Why osCommerce is the Fading Star of Ecommerce and Magento the Rising Champion of Ecommerce Technology
Published on 28 March 13
Jayesh
6806
1
I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about the merits and demerits of the various ecommerce development technologies and during the course of the discussion, an important fact stood out - the fan following enjoyed by osCommerce was disappearing. Also, Magento was fast being regarded as THE platform to go for, if you want a successful ecommerce business.
This actually didn’t come as a surprise, because I have personally felt that osCommerce wasn’t delivering the results that I was hoping for, and Magento was actually doing more than I hoped for.
There is no doubt about it - osCommerce is dying.
This actually didn’t come as a surprise, because I have personally felt that osCommerce wasn’t delivering the results that I was hoping for, and Magento was actually doing more than I hoped for.
There is no doubt about it - osCommerce is dying.
Why is this happening? After all, osCommerce was welcomed with open arms by developers and online merchants alike and in its heydays there were plenty of people who were its ardent supporters. Well, if you want a simplistic answer to this question, it is that after the initial hype, it was a bit of let down; also it couldn’t keep up with the changing demands of online businesses and the expectations of online shoppers.
Drawback of osCommerce
When the drawbacks of an ecommerce platform outweigh its benefits, it’s safe to assume that its popularity is going to plummet and that too by a long way. That is just what happened with osCommerce. A closer look at its drawbacks will tell us why osCommerce has taken a beating:
➜ No inbuilt mechanism to password protect admin area
Now, if you were a diehard supporter of osCommerce you will say that there are plenty of ways that you can protect the administration area of your osCommerce cart, but the problem is that these ‘ways’ aren’t available when you install osCommerce. You will need to ask the person/company who is installing your cart for more information on protecting your admin panel.
➜ The look of the site can’t be chanced quickly
Most of the other successful ecommerce platforms are template driven while osCommerce isn’t. This means that changing the look of your ecommerce site is a time consuming process. Again, if you are a diehard supporter of osCommerce, you will point out to the available style sheets and say that you can make changes through that, but these changes aren’t nearly enough. If you want to do more, you are very restricted.
➜ Developer help is a must
As a client, if you have zeroed in on osCommerce as your platform of choice, at first hand, it looks like a good choice, but the problem with an osCommerce site is the fact that coding is complex and if you want to make even minor changes to the site, you will need to take the help of developers. This might not be that big a disadvantage but if you have a particular budget in mind for your shopping cart, over time, taking the help of developers will become quite expensive.
➜ Attributes limitations
There are plenty of attributes that are unavailable on osCommerce. So, if you are looking for stock keeping units, then it’s not available. This is why this is not a suggested option if you believe that your business will grow rapidly.
➜ Not a good cart for large product catalogs
If your online store has hundreds of products, then you will need to integrate the use of some module for their management, for effective browsing. Again, if the product information is going to be changed regularly, then you will require modules for the same. As can be imagined, this is a time consuming and largely frustrating thing. The limitation of large product catalogs is one of the biggest reasons why people are veering away towards other carts like Magento.
➜ No inbuilt mechanism to password protect admin area
Now, if you were a diehard supporter of osCommerce you will say that there are plenty of ways that you can protect the administration area of your osCommerce cart, but the problem is that these ‘ways’ aren’t available when you install osCommerce. You will need to ask the person/company who is installing your cart for more information on protecting your admin panel.
➜ The look of the site can’t be chanced quickly
Most of the other successful ecommerce platforms are template driven while osCommerce isn’t. This means that changing the look of your ecommerce site is a time consuming process. Again, if you are a diehard supporter of osCommerce, you will point out to the available style sheets and say that you can make changes through that, but these changes aren’t nearly enough. If you want to do more, you are very restricted.
➜ Developer help is a must
As a client, if you have zeroed in on osCommerce as your platform of choice, at first hand, it looks like a good choice, but the problem with an osCommerce site is the fact that coding is complex and if you want to make even minor changes to the site, you will need to take the help of developers. This might not be that big a disadvantage but if you have a particular budget in mind for your shopping cart, over time, taking the help of developers will become quite expensive.
