Designed for Online Merchants

Zen Cart™ truly is the art of e-commerce; a free, user-friendly, open source shopping cart system. The software is being developed by group of like-minded shop owners, programmers, designers, and consultants that think e-commerce could be and should be done differently.

Some "solutions" seem to be complicated programming exercises instead of responding to users' needs, Zen Cart™ puts the merchants and shoppers requirements first. Similarly, other programs are nearly impossible to install and use without an IT degree, Zen Cart™ can be installed and set-up by anyone with the most basic web site building and computer skills.

There are hundreds of shopping cart programs available, but none come close to offering to level of options, features and support available with Zen Cart™. Even the commercial programs have a hard time competing.

Designed with shoppers in mind.

Developers and designers love it.

A long list of features.

Strong, growing, helpful online community.

Why should you choose Zen Cart™ to power your e-commerce site? Let's face it. There are 100's of shopping cart programs around, all with different strengths and weaknesses. Zen Cart™ is superior to most in ease-of-use, features and price.

Zen Cart™ is built for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs. The program is built by programmers and designers who understand the online selling process from start to finish. Zen Cart™ has included all the necessary tools required to build a successful online store and we are constantly improving and upgrading the software based on our users requirements.

Below is a list of the major features included in Zen Cart™.

Easy Installation checks the database and server for requirements before installing installs using a built-in installation tool prepopulates the basic store information optional demo products	Global E-Commerce Ready multiple language support multiple tax support multiple shipping methods multiple currency support multiple payment methods
Customer Status Modes unrestricted shopping must register to view prices must register to view prices and merchandise showroom only	Catalog Status Modes showcase mode without prices showcase mode with prices normal shopping mode down for maintenance mode
Categories and Products unlimited category depth physical merchandise downloadable virtual products products can reside in multiple categories product options as dropdowns, radio buttons, checkboxes, and text input	Customer Retention Tools periodic newsletter in plain text or HTML order status emails and records in the customer account referral tools gift certificates
Promotions, Sales and Discounts individual special prices global sale reductions category-wide sale prices discount coupons customer group discounts quantity discounts one-time charges minimum and maximum purchases per product prices by attributes	Powerful Administration Tool configure your minimum and maximum values, image sizes and customer details choose which layout settings to use for the spotlight listings pick which details to show on your product details page edit your policies pages with HTML (if desired) add, delete, move, link or copy your products create and manage your product attributes manage product reviews, featured products, specials and storewide sales shipping and payment module installation and management price and taxation control banner advertising controls newsletter creation and sending content management tool, easily add new content pages
Fully Customizable Catalog Templates XHTML 1.0 compliant - nearly table-less layout change the colors, fonts and many graphics using Cascading Stylesheets add, move, remove sideboxes via the Admin Tool template overrides that do not get overwritten during upgrades override functionality without having to learn PHP create as many different looks as you would like and choose them from the admin