Joomla vs Magento vs Oscommerce - for an online catalogue / store

Joomla vs Magento vs Oscommerce - for an online catalogue / store


On pricing up a current job I have the above dliemma. There are other solutions to providing an online store no doubt such as Zen Cart ( i've not used Zen Cart but it's likely to be an apporvement on Oscommerce as it was a break away group that
created it ), making one inhouse (not sure why you'd want to put yourself through the pain of this, I wouldn't reccomend such a large task on your own) and doing a search on a script database like hotscripts.com gives you a whole list http://www.hotscripts.com/search/php/online+store.

However the 3 above are ones I've used before so am familiar with them.



The Website criteria.
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Design is a big issue. the customer has a precise view of how they want the site to look.
An online Catalogue of products with easy navigation.


The solutions discussed.

Magento -> This is one of the most advanced php open sourced shopping cart solutions around. Using a Zend library and a sound MVC (Model View Control) principles. It certainly appeals to me, the only thing is getting my head around making templates->
This post indicates that design shouldn't be a problem
http://www.magentocommerce.com/boards/viewthread/28875/ .

Another thing that also makes me lean away from Magento is that it does at present seem to have issues when upgrading that can cause serious headaches. I'm sure this will be less of an issue in the near future though.


Oscommerce -> The old trustworthy one!
The Plus Points.
1. Because I've been using this one for quite a while then I am fully confident about manipulating the design to fit my needs.
2. Again with familiarity the coding is easy to understand making applications that need to be made easier.

The Minus Points.
1. As Oscommerce is an old Open Sourced project then the framework itself could now do with an overhall in my opinion. V3 beta has now been realeased so some issues may have been sorted.
2. A lot more applications now seem to be being made for the other solutions here, therefore this may cause more work in the long run.
3. I spent an eternity getting Google Merchant to work on Oscommerce without a fully succesful outcome in the end.


Joomla ->
Joomla's answer is a CMS ( Content Mangement Sysytem ) - After basic installation you can then add extensions, which are easy to install. Most of the time taken in setting up configurations to suit you're site. Some of these Extensions cost but most are free ( although a small donation should be made ).
The last job I did included a reskin for Joomla. Please visit www.littleripples.com for previous work updates. And I am now confident the template can be changed to fit any design needs. And if need components can be changed to fit the needs of the design.


So in conclusion...


Joomla wins this battel for me, however Magento experts would probably favour Magento as it is more focused on the shopping cart side of things. I believe that in using Joomla I will be able to provide future developments for the customer at a much better price.