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What is OpenCart?

OpenCart is a free, open-source shopping cart known for being lightweight and easy to manage. It gives you a complete online store, with products, cart, checkout, customers and orders, without the complexity or server requirements of larger platforms.

Its admin dashboard is simple to learn, so it suits store owners who want to manage things themselves. OpenCart also supports multiple stores from a single admin panel, multiple languages and currencies, and has a large marketplace of extensions and themes for payments, shipping and design.

OpenCart features

What you get when you run OpenCart on Hoopla Hosting.

Simple admin dashboard

A clear, straightforward back office that makes it easy to manage products, orders and customers.

Multi-store from one admin

Run several stores, each with its own domain, design and products, from a single installation.

Product options and reviews

Offer options such as size and colour, related products, downloadable products and customer reviews.

Coupons, vouchers and rewards

Run promotions with discount coupons, gift vouchers and a reward points scheme.

Payment and shipping extensions

Choose from a wide range of payment gateways and shipping methods in the extension marketplace.

Lightweight and fast

OpenCart has modest server requirements, so it runs efficiently on standard hosting.

What can you build with OpenCart?

Small online stores

Businesses that want a dedicated shop without a steep learning curve.

Running several shops

Owners with multiple brands or niche stores managed from one admin.

Budget-conscious stores

Shops that need ecommerce features on standard web hosting.

Digital downloads

Selling downloadable products alongside physical goods.

Softaculous one-click application installer

Why host OpenCart with Hoopla?

Install OpenCart in a few clicks with Softaculous in cPanel, then keep it running on fast, secure New Zealand hosting backed by a local support team.

  • One-click install and updates with Softaculous
  • Staging copies to test changes safely
  • Daily backups with JetBackup
  • Free SSL certificates
  • LiteSpeed web server and SSD storage
  • Web application firewall
  • Auckland infrastructure and 24/7 support
  • Free migration from your current host
FREE MIGRATION

OpenCart hosting requirements

OpenCart runs on PHP and MySQL/MariaDB, both included with every Hoopla cPanel plan. Because it is lightweight, most OpenCart stores run well on our web hosting plans, with free SSL certificates to secure your checkout.

Recommended: Web Hosting

$5.17+GST5.95incl. GST/month

Starting price, plus room to upgrade as your OpenCart site grows.

Prices are in NZD and exclude GST.
COMPARE PLANS

Not sure what you need? Ask our team.

Getting started with OpenCart

  1. Order a Web Hosting plan, or log in to your existing Hoopla cPanel account.
  2. Open Softaculous Apps Installer in cPanel and search for OpenCart.
  3. Choose the domain to install on, set your admin username, password and email, then click Install.
  4. Log in to the OpenCart admin and set your store details, NZD currency and tax classes for GST.
  5. Install and configure payment and shipping extensions from the Extensions menu.
  6. Add your categories and products, and choose a theme.

OpenCart Hosting FAQs

Can I install OpenCart with one click?

Yes. OpenCart is available in Softaculous in your cPanel account.

Can you migrate my existing OpenCart store?

Yes. Migration assistance is included with our hosting plans for supported websites, databases and email.

Which plan do I need for OpenCart?

OpenCart is lightweight, so most stores run well on our web hosting plans.

Is OpenCart free?

Yes. OpenCart is free and open source. Some extensions and themes are paid.

How does OpenCart compare to WooCommerce?

OpenCart is a standalone shopping cart, while WooCommerce adds a store to a WordPress site. OpenCart suits store-first businesses; WooCommerce suits businesses that also want a content-rich website.

Related applications

PrestaShop

A full-featured open-source shopping cart.

WooCommerce

Turn a WordPress site into a full online store.

Magento

Enterprise-grade ecommerce for larger stores.

Browse all applications available in Softaculous

Ready to launch OpenCart?

Choose a plan, or contact our team and we can help you pick the right one.