➜ Attributes limitations
There are plenty of attributes that are unavailable on osCommerce. So, if you are looking for stock keeping units, then it’s not available. This is why this is not a suggested option if you believe that your business will grow rapidly.
➜ Not a good cart for large product catalogs
If your online store has hundreds of products, then you will need to integrate the use of some module for their management, for effective browsing. Again, if the product information is going to be changed regularly, then you will require modules for the same. As can be imagined, this is a time consuming and largely frustrating thing. The limitation of large product catalogs is one of the biggest reasons why people are veering away towards other carts like Magento.
The Benefits of Magento
The reasons why Magento scores over osCommerce and is widely regarded as the best bet if you want a successful ecommerce website, are many. But let’s look at a few critical benefits of Magento Development that differentiate it from osCommerce:
➜ Keeps Pace with the latest Needs and Expectations
That’s the mark of a successful ecommerce platform; the people behind Magento are up-to-speed with the growing demands of businesses and the competitive edge they need. The platform is continuously being improved with better code and the bugs are fixed. This means it’s never outdated and its programing structure is being fixed continuously to meet the challenging demands of ecommerce.
➜ Better Modules
Magneto is a platform that understands the needs of the online merchants and the expectations of shoppers inside and out. This is why it stands heads and shoulders above the other available shopping carts including osCommerce. So, if you are looking at improving customer experience there are plenty of merchandising modules, category and product page enhancements, personalization modules that you can choose from; on the other hand if you want to improve the site’s marketing, you can go for SEO modules and the social marketing modules as well. These and the many other modules available help you improve your website’s shopping experience which leads to more profitability for your site.
➜ Comprehensive features
The fact that it offers so many extensions for implementation as well as its resident features like CMS features that help static page management, robust architecture design etc. means that its scope and scale is comprehensive, more than most of the other platforms available on the market. This also means that online merchants have no reason to complain, because a Magento website has all the ecommerce elements in it, needed for success.
That’s the mark of a successful ecommerce platform; the people behind Magento are up-to-speed with the growing demands of businesses and the competitive edge they need. The platform is continuously being improved with better code and the bugs are fixed. This means it’s never outdated and its programing structure is being fixed continuously to meet the challenging demands of ecommerce.
➜ Better Modules
Magneto is a platform that understands the needs of the online merchants and the expectations of shoppers inside and out. This is why it stands heads and shoulders above the other available shopping carts including osCommerce. So, if you are looking at improving customer experience there are plenty of merchandising modules, category and product page enhancements, personalization modules that you can choose from; on the other hand if you want to improve the site’s marketing, you can go for SEO modules and the social marketing modules as well. These and the many other modules available help you improve your website’s shopping experience which leads to more profitability for your site.
➜ Comprehensive features
The fact that it offers so many extensions for implementation as well as its resident features like CMS features that help static page management, robust architecture design etc. means that its scope and scale is comprehensive, more than most of the other platforms available on the market. This also means that online merchants have no reason to complain, because a Magento website has all the ecommerce elements in it, needed for success.
➜ SEO Friendly
With it’s built in SEO features, you don’t have to try too hard to make your website rank on the search engine page results. You can attract organic traffic to your Magento website because of its SEO friendly URL structure and the fact that it offers various SEO tools. These URLs are auto generated; you also get the advantage of Google sitemaps; you can use the Magento URL Rewrite tool to define your URL in accordance with the structure of the related product pages; you also get the advantage of auto generated site maps; these and many other features that support SEO, make Magento such a popular platform.
➜ Global Development Community
If you are investing a lot of money in your ecommerce website, wouldn’t you want some sort of assurance that you have made the right choice and whatever the problems that you might face as a result of this choice, will be handled quickly without any major loss of time or money. Well, with Magento you get this assurance as there is a very strong and active community of Magento Programmers and theme designer working with this platform and who will provide you all the support of Magento development you need. This community is constantly interacting with each other through online forums; here they discuss the latest Magento developments and how to use this platform in the best possible manner to leverage its maximum potential.
