osCommerce Hosting: Compare Hosting

osCommerce is an e-commerce application that allows you to create and manage an online store.

The software is free, open source software licensed under the GNU General Public License. Anyone is free to use, redistribute and modify it as they see fit. As a result, osCommerce has been used as the basis for a number of other e-commerce applications, including Batavi and Zen Cart.

osCommerce can run on any web server that supports PHP and MySQL databases.

osCommerce has powerful administration features that allow you to set up unlimited categories and products, as well as manage physical and virtual products.

The shipping options support real-time quotes via FedEx, UPS and Postal Service lookup, as well as shipping calculations based on destination, price and weight.

osCommerce’s supported payment gateways include Authorize.Net, iPayment, PayPal, Trust Commerce, SECPay and more. If your preferred gateway isn’t available by default, chances are it can be added via the osCommerce add-on site.

The shopping cart market is a crowded one, with many programs that compete directly with osCommerce. Some of the more popular ones are Magento, Zen Cart and PrestaShop.

In terms of raw functionality, Magento has a definite advantage. It has a number of features that osCommerce does not yet have. Some of these features include superior SEO, low inventory stock alerts, more mobile options, comprehensive customer management and more advanced security options, including suspicious activity tracking.

Another significant advantage Magento has a faster update cycle. This means new features and improvements at a faster pace than osCommerce currently delivers. These updates come at a price, however. While both applications are available as open source software, Magento is also available as a commercial application that offers enterprise-level features and support.

Another price of Magento’s features is a higher server requirements threshold. There are few, if any, web hosting companies that will allow Magento to be installed and run from a basic or shared hosting package, with VPS or dedicated servers required.

osCommerce, on the other hand, is completely free and open source. There is no commercial version, with all users having access to the same software and features. Because of its lighter footprint, osCommerce has lower system requirements, and is often found on shared hosting plans.

osCommerce’s relative simplicity is also an advantage for users who may not be tech-savvy. Many users find it easier to dive into and understand than the more complicated Magento.

osCommerce and Zen Cart share many similarities, largely as a result of Zen Cart being a fork of the osCommerce project. The developers of Zen Cart split off to address what they perceived to be some of osCommerce’s major flaws.

Two of these major flaws were the speed of osCommerce releases and the visual design of the software. In each case, the Zen Cart developers have worked hard to overcome these issues, releasing updates more frequently than osCommerce. Functionally, Zen Cart usually wins praise both for being easier to use and more visually appealing than osCommerce. Whereas osCommerce relies heavily on modules for additional functionality, Zen Cart ships with more features by default.

In contrast, osCommerce continues to have better integration with third-party services, as well as more add-ons and modules than Zen Cart. This gives it a greater degree of flexibility than Zen Cart.

As with most things, the answer to that question depends largely on you.

If you are in the market for a powerful, open source shopping cart platform and don’t mind the extra work involved, osCommerce is an excellent choice. It is an extremely powerful application, made all the more so by upwards of 7,000 extensions that add to its base functionality. Programmers, of course, have the option of tinkering with it even more to customize it according to their needs. Be warned, however, that osCommerce has a reputation as a developer’s shopping cart, meaning that its design and general functionality lack the polish of other packages.

If you like what osCommerce has to offer, but prefer more frequent updates and a more visually appealing option, Zen Cart may be a better choice.

If you are in the market for one of the most advanced shopping cart packages, along with the support that comes with a commercial application, Magento may be a better option. While there is an open source version available, the paid commercial version has more features and comes with support from the company.

In contrast, if you want a strictly open source package that may not be quite as flexible as osCommerce, but is easier, looks better, updated more frequently and has more momentum, in terms of marketshare and mindshare, PrestaShop may be your best option.