Top 8 Shopping Cart CMS Choices Of Ecommerce Storeowners In 2015
Created: May 16, 2015
Updated: Mar 25, 2025
When you’re setting up an online store, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is choosing the right CMS (Content Management System) and shopping cart CMS software. This choice can make or break your store’s performance. In 2015, store owners faced different challenges, like limited mobile support and SEO options. Fast forward to 2025, and the landscape has shifted. Today, eCommerce platforms are more feature-rich, offer better mobile integration, and provide advanced SEO tools, making it essential for modern businesses to stay ahead of the competition.
As eCommerce continues to grow, having the best eCommerce shopping cart and a reliable CMS for eCommerce is more important than ever. The right combination will not only help you manage products and track sales efficiently but will also improve the shopping experience for your customers, boost SEO rankings, and support your store’s growth.
With so many options out there, it can be overwhelming to figure out what works best for your business. Whether you're an eCommerce veteran or just getting started, understanding the differences between e-commerce shopping carts, best online shopping carts, and CMS eCommerce systems is key.
Let’s explore how the selection of shopping cart CMS has evolved from 2015 to 2025, and why the platforms of today offer much more than just a basic cart system. From improving customer experiences to integrating better payment solutions, the progress over the past decade highlights just how far eCommerce platforms have come. The right choice in 2025 isn’t just about keeping up with competitors; it’s about future-proofing your business for what’s to come.
At GO-Globe, we’ve seen firsthand how essential it is for eCommerce store owners to choose a CMS that aligns with both their current needs and future goals. Whether you're building a new store or updating an existing one, it’s important to focus on what’s truly important—ease of use, flexibility, and SEO optimization. The shopping cart CMS you choose will play a vital role in the success of your store, both now and in the years ahead.
A Content Management System (CMS) is a software platform that allows eCommerce store owners to create, manage, and optimize their online store's content without needing advanced technical skills. Essentially, it’s the backbone of your online store, enabling you to manage products, process orders, and engage with customers. The CMS is crucial for keeping your website organized, running smoothly, and updated with fresh content.
The Role of CMS for E-commerce in 2015
Back in 2015, CMS platforms for e-commerce primarily focused on content management. They provided an easy way for store owners to update product pages, create blog posts, and manage other forms of content. Store owners mainly used CMS to ensure that their eCommerce websites were user-friendly and efficient, with features like product catalog management, shopping cart systems, and basic SEO tools. At that time, CMS platforms were all about organizing data and content in a way that made it easy for customers to navigate.
For eCommerce websites in 2015, the CMS's job was to keep the user experience simple. The content management was centered on creating an attractive and accessible online store. Popular CMS platforms, like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce, offered an array of customizable templates that allowed store owners to build their sites quickly.
The Role of CMS for E-commerce in 2025
The role of a CMS for eCommerce extends beyond simple content management. With the increased integration of AI and automation, these platforms now help businesses understand their customers better, anticipate their needs, and provide tailored experiences that drive conversions.
One of the significant advancements in modern CMS platforms is the integration of machine learning and data analytics. E-commerce store owners can now access insights into customer behavior, sales trends, and inventory needs. These insights enable them to make more informed decisions about inventory management, marketing strategies, and product offerings.
Furthermore, the CMS of today supports advanced SEO features, such as content optimization tools, structured data, and automated keyword tracking. These tools are crucial for improving your site's visibility on search engines and ensuring that it ranks well for relevant keywords. With SEO being an ongoing concern for eCommerce stores, having a CMS that automatically optimizes content for search engines can save significant time and effort, while boosting organic traffic.
Today’s eCommerce CMS platforms are also highly focused on mobile-first design, which is crucial given the rising number of mobile shoppers. A CMS that supports responsive design ensures that your eCommerce store looks great and functions smoothly on all devices, providing a consistent user experience across smartphones, tablets, and desktops.
Why a Shopping Cart CMS is Crucial for Ecommerce
When running an ecommerce store, every aspect of your site needs to be built to enhance the customer experience and drive sales. One of the most critical components is the shopping cart system, which can make or break a customer's shopping journey. Choosing the right shopping cart CMS is not just about functionality; it's about ensuring your store runs smoothly and meets customer expectations.