All this is something that is unavailable in osCommerce.
End Words…
If you are a business and are looking for an ecommerce platform that will take care of all your needs, I am sure most developers are going to suggest Magento. Very few if any, will ask you to choose osCommerce. While Magento has constantly reinvented itself to meet the changing requirements of your business, osCommerce continues to be caught in a rut. This is why it’s failing to catch the imagination of the public and Magento continues its upward momentum.
If you are investing a lot of money in your ecommerce website, wouldn’t you want some sort of assurance that you have made the right choice and whatever the problems that you might face as a result of this choice, will be handled quickly without any major loss of time or money. Well, with Magento you get this assurance as there is a very strong and active community of Magento Programmers and theme designer working with this platform and who will provide you all the support of Magento development you need. This community is constantly interacting with each other through online forums; here they discuss the latest Magento developments and how to use this platform in the best possible manner to leverage its maximum potential.
All this is something that is unavailable in osCommerce.
End Words…
If you are a business and are looking for an ecommerce platform that will take care of all your needs, I am sure most developers are going to suggest Magento. Very few if any, will ask you to choose osCommerce. While Magento has constantly reinvented itself to meet the changing requirements of your business, osCommerce continues to be caught in a rut. This is why it’s failing to catch the imagination of the public and Magento continues its upward momentum.
I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about the merits and demerits of the various ecommerce development technologies and during the course of the discussion, an important fact stood out - the fan following enjoyed by osCommerce was disappearing. Also, Magento was fast being regarded as THE platform to go for, if you want a successful ecommerce business.
This actually didn’t come as a surprise, because I have personally felt that osCommerce wasn’t delivering the results that I was hoping for, and Magento was actually doing more than I hoped for.
There is no doubt about it - osCommerce is dying.
Why is this happening? After all, osCommerce was welcomed with open arms by developers and online merchants alike and in its heydays there were plenty of people who were its ardent supporters. Well, if you want a simplistic answer to this question, it is that after the initial hype, it was a bit of let down; also it couldn’t keep up with the changing demands of online businesses and the expectations of online shoppers.
Drawback of osCommerce
When the drawbacks of an ecommerce platform outweigh its benefits, it’s safe to assume that its popularity is going to plummet and that too by a long way. That is just what happened with osCommerce. A closer look at its drawbacks will tell us why osCommerce has taken a beating:
➜ No inbuilt mechanism to password protect admin area
Now, if you were a diehard supporter of osCommerce you will say that there are plenty of ways that you can protect the administration area of your osCommerce cart, but the problem is that these ‘ways’ aren’t available when you install osCommerce. You will need to ask the person/company who is installing your cart for more information on protecting your admin panel.
➜ The look of the site can’t be chanced quickly
Most of the other successful ecommerce platforms are template driven while osCommerce isn’t. This means that changing the look of your ecommerce site is a time consuming process. Again, if you are a diehard supporter of osCommerce, you will point out to the available style sheets and say that you can make changes through that, but these changes aren’t nearly enough. If you want to do more, you are very restricted.
➜ Developer help is a must
As a client, if you have zeroed in on osCommerce as your platform of choice, at first hand, it looks like a good choice, but the problem with an osCommerce site is the fact that coding is complex and if you want to make even minor changes to the site, you will need to take the help of developers. This might not be that big a disadvantage but if you have a particular budget in mind for your shopping cart, over time, taking the help of developers will become quite expensive.
➜ Attributes limitations
There are plenty of attributes that are unavailable on osCommerce. So, if you are looking for stock keeping units, then it’s not available. This is why this is not a suggested option if you believe that your business will grow rapidly.
➜ Not a good cart for large product catalogs
If your online store has hundreds of products, then you will need to integrate the use of some module for their management, for effective browsing. Again, if the product information is going to be changed regularly, then you will require modules for the same. As can be imagined, this is a time consuming and largely frustrating thing. The limitation of large product catalogs is one of the biggest reasons why people are veering away towards other carts like Magento.
