Many industries have witnessed great change in the last ten years, but there’s one that outshines the rest: e-commerce. That said, the industry is projected to reach $8.1 trillion in sales by 2026.
However, you would not be able to reap the benefits of being an e-trader if you are on some older platforms like Zen Cart. While Zen Cart ran the show when the age of e-commerce was still young, today, you need a more refined and state-of-the-art platform with which you can retain your competitive advantage in the modern scenario.
And you don’t have to look very far; Shopify is here as an excellent alternative, with over 4 million stores already on board. What’s more, the platform has been processing more than $200 billion in sales yearly, which shows you that Shopify is more than capable of supporting your business growth.
This article highlights five concrete benefits you stand to gain by moving your store from Zen Cart to Shopify offers over Zen Cart. Regardless of the size of your store, read on to learn more about how the platform’s robust features can transform your e-commerce business.
1. Enhanced Mobile Responsiveness and Customer Experience
In today’s mobile-first world, having a really great mobile experience for your online store has the potential to drive an outsized impact on bottom-line business performance. Out of the box, Shopify provides seamless mobile optimization, while Zen Cart requires extensive customization to provide mobile responsiveness.
When you migrate Zen cart to Shopify, your store automatically adjusts for any screen size, so customers always have a consistent shopping experience that is easy to navigate-whatever smartphone, tablet, or desktop they use.
On top of responsiveness, Shopify’s approach to mobile-first goes even further. With Shopify, you will find advanced features like AMP and PWA capabilities that take your store to the next level in terms of loading speed on mobile.
For example, a mobile load time delay of only one second can decrease conversions by up to 20%. Therefore, with Shopify, you will be able to enjoy higher conversion rates on mobile since customers enjoy faster page loads and smooth navigation.
2. Superior Security and Maintenance-Free Operations
Running an e-commerce store means that security needs to be number one in your mind. Though it’s true that, in Zen Cart, all these critical updates, SSL certificates, and PCI compliance must be manually addressed, Shopify does it automatically.
In addition, this becomes much more important as ecommerce sites are among the favorite targets of cyber-attacks as, on average, over 90% of security breaches occur in small businesses.
Shopify maintains Level 1 PCI DSS, the highest degree of security for payment cards, and continuously updates the security features of your store without you doing anything. That saves you a thousand bucks in probable security consultancy fees and several hours of maintenance work.
More than that, Shopify does all server maintenance, backups, and updates so you can concentrate with ease on growing your business instead of wasting valuable time on technical issues.
3. Advanced Marketing and SEO Capabilities
What can make a difference between success and stagnation in the line is the effective marketing of your online store. Shopify really outruns Zen Cart by miles because it offers built-in marketing features and SEO options, letting your product reach more targeted audiences.
Its SEO capabilities include automatic sitemap generation, customization of meta descriptions, and robot.txt files, thus making proper indexing of your store easier for search engines.
Further, Shopify integration with social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest lets you sell directly from those channels with just a few clicks. This multichannel selling feature will help you find your customers right where they really spend most of their time on the web.
4. Scalability and Performance Optimization
With increased traffic and sales, an e-commerce platform should be able to scale seamlessly when business grows. Generally, a highly criticized issue about the use of Zen Cart is that as a store outgrows its current size, serious performance problems may appear, demanding the need to upgrade servers and optimize resources.
Conversely, Shopify’s cloud infrastructure will scale automatically to handle any amount of traffic. That keeps your store fast and responsive even during the busiest selling days.
The platform’s CDN makes sure that your store loads fast for customers from any part of the world. This global infrastructure becomes really important when you decide to expand into international markets.
According to studies, 53% of consumers leave websites that take more than three seconds to load, making Shopify’s performance optimization features crucial in maintaining customer satisfaction and sales.
5. Comprehensive Analytics and Business Intelligence
Success in e-commerce is mostly driven by data-driven decisions, and Shopify provides advanced analytics as opposed to the basic reporting in Zen Cart. You will enjoy deeper insights into your store’s performance, from real-time sales data and customer behavior analytics to inventory tracking.
The analytics provide a closer look at who your customers are and allow you to make more knowledgeable decisions on product offerings, marketing strategies, and the management of inventories.
Additionally, the analytics dashboard of Shopify allows for easy consumption of its data, where you can immediately identify the trends and opportunities of your store. The key metrics tracked in Shopify include the mean order value, customer lifetime value, and conversion rates, among others, which need to be available out of the box.
Conclusion
Migrating your store from Zen Cart to Shopify is an investment in the future of your business. With better mobile responsiveness, great security features, advanced marketing capabilities, scalability, and comprehensive analytics, this platform will ultimately provide you with all the tools to grow your online business effectively.
While migration may require some careful planning, the long-term benefits greatly outweigh the initial effort. Begin updating your e-commerce with features offered by Shopify, and plan your migration strategy today.