A shopping cart CMS integrates the content management system (CMS) with your ecommerce store’s shopping cart features. This combination allows for easier management, updating, and customization, offering a more efficient way to handle transactions, product inventories, and customer data. Whether you’re using CMS for ecommerce like WordPress with WooCommerce or platforms such as Shopify, the integration between the CMS and shopping cart is key.
Over the last decade, the development of ecommerce shopping cart features has significantly improved, and it’s no longer just about adding products to a cart. The focus now is on a more seamless experience for both the merchant and the customer. Key features that have improved over the years include real-time inventory updates, mobile optimization, and enhanced security.
Real-Time Inventory Updates: With customers expecting accurate product availability information, having real-time inventory updates in your shopping cart system is a must. This feature ensures that stock levels are updated instantly, reducing the chance of overselling and keeping the user experience smooth.
Mobile Optimization: As mobile commerce continues to rise, mobile optimization has become a crucial feature in shopping cart CMS solutions. More people are shopping via smartphones and tablets than ever before. A CMS that integrates well with a mobile-friendly shopping cart design ensures that customers can browse, add products to their carts, and complete purchases without any issues, no matter the device they’re using.
Security Improvements: ٍecurity is more important than ever. Hackers are constantly looking for ways to exploit vulnerabilities in ecommerce platforms. Therefore, shopping cart functionality CMS needs to integrate with security protocols such as SSL certificates, secure payment gateways, and encryption to protect both the store owner and the customer’s sensitive data.
Top 8 Ecommerce Shopping Cart CMS Choices
Ecommerce is constantly evolving, and one of the most important decisions a store owner faces is selecting the right CMS (Content Management System) with an integrated shopping cart. Whether you're starting a new business or looking to update your online store, your choice of CMS can directly affect your customer experience, sales, and long-term growth. Let's look back at the top ecommerce shopping cart CMS platforms from 2015 and compare them to the current offerings in 2025.
2015: Top Ecommerce Shopping Cart CMS Platforms
Back in 2015, ecommerce was largely dominated by a few key players. Platforms like PrestaShop, Magento, and WooCommerce were the go-to choices for store owners looking to build their online presence. These platforms offered a range of features, but each came with its own set of challenges.
PrestaShop was popular for its open-source flexibility, but it required a solid understanding of coding and customization. It was a good choice for those with a bit of technical expertise, but it could be overwhelming for beginners.
Magento was another strong contender, particularly for larger businesses. It offered a high level of customization and scalability, but it was also resource-intensive and could be expensive to run, especially for small to mid-sized businesses.
WooCommerce, built on WordPress, made it easy for small businesses to get started with an online store. Its integration with WordPress allowed for easy blogging and SEO, but it wasn’t always the most reliable for large-scale stores due to its dependence on plugins.
Despite these platforms’ popularity, the ecommerce world has changed significantly over the last decade. Faster internet speeds, better mobile optimization, and the need for more user-friendly interfaces have shaped the ecommerce landscape, leading to new and improved CMS solutions.
2025: What’s Changed in the Ecommerce Shopping Cart CMS World?
As we dive deeper into the shifts in the ecommerce world, it's clear that many of the new and improved platforms for 2025 focus on simplifying the process for both store owners and customers. The rise of mobile commerce, increasing consumer expectations for personalized experiences, and the integration of advanced technologies have all played a major role in shaping the modern ecommerce landscape. Let’s take a closer look at how these factors have influenced the shopping cart CMS platforms of today.
Mobile-First Approach
With mobile shopping now accounting for a significant portion of all ecommerce sales, the demand for mobile-first design has become critical. In 2025, most leading ecommerce CMS platforms offer mobile-optimized templates that provide users with an intuitive and seamless shopping experience across all devices. This means customers can shop from their smartphones with ease, while store owners can rely on a CMS that automatically adjusts content and layout for different screen sizes.
Platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce have made mobile commerce a top priority, offering built-in tools to enhance mobile shopping experiences. From optimized product pages to quick checkout options, businesses are now able to reach and engage customers no matter where they are or what device they use.
AI and Personalization
Artificial intelligence has become a key player in ecommerce, particularly when it comes to personalizing the shopping experience. In 2025, many CMS platforms integrate AI tools that help store owners create tailored product recommendations for shoppers. AI analyzes customer behavior and purchase history to suggest items that are most likely to lead to conversions.
Shopify and BigCommerce have both embraced AI technology, incorporating product recommendation engines and personalized marketing tools to drive sales. This level of personalization helps businesses increase average order value and improve customer loyalty.
Speed and Efficiency in Checkout
One of the biggest pain points for online shoppers has always been the checkout process. Long, complicated checkout forms can result in cart abandonment, which is why ecommerce CMS platforms are increasingly focused on providing faster, more efficient checkout experiences.
PrestaShop
With 310 features supporting shopping carts effectively, PrestaShop is the choice of retailers at startup. This platform has excellent functionality, serving the customers in the best possible manner, hence tailored to the business needs of online sellers. Catering to the needs of small, medium, and large-scale businesses, PrestaShop is becoming the popular choice of online retailers due to the following reasons:
Why Choose PrestaShop?
No Licensing Fees: PrestaShop is free to download and use, making it one of the most cost-effective eCommerce solutions available. This can help small businesses save on initial setup costs, which is crucial for those just starting.
Customization: Being open-source, PrestaShop allows for extensive customization. You can alter the platform to fit your exact needs, whether that’s changing the design, adding new features, or integrating third-party tools.
Wide Range of Modules and Themes: PrestaShop has an extensive marketplace of modules (apps) and themes that can enhance your store’s functionality and design. These modules allow you to easily add things like payment gateways, shipping options, and more.
Global Reach: PrestaShop supports multiple languages and currencies, making it an excellent choice for businesses that want to sell internationally. You can easily set up localized versions of your store for different markets.
Limitations to Consider
Requires Technical Knowledge: While PrestaShop is free to use, it does require technical expertise for installation, customization, and maintenance. If you don’t have an in-house developer, you may need to hire one to get your store running smoothly.
Ongoing Costs for Modules: While the core platform is free, many of the advanced features you’ll need (like payment integrations and shipping options) come with additional costs through paid modules.
Limited Support: Unlike hosted platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce, PrestaShop relies on community support for troubleshooting. While the community is active, it may not always be as responsive or accessible as official support channels.
Magento
Magento is one of the most powerful open-source ecommerce platforms available, offering unparalleled flexibility and customization options. However, it comes with a learning curve, which means it's typically best for businesses that have access to technical expertise or developers. With Magento, you can build a highly personalized store with features and integrations tailored to your business needs. Though it requires more time and resources to set up and maintain, Magento offers a robust set of tools that can scale with your business.
Why Choose Magento?
Customizable: Magento is open-source, which means you can alter the platform to suit your specific needs. Whether you need unique functionalities, integrations, or a custom design, Magento allows full control over your ecommerce site.
Feature-Rich: Magento offers advanced features like multi-store management, customer segmentation, and detailed analytics. These features can help you run large, complex stores effectively.
Scalability: If your business is growing rapidly or has plans for expansion, Magento is highly scalable. As your product catalog or customer base grows, Magento can handle increased traffic and transactions without compromising performance.
Strong Community Support: Magento has a large community of developers and users who contribute to an ever-growing library of plugins and themes. This ensures that you can find solutions to almost any challenge that comes your way.
Limitations to Consider
Technical Expertise Required: Magento is not the easiest platform to use, especially for beginners. Setting it up and maintaining it requires technical knowledge, and you may need to hire a developer or agency to get the most out of it.
Costs: Although Magento offers a free version (Magento Open Source), you'll need to invest in hosting, development, and maintenance. For larger businesses, the premium version (Magento Commerce) can become quite expensive.
Time-Consuming Setup: Due to its complexity, setting up Magento can take time. It’s not an out-of-the-box solution like Shopify or Squarespace, and you will need to invest considerable effort into configuring it to meet your business needs.