The Benefits of Magento
The reasons why Magento scores over osCommerce and is widely regarded as the best bet if you want a successful ecommerce website, are many. But let’s look at a few critical benefits of Magento Development that differentiate it from osCommerce:
➜ Keeps Pace with the latest Needs and Expectations
That’s the mark of a successful ecommerce platform; the people behind Magento are up-to-speed with the growing demands of businesses and the competitive edge they need. The platform is continuously being improved with better code and the bugs are fixed. This means it’s never outdated and its programing structure is being fixed continuously to meet the challenging demands of ecommerce.
➜ Better Modules
Magneto is a platform that understands the needs of the online merchants and the expectations of shoppers inside and out. This is why it stands heads and shoulders above the other available shopping carts including osCommerce. So, if you are looking at improving customer experience there are plenty of merchandising modules, category and product page enhancements, personalization modules that you can choose from; on the other hand if you want to improve the site’s marketing, you can go for SEO modules and the social marketing modules as well. These and the many other modules available help you improve your website’s shopping experience which leads to more profitability for your site.
➜ Comprehensive features
The fact that it offers so many extensions for implementation as well as its resident features like CMS features that help static page management, robust architecture design etc. means that its scope and scale is comprehensive, more than most of the other platforms available on the market. This also means that online merchants have no reason to complain, because a Magento website has all the ecommerce elements in it, needed for success.
➜ SEO Friendly
With it’s built in SEO features, you don’t have to try too hard to make your website rank on the search engine page results. You can attract organic traffic to your Magento website because of its SEO friendly URL structure and the fact that it offers various SEO tools. These URLs are auto generated; you also get the advantage of Google sitemaps; you can use the Magento URL Rewrite tool to define your URL in accordance with the structure of the related product pages; you also get the advantage of auto generated site maps; these and many other features that support SEO, make Magento such a popular platform.
➜ Global Development Community
If you are investing a lot of money in your ecommerce website, wouldn’t you want some sort of assurance that you have made the right choice and whatever the problems that you might face as a result of this choice, will be handled quickly without any major loss of time or money. Well, with Magento you get this assurance as there is a very strong and active community of Magento Programmers and theme designer working with this platform and who will provide you all the support of Magento development you need. This community is constantly interacting with each other through online forums; here they discuss the latest Magento developments and how to use this platform in the best possible manner to leverage its maximum potential.
All this is something that is unavailable in osCommerce.
End Words…
If you are a business and are looking for an ecommerce platform that will take care of all your needs, I am sure most developers are going to suggest Magento. Very few if any, will ask you to choose osCommerce. While Magento has constantly reinvented itself to meet the changing requirements of your business, osCommerce continues to be caught in a rut. This is why it’s failing to catch the imagination of the public and Magento continues its upward momentum.
This actually didn’t come as a surprise, because I have personally felt that osCommerce wasn’t delivering the results that I was hoping for, and Magento was actually doing more than I hoped for.
There is no doubt about it - osCommerce is dying.
Why is this happening? After all, osCommerce was welcomed with open arms by developers and online merchants alike and in its heydays there were plenty of people who were its ardent supporters. Well, if you want a simplistic answer to this question, it is that after the initial hype, it was a bit of let down; also it couldn’t keep up with the changing demands of online businesses and the expectations of online shoppers.
Drawback of osCommerce
When the drawbacks of an ecommerce platform outweigh its benefits, it’s safe to assume that its popularity is going to plummet and that too by a long way. That is just what happened with osCommerce. A closer look at its drawbacks will tell us why osCommerce has taken a beating:
➜ No inbuilt mechanism to password protect admin area
Now, if you were a diehard supporter of osCommerce you will say that there are plenty of ways that you can protect the administration area of your osCommerce cart, but the problem is that these ‘ways’ aren’t available when you install osCommerce. You will need to ask the person/company who is installing your cart for more information on protecting your admin panel.
