their subscription edition has specialized features. Users may create and populate category and landing pages, manage shipping and order fulfillment, produce website and sales reports, and so on, using Magento. Developers are continually releasing plugins and extensions for users to add to their websites and make them better. Some of the more specialized plugins are charged, and the user must decide whether or not to pay for such services. Using Magento Open Source, users may create a fully working website suitable for all retail businesses. To launch an online shop effectively, users must independently purchase a domain name, payment processor, and security certifications. Magento is a vast community platform; thus, obtaining information might take a lot of work for new users. Since there are multiple developers and many updates and add-ons made regularly, it is best suited to people with some coding knowledge.
2. Drupal
Most other names on this list are less well-known than Drupal, an open source and free eCommerce software solution provider. With an easy-to-use dashboard, administration system, and payment processing features, Drupal for eCommerce is a versatile, SEO-friendly integrated tool. Users have access to a highly configurable, easy-to-use solution with Drupal. Its simplicity makes it suitable for all types of users. Its dependability is unquestionable since Drupal is a well-known brand with a reputation for outstanding service. However, Drupal for eCommerce can only be used by Drupal CMS users, which is a problem for non-Drupal users. Drupal has a “Commerce Kickstart” package that allows users access to popular eCommerce add-ons that will boost their website functionality and simplify their eCommerce business. It is ultimately your choice which platform to choose. But be confident that the solutions mentioned above will benefit your eCommerce business somehow. Choose the free and open source eCommerce software that is best for you based on your required features. You won’t be sorry.
3. PrestaShop
PrestaShop eCommerce software is an open source eCommerce and free solution that is easy to use and can be tailored to specific needs. It’s a very intuitive tool based on PHP, making it easy for most websites. Almost 1500 website templates, 500 of which are purchased, are available to PrestaShop users. Users may manage listings across platforms by integrating standard add-ons such as Google Merchant Centre and Amazon Marketplace. PrestaShop also enables multi-store management, which means you can manage two websites from a single dashboard. PrestaShop may also produce reports depending on various parameters, including stock levels, sales, merchant KPIs, sales prediction, etc. To use PrestaShop to its full potential, users should be familiar with coding and best tinkering practices for modifying the source code.
4. Jigoshop
Jigoshop is a WordPress-based tool becoming more popular due to its functionality and simplicity. It’s not heavy. It does not require a lot of server bandwidth, and users can quickly combine Jigoshop with add-ons, plugins, and extensions. Although Jigoshop and WooCommerce are both WordPress-based, there is one significant difference. Jigoshop does not support variant linking. For example, if you offer a shirt in various colors, you cannot just specify “red” as the color for all sizes. It would be best to create many options, such as red small, red medium, red huge, and so on. This may be time-consuming, which is a big problem with this tool.
5. OpenCart
For small businesses & users with little to no coding knowledge, OpenCart is a solid beginner open source and free eCommerce software. It’s a straightforward solution that needs more features than other software offers. This software is well-known for its well-designed admin panel, which is straightforward. Users may also purchase add-ons and extensions for expanded website functionality from the OpenCart marketplace. There are built-in SEO tools to assist you in improving your website’s rating on Google and other search aggregation platforms. The software may be rudimentary for bigger websites, but it is ideal for small business requirements. The architecture of OpenCart guarantees that installed plugins and extensions do not slow down the server and affect loading speed. Because of the software’s simplicity, you’ll need many plugins to run your eCommerce website properly, which is where the previous argument comes into play.
6. osCommerce
osCommerce is one of the oldest open source and free eCommerce software suppliers, assisting businesses for over fifteen years. Because of its antiquity, many add-ons and plugins have been created and added to the tool for users. Users can access 7000 free community-developed add-ons with osCommerce, which are being worked on and enhanced as you read. The end-user has a lot of personalization options accessible because of the vast selection of add-ons. With this tool, you may create your website and product pages any way you want. Around 2,60,000 business owners use osCommerce, and users may discuss ideas and solve issues in the help forum. It’s a busy topic, so if you run into any issues when using the tool, you can be sure that someone in the forum will have a solution, having encountered the same problem. Due to its ‘age,’ some of its capabilities and look must be updated. Refrain from allowing the fact that some users may have problems with some plugins on newer computers to dissuade you from adopting this dependable eCommerce software solution.
7. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin rather than an open source eCommerce platform. Businesses that use the WordPress content management system may use it to transform their website into a shop. It features a rapidly increasing user community where common issues are discussed, and suggestions are shared. It also allows users to create mobile-friendly websites for clients who purchase on their phones or tablet. The WooCommerce plugin is integrated into a website by WordPress users. WordPress provides a lot of information for users to get the most out of WooCommerce. In addition, you may add more premium plugin options to improve your website’s functionality and feature richness. Since WooCommerce can only be used by individuals who have or are using WordPress, it may not be an appealing option for everyone. Users of WordPress, however, have access to WooCommerce’s full scalability.
8. Spree Commerce
Spree Commerce is a free and open source eCommerce software. That’s because it was built using Ruby on Rails. Spree is a difficult tool to use to its full capacity if you have little expertise with Ruby and are more familiar with PHP. However, the lightweight nature of Spree Commerce makes it an excellent tool. It operates faster than most other tools and does not use many online resources. Spree’s flexibility and scalability make it the ideal solution for small businesses with ambitions for growth. Spree will change and customize to meet their expanding demands as they expand. Rather than individual developers, Spree supports extensions on this platform, meaning that any add-on connectors you require are accessible and used. Users of Spree may quickly manage items, orders, payments, and delivery. It is a continually evolving solution, with new functions and features being introduced regularly.
FAQs:
Which Open Source And Free eCommerce Software Is The Best?
The best open source eCommerce software is Drupal, Joomla, OpenCart, Prestashop, and WooCommerce.
What’s The Best eCommerce Platform?
The best eCommerce platforms include Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, Prestashop, and Weebly.
What’s The Biggest eCommerce Platform?
Shopify is now the largest eCommerce platform.
The Bottom Line:
As a result, these are some of the best Open source and Free eCommerce Software options.