ZenCart is another open-source e-commerce platform that has been around for many years. It is a popular choice for small businesses looking for a cost-effective, customizable solution. Like Magento and PrestaShop, ZenCart requires more technical expertise than fully hosted platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce. However, it offers the flexibility to tailor your online store to your specific needs.
ZenCart’s long history in the e-commerce space means that it has a large user community, offering resources, forums, and plugins to enhance your store’s functionality. While it may not be as modern in terms of design and features as some of the newer platforms, it remains a solid option for small businesses that are comfortable with technical setup and maintenance.
Why Choose ZenCart?
Open-Source and Free: ZenCart is free to download and use, which can be appealing to small businesses on a budget. While you may need to pay for hosting, themes, and additional features, the base platform has no licensing fees.
Highly Customizable: ZenCart offers a great deal of flexibility for customization. It allows you to modify your store’s design and add custom features to suit your specific business needs. This flexibility is ideal for businesses with unique requirements.
Extensive Plugin Library: With an active community and a wide range of third-party plugins, ZenCart can be extended with additional features like payment gateways, shipping options, and inventory management tools.
Support for Multiple Languages and Currencies: ZenCart supports multiple languages and currencies, which makes it a good option for businesses looking to cater to international customers.
Limitations to Consider
Technical Expertise Required: ZenCart is not as user-friendly as hosted solutions like Shopify or Squarespace. It requires technical knowledge to install, customize, and maintain. You may need a developer to help with the setup and ensure the store runs smoothly.
Outdated Interface: While ZenCart has been around for a long time, its interface and design options are somewhat outdated compared to more modern platforms. This can make the user experience less intuitive, particularly for non-technical business owners.
Limited Official Support: Since ZenCart is open-source, official support is limited. You’ll rely heavily on community forums and third-party developers for help, which might not be as responsive or accessible as paid support services offered by other platforms.
Shopify remains one of the top choices for small businesses in 2025. It’s known for being easy to use, making it ideal for business owners with little to no technical experience. Shopify offers a variety of themes, customizable features, and integrations, allowing you to scale your business as it grows. Plus, its built-in tools for payments, marketing, and customer engagement make it a great all-in-one solution.
Why Choose Shopify?
Ease of Use: Set up your store quickly with no coding skills needed.
Payment Processing: Integrated payment options, including Shopify Payments, help streamline your checkout process.
Scalability: As your business grows, Shopify can grow with you.
OpenCart is an open-source ecommerce platform that offers a user-friendly, lightweight solution for small businesses. It provides all the essential features you need to run an online store, including product management, order tracking, and a variety of payment options. OpenCart is known for being straightforward to set up and use, making it a great choice for store owners who don’t want to deal with a steep learning curve.
While it’s not as feature-rich out-of-the-box as some other ecommerce platforms, OpenCart is highly customizable and has a large community of developers, which means you can find plenty of extensions and plugins to enhance your store’s functionality. It’s an ideal option for businesses looking for a budget-friendly, easy-to-manage platform.
Why Choose OpenCart?
User-Friendly: OpenCart is known for its ease of use, with an intuitive admin interface that makes it easy for beginners to get started. The setup process is quick, and you don’t need technical expertise to start building your store.
Lightweight and Fast: OpenCart is a lightweight platform, meaning it has fast loading times and doesn’t require heavy resources. This makes it a good option for small businesses that need a simple and efficient solution without unnecessary bloat.
Extensive Extensions and Themes: OpenCart has a large marketplace for themes, modules, and extensions. These allow you to easily add new features to your store, from payment gateways to SEO tools and advanced shipping options.
Multi-Language and Multi-Currency Support: OpenCart supports multiple languages and currencies, which is helpful for businesses looking to sell internationally. You can set up a store that caters to customers in different regions without much hassle.
Free and Open-Source: OpenCart is free to download and use, making it an affordable option for small businesses. You’ll only need to pay for hosting, themes, and extensions that you choose to enhance your store.
