When it comes to eCommerce website development, most Indian web developers choose open sources that make lives easier for both developers and their customers.
The question that may arise in your mind could be “Why should my eCommerce web developer in India use an open-source to develop my online store?” or “What are the benefits that I will receive if I allow my web developer to build my eCommerce store using any open source?”.
Well, in this blog post, we are going to share 5 reasons to choose open sources and the 5 best open sources to develop an eCommerce website.
Let’s begin.
#1 Open sources are free to use
The first and foremost benefit of using an open source for developing an eCommerce website is that it’s easy to use.
Yes, there is no license whatsoever that is required to use any open source.
All your web developer needs to do is just set up any open source on your server and start customizing it according to your requirements.
If you don’t want to develop your eCommerce website using any software other than open source, you may be required to pay regularly in order to maintain your website.
#2 Open sources are easy to use
Most of the open sources like WordPress and Drupal are quite easy to use – even for a layman.
You can find user-friendly tools inside your backend area through which you can easily manage your products and other pages. It really saves you money because every time you want to make changes on your website, you can do them on your own rather than approaching your web developer and paying him each time.
#3 Open-source developers can be found easily
Since there is a huge demand for open sources like WordPress or Drupal, you can easily find a web developer at an affordable price who can help you to build your eCommerce website at a much lower cost.
If you are planning to hire a web developer in India for your eCommerce website development, you can easily get one who can provide you with a great online store for as low as $999. How is this possible? Yes, you guessed it right. By using an open source like WordPress for your eCommerce website design, Indian web developers can easily build your website at amazingly low prices.
#4 Open sources are easy to upgrade
Website development is not a destination. Rather, it’s an ongoing journey. With the ever-changing technologies & customers’ behavior, it’s imperative for every business to upgrade their websites from time to time. In the absence of open sources, a website upgrade could easily cost you more than $2000.
However, if your eCommerce website has been built using an open source, it could cost you as low as $200 or sometimes $0 (if you do it yourself) for upgrading your website to the latest version. Isn’t this exciting to know?
If your developer has used WordPress for your eCommerce website development, it could be as easy as a few clicks to upgrade your website.
#5 Open sources are easy to redesign
There are 2 important components of any open-source software – Themes & Plugins/Modules/Components/Extensions.
Themes are used to define the design of an eCommerce website however for integrating various features with your website, several plugins/modules/components/extensions are being used.
Using a theme for your website development is beneficial in 3 ways:
- It’s easy to change anytime
- It’s easy to upgrade anytime
- The coding structure of themes is standard for each open source so it becomes easier for all web developers to understand the structure and make changes. Therefore, you don’t really need to rely on a single web developer to make enhancements to your website.
Popular Open Sources For eCommerce Websites
What are some of the popular open sources that Indian web developers use to develop eCommerce websites?
Fortunately, there is a vast number of open-source eCommerce platforms that are not only free to use but also offer scalability, and community support.
Let’s have a look at them!
#1 WooCommerce (WordPress)
WooCommerce boasts a large & rapidly-growing user community. Its seamless integration with WordPress makes it a charm to install & manage.
Most of the WooCommerce themes come with a mobile-friendly design that makes WooCommerce an appealing choice to brands who want to cater to the growing number of customers that use their tablets or phone to shop.
If you are on a budget, you can hire a WooCommerce agency in India to save on your web development cost.
#2 OpenCart
OpenCart is especially popular among small businesses that don’t have the manpower with lots of programming experience.
It’s fairly simple, without a lot of the other functionalities found in other shopping cart software.
One of the other great things about OpenCart’s simplicity is that it doesn’t use high resources on your server. You can slow everything down by adding a ton of plugins, of course, but for most people, this should be one of the faster options.
#3 Virtue Mart (Joomla)
VirtueMart, an extension from Joomla, makes it a breeze to set up your eCommerce store and keep it running flawlessly.
One of the attractions that Virtue Mart offers is that it is multi-language and that makes it an appealing choice for retailers catering to a global audience, as customers can view product descriptions in their native language.
VirtueMart has some major benefits like
- It is SEO-friendly which means your eCommerce website is more likely to get organic traffic from search engines
- It is lightweight – Again Virtual Mart is light to your server and it doesn’t affect the server performance.
#4 Drupal Commerce (Drupal)
Drupal is one of the most popular open-source eCommerce platforms among Drupal users.
Why Drupal Commerce?
- Drupal Commerce is both flexible and SEO-friendly.
- It offers an easy-to-use administration system.
- It is capable of handling more complex payment modules and 3rd party software.
Just as WooCommerce is exclusive to WordPress and VirtueMart is exclusive to Joomla, Drupal Commerce can only be used with Drupal.
Are you looking for a Drupal-based eCommerce website? Hire a Drupal developer in India.
#5 Jigoshop (WordPress)
Another WordPress-based solution that’s become popular these days is Jigoshop. Like most other open-source eCommerce solutions, Jigoshop is rather lightweight on its own.
For retailers looking to make the most of their storefront, themes, plugins, and extensions are available for purchase.
Like WooCommerce, Jigoshop is very easy to use.