➜ The look of the site can’t be chanced quickly
Most of the other successful ecommerce platforms are template driven while osCommerce isn’t. This means that changing the look of your ecommerce site is a time consuming process. Again, if you are a diehard supporter of osCommerce, you will point out to the available style sheets and say that you can make changes through that, but these changes aren’t nearly enough. If you want to do more, you are very restricted.
➜ Developer help is a must
As a client, if you have zeroed in on osCommerce as your platform of choice, at first hand, it looks like a good choice, but the problem with an osCommerce site is the fact that coding is complex and if you want to make even minor changes to the site, you will need to take the help of developers. This might not be that big a disadvantage but if you have a particular budget in mind for your shopping cart, over time, taking the help of developers will become quite expensive.
➜ Attributes limitations
There are plenty of attributes that are unavailable on osCommerce. So, if you are looking for stock keeping units, then it’s not available. This is why this is not a suggested option if you believe that your business will grow rapidly.
➜ Not a good cart for large product catalogs
If your online store has hundreds of products, then you will need to integrate the use of some module for their management, for effective browsing. Again, if the product information is going to be changed regularly, then you will require modules for the same. As can be imagined, this is a time consuming and largely frustrating thing. The limitation of large product catalogs is one of the biggest reasons why people are veering away towards other carts like Magento.
The Benefits of Magento
The reasons why Magento scores over osCommerce and is widely regarded as the best bet if you want a successful ecommerce website, are many. But let’s look at a few critical benefits of Magento Development that differentiate it from osCommerce:
➜ Keeps Pace with the latest Needs and Expectations
That’s the mark of a successful ecommerce platform; the people behind Magento are up-to-speed with the growing demands of businesses and the competitive edge they need. The platform is continuously being improved with better code and the bugs are fixed. This means it’s never outdated and its programing structure is being fixed continuously to meet the challenging demands of ecommerce.
➜ Better Modules
Magneto is a platform that understands the needs of the online merchants and the expectations of shoppers inside and out. This is why it stands heads and shoulders above the other available shopping carts including osCommerce. So, if you are looking at improving customer experience there are plenty of merchandising modules, category and product page enhancements, personalization modules that you can choose from; on the other hand if you want to improve the site’s marketing, you can go for SEO modules and the social marketing modules as well. These and the many other modules available help you improve your website’s shopping experience which leads to more profitability for your site.
➜ Comprehensive features
The fact that it offers so many extensions for implementation as well as its resident features like CMS features that help static page management, robust architecture design etc. means that its scope and scale is comprehensive, more than most of the other platforms available on the market. This also means that online merchants have no reason to complain, because a Magento website has all the ecommerce elements in it, needed for success.
➜ SEO Friendly
With it’s built in SEO features, you don’t have to try too hard to make your website rank on the search engine page results. You can attract organic traffic to your Magento website because of its SEO friendly URL structure and the fact that it offers various SEO tools. These URLs are auto generated; you also get the advantage of Google sitemaps; you can use the Magento URL Rewrite tool to define your URL in accordance with the structure of the related product pages; you also get the advantage of auto generated site maps; these and many other features that support SEO, make Magento such a popular platform.
➜ Global Development Community
If you are investing a lot of money in your ecommerce website, wouldn’t you want some sort of assurance that you have made the right choice and whatever the problems that you might face as a result of this choice, will be handled quickly without any major loss of time or money. Well, with Magento you get this assurance as there is a very strong and active community of Magento Programmers and theme designer working with this platform and who will provide you all the support of Magento development you need. This community is constantly interacting with each other through online forums; here they discuss the latest Magento developments and how to use this platform in the best possible manner to leverage its maximum potential.
All this is something that is unavailable in osCommerce.
End Words…
If you are a business and are looking for an ecommerce platform that will take care of all your needs, I am sure most developers are going to suggest Magento. Very few if any, will ask you to choose osCommerce. While Magento has constantly reinvented itself to meet the changing requirements of your business, osCommerce continues to be caught in a rut. This is why it’s failing to catch the imagination of the public and Magento continues its upward momentum.
This review is listed under
Development & Implementations
and E-Commerce
Community
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