Limitations to Consider
Limited Built-In Features: While OpenCart offers the essential features for running an ecommerce store, it doesn’t come with as many advanced tools out-of-the-box as other platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce. You may need to install extensions for things like advanced SEO or detailed analytics.
Requires Technical Setup for Customization: Although OpenCart is relatively easy to use for basic stores, you may need some technical knowledge if you want to deeply customize your store or add advanced features.
VirtueMart is an open-source ecommerce solution designed to integrate with Joomla, a popular content management system (CMS). If you're already using Joomla for your website, VirtueMart can be a solid choice for adding ecommerce functionality. It offers a range of customizable features that allow you to tailor your online store to your needs, but like other open-source solutions, it requires a bit of technical know-how to get the most out of it.
VirtueMart is especially suitable for small businesses that are familiar with Joomla and want to extend its capabilities by adding ecommerce functionality. While it’s not as widely used as platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce, it remains a popular choice for Joomla users due to its flexibility and low cost.
Why Choose VirtueMart?
Joomla Integration: If you’re already using Joomla to manage your website, VirtueMart makes it easy to add ecommerce functionality without the need to switch platforms. It integrates seamlessly with Joomla, allowing you to manage your content and ecommerce store from a single platform.
Customization: VirtueMart offers flexibility in terms of customization. You can modify the design, features, and functionality of your store using templates and extensions. This makes it a good choice for businesses with specific needs or requirements.
Free and Open-Source: VirtueMart is free to use, making it an affordable option for small businesses that are looking for a low-cost solution. However, as with other open-source platforms, you may need to invest in hosting, templates, and additional extensions.
Support for Multiple Languages and Currencies: VirtueMart supports internationalization, so it’s a great option for businesses that want to reach a global audience. You can easily set up your store in multiple languages and currencies to cater to customers worldwide.
Limitations to Consider
Technical Knowledge Needed: Like other open-source platforms, VirtueMart requires technical expertise to set up, customize, and maintain. You’ll need to have some experience with Joomla and web development to make the most of this platform.
Limited Features Out of the Box: While VirtueMart offers core ecommerce features, you may need to install additional extensions or modules to access advanced functionalities like complex shipping options, advanced SEO tools, or multiple payment gateways.
Limited Official Support: VirtueMart relies on community support for troubleshooting and problem-solving, which might not always be as fast or comprehensive as the official support provided by commercial platforms.
WooCommerce is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms in the world, especially for small businesses using WordPress. It’s an open-source plugin that transforms your WordPress website into a fully functional online store. With a huge range of features, integrations, and customization options, WooCommerce is an excellent choice for businesses already running on WordPress or those looking to build a store with an easy-to-manage CMS.
One of WooCommerce’s biggest advantages is its seamless integration with WordPress, allowing you to use all the content management capabilities of WordPress while also managing your products and orders in an efficient, user-friendly interface.
Why Choose WooCommerce?
WordPress Integration: If your website is already built on WordPress, WooCommerce is the natural choice. It integrates smoothly with the platform, allowing you to manage both your content and ecommerce functionalities in one place.
Extensive Customization: WooCommerce offers a wide range of themes, plugins, and extensions, allowing you to create a highly customized store. From payment gateways to shipping options and SEO tools, WooCommerce can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your business.
Scalable: WooCommerce can scale with your business. Whether you're just starting with a handful of products or have an extensive catalog, WooCommerce can handle it all. As your business grows, you can add more advanced features and functionality.
Free to Use: The core WooCommerce plugin is free, making it an affordable option for small businesses on a budget. However, you may need to pay for additional themes, plugins, and hosting to fully optimize your store.
Large Community and Support: As one of the most widely used ecommerce platforms, WooCommerce benefits from a large, active community of developers, designers, and users. This means you'll have access to a wealth of resources, tutorials, and third-party plugins to help grow your store.
Squarespace: Great for Designers and Creatives
For those who prioritize design and user experience, Squarespace stands out as a top choice. Known for its beautiful, professional-grade templates, Squarespace is perfect for creative entrepreneurs, photographers, artists, and small businesses looking to showcase their products or services with style. Though it may not offer as many advanced ecommerce features as Shopify or BigCommerce, it shines in providing a seamless, visually appealing experience for both store owners and customers.
