Why switch from Zen Cart to Shopify?

Here at TheGenieLab, we’re big fans of Shopify. We think it’s one of the smoothest, quickest and most adaptable eCommerce options out there – far more so than other open source options such as Zen Cart.

Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s why you should switch from Zen Cart to Shopify.

But first, the bad news

Zen Cart is free, and Shopify (after a 14-day no-obligation trial) costs between £19 and £115 a month. But please don’t let that stop you – we think that’s a small price to pay for the extra features you’re given by a platform like Shopify. Unlimited bandwidth, free setup and great storage options are just a few of these.

Now the good – it’s really easy to use

One of Shopify’s biggest selling points is, without doubt, its ease of use for both customers using the site and your web developers and designers working behind the scenes. It’s fast, powerful and simple, while the checkout process is much speedier than Zen Cart – ensuring that a lower percentage of visitors will dawdle or leave at that all-important payment stage. What’s more, you won’t need extensive HTML and CSS knowledge to get a theme to look great – all you need is an eye for design.

And it’s flexible

Although both Zen Cart and Shopify are open source platforms – meaning that anyone can design new themes, apps and features to work alongside and within them – Shopify is almost completely customisable, letting you do whatever you’d like to do, with a system that suits you. For instance, if you want to develop your email marketing, you’re offered a choice between a range of trusted emailers like MailChimp, Mad Mimi and many more.

They’ll help you out, too

Shopify’s blog is a great resource for anyone who’s interested in eCommerce and online marketing and far more accessible than Zen Cart’s alternative. What’s more, because the higher-spec Shopify invariably attracts a more ambitious brand, the feedback and tips from other interested users on the blog are invaluable in developing your own site.

And help your SEO

Search engine optimisation is a key aspect of creating leads online, and Shopify’s specialist SEO services and analytics can help you to attract, convert and analyse customers brought in from Google, Bing and other search engines.

Plus, it can look great

It must be said that some of the most basic, free Shopify templates can look a little samey, like a an intern designing a WordPress theme, but because it’s so easy to use, with so many plugins and 5 different templates to start from, it’s not hard at all to make a site your own. What’s more, if you don’t fancy designing a site yourself, teaming up with experts like PHP Genie can get the job done for much less than on other platforms like Zen Cart.

Is your Shopify website in need of a clever little API to link your accountancy software directly with your online store? Or perhaps you’re considering swapping platforms from Zen Cart in order to make the next step up? Either way, at TheGenieLab our specialist Shopify experts can help your website reach its potential – talk to us today!

What next? You can find great resources on Shopify’s website about how you can succeed in ecommerce. We are also very happy to talk you through your project and give you the benefit of our experience.