Finally the long-awaited OpenCart 2.0 has been released to the public for use. The new version of our favourite ecommerce platform has a whole host of major new features and improvements. Here are some of them.
Pretty much all new websites need to be responsive these days so that they adapt to look optimized on mobile phones and tablets.
Many developers, when creating a new theme for OpenCart, base this on the default theme that comes with the platform so it's great that this new theme now responds beautifully to the device it's being viewed on.
Only part of the page is visible in OpenCart 1.5.6 The theme elegantly puts all elements in place, reducing the size of the main banner and adding a "hamburger" menu.
Although usually simple for web developers, installing an extension or theme used to be a little daunting for most merchants. They would have to unzip their extension and then upload it via FTP, hoping that they wouldn't destroy their site. OpenCart 2.0 comes with an extension installer that allows you to click a button and upload the extension to automatically install.
As well as a responsive front-end, you can now easily access the OpenCart backend on your mobile or tablet. Great news for merchants who want to update and edit products while in the warehouse or showroom.
This shows what's happening on your site, in real time.
This is great news if you want to get to know your customers a little better. Just add some additional fields in the Sales > Customers > Custom Fields section and customers will then be able to fill these in when they register.
Are you using OpenCart 2.0 already? What do you think? Looking to upgrade, but wondering what's involved? Let us know in the comments below!