Why Choose Squarespace?
Design Flexibility: Squarespace offers a wide range of templates designed by professionals, giving your store an elegant, polished look from day one. The design is highly customizable, so even business owners with little design experience can create a unique and attractive online store.
All-In-One Solution: Unlike other platforms, Squarespace provides an all-in-one package that includes website hosting, domain registration, and ecommerce functionality. This convenience means you won’t have to juggle multiple services and providers.
User-Friendly: Whether you’re building a store or managing one, Squarespace is incredibly user-friendly. Its drag-and-drop interface allows for easy adjustments, making it ideal for beginners or those without technical skills.
Mobile Optimization: Squarespace automatically optimizes your online store for mobile devices, ensuring that your customers have a smooth shopping experience on phones and tablets. With a growing number of people shopping on mobile, this feature is essential.
Built-In Tools for Marketing: Squarespace has built-in tools for email marketing, social media integration, and SEO optimization. These tools help business owners get the word out and attract more customers with minimal effort.
Limitations to Consider
Limited Ecommerce Features: While Squarespace is fantastic for design, its ecommerce features are more basic compared to some of the other platforms. It offers a straightforward checkout process, but it may not have as many advanced tools for larger businesses.
BigCommerce: Perfect for Expanding Businesses
BigCommerce is another top choice for small businesses that expect to scale quickly. This platform offers more advanced features compared to some others, allowing store owners to build a custom online store with ease. BigCommerce also integrates seamlessly with various eCommerce tools, providing business owners with multiple growth options.
Why Choose BigCommerce?
Built-In SEO: BigCommerce’s SEO tools can help your store rank higher in search engines, driving more organic traffic.
Multi-Channel Selling: Sell across multiple platforms, including Amazon and eBay, directly from BigCommerce.
No Transaction Fees: Unlike some other platforms, BigCommerce doesn’t charge transaction fees, allowing you to keep more of your earnings.
osCommerce is one of the oldest open-source ecommerce platforms still in use today. Over the years, it has built a solid reputation for being a flexible and customizable solution for small businesses. While it may not be as modern or feature-rich as newer platforms, osCommerce remains a reliable option for those who need a straightforward ecommerce solution and have the technical skills to maintain it.
As an open-source platform, osCommerce gives users complete control over the store’s design and features, but it requires technical expertise for setup, customization, and ongoing management. It’s best suited for businesses with access to developers who can take advantage of its flexibility.
Why Choose osCommerce?
Open-Source and Free: Like other open-source platforms, osCommerce is free to use, making it an attractive choice for small businesses with limited budgets. While you’ll need to pay for hosting and some modules, there are no licensing fees for using the software.
Customizable: osCommerce allows for a high degree of customization, making it a good option for businesses that need a tailored solution. You can modify the code to fit your specific needs or integrate third-party modules for additional functionality.
Large Plugin Library: osCommerce has a large library of third-party plugins and extensions, which can add extra features like payment gateways, shipping options, and advanced SEO tools to your store.
Global Reach: It supports multiple languages and currencies, making it a good option for businesses that want to expand internationally.
Limitations to Consider
Outdated User Interface: osCommerce’s interface is fairly dated compared to newer platforms, which can make it less user-friendly for store owners. The design options are limited, and the overall user experience is not as intuitive as platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce.
Requires Technical Expertise: osCommerce requires technical skills to install, set up, and maintain. If you don't have in-house developers, you may need to hire one, which can add to your overall costs.
Limited Support: While osCommerce has an active community, the official support is minimal. You'll primarily rely on community forums for troubleshooting, which can sometimes be slow or lack comprehensive answers.
Security Concerns: As an open-source platform with a long history, osCommerce may have security vulnerabilities that need to be regularly patched. You’ll need to stay on top of updates and security measures to protect your store and customer data.
Pick any one of the above-mentioned CMS platforms and start selling your products online. Going global with bright success chances is greatly dependent on the CMS platform you have selected. Make sure, the selected platform is rich in features and will support your online store in the long run.
