3dcart was founded in 2001 by Gonzalo Gil. He started with the goal of gathering all the great eCommerce features and making them available on one platform. Since their inception, 3dcart has continued to adapt to technology and changing markets. It now has over 17,000 users and growing. Read our 3dCart review below.
Overview3dcart has managed to stay relevant in a competitive market by providing a wide range of services. Their features speak to startups who only handle a few sales a week, as well as, large businesses that process hundreds of sales and host thousands of visitors on a regular basis. This fully hosted platform allows you to create quickly and easily an eCommerce store with a customer friendly shopping cart and checkout.
Who is 3dcart best for?
3dcart can be used to sell and ship actual items or digital products on any scale. This versatile platform is best suited for those just starting their business. It is especially useful if you don’t have access to a marketing department. Even the starter plan offers marketing tools that will help you promote your business. Enjoy CRM services and a Facebook store. A domain name and hosting plan are also included for free. You can launch a website and start with a comprehensive marketing plan, all in one platform.
What is the biggest advantage of 3dcart?
The biggest advantage of using this platform is versatility. It can be used by weekend warriors and large online stores. This also means that it is capable of growing with your business. As you gain customers, increase your inventory and improve your design skills, you will just learn to use 3dcart differently. You won’t ever have to worry about outgrowing the platform. It also helps that 3dcart is always being updated and improved. If there are functionalities that you don’t like or are missing, you might see that change in the next update.
What is the biggest disadvantage of 3dcart?
Perhaps the most significant problem of 3dcart is that there are limitations on bandwidth usage. This is almost unheard of with other eCommerce and shopping cart programs. Ultimately, usage limits are an outdated practice that needs to go. With so many other unlimited options on the market, it seems like only a matter of time before 3dcart will be forced to fall in step.
The consumer website FinancesOnline awarded 3dcart with the 2015 Award for Great User Experience and the Best Shopping Cart Software. While it does have its critics, 3dcart provides an excellent all-around tool.
Key FeaturesWhile consumers are quick to gloss over some of 3dcarts inadequacies, critics tend to regard them as more serious problems. In the world of eCommerce, web design can be a deciding factor when it comes to the success of your business. According to the experts, 3dcart falls short in this area. A common comment was that the templates need to be updated to reflect web design best practices and stay competitive. Users also brought up this point, but the experts are more critical of this flaw.
In addition, experts consistently found the admin section less than impressive and somewhat difficult to navigate. It was often described as “clunky” and “cluttered.” The backend is styled differently than most programs, which also means that it may take some more getting used to.
Despite these drawbacks, experts are still quick to recommend 3dcart and generally award it 4 to 4.5 stars. 3dcart earns high marks for being fully functional and customizable as well as affordable. Experts were also impressed with the level of customer support, which includes a live chat feature. These positive aspects of the software are enough to consistently land 3dcart in the top three platforms on the market.
Consumer reviews of 3dcart are overwhelming positive. In fact, they are downright glowing. Users find it easy to set up the store, and they appreciate the feature-rich design. 3dcart is ideally suited to accommodate practically any size business and makes it easy to integrate third-party programs. Here are some of the features that consumers seem to enjoy the most:
3dcart consistently receives 5-star ratings and is clearly a favorite among online retailers. Consumers also appreciate the fact that the developers take any suggestions for improvement to heart. It doesn’t take long for suggested features to become standard, which means that 3dcart is constantly expanding and improving to keep up with changing markets. This is one of the reasons many retailers switch to 3dcart.
Negative reviews of 3dcart are few and far between. Some users were disappointed with the simplicity of the free themes were, but this shouldn’t come as any surprise. Considering that they are free, switch expectations shouldn’t be too high. The good news is that consumers were pleased with the look of premium themes although they do come with a price tag.The other area where there seems to be room for improvement is in the overall flow of the backend.While the design of the interface is relatively easy to get used to, completing tasks like uploading images can start to feel tedious. This could become especially annoying for large retailers who need to manage a sizable inventory.
Even these complaints weren’t enough to result in overall negative reviews. The positive aspects of 3dcart seem to outweigh any flaws far. In fact, many customers switched to 3dcart from other platforms.
Design & CustomizationTemplates
One of the biggest criticisms against 3dcart is that doesn’t offer enough templates. The site currently has over 100 templates.The vast majority of templates are free. However, critics are quick to point out that some of the templates are simply duplicates that offer the same general layout. The only difference is the color scheme. That being said, the available templates are mobile friendly and fully responsive. Customers can easily browse and shop using any device.
Customizing your template
It is also important to note that the templates can be easily customized using a variety of different tools. Making adjustments is easy not matter what level of design experience you may have. So while some may point to a limited number of template options, you still have the freedom to tweak and customize any basic design.
Design tools
For those with coding experience, you can make changes using HTML and CSS for a high level of customization. If you aren’t that advanced when it comes to coding, not to worry. The 3dcart drag-n-drop is editor one of the best in the industry. Anyone can quickly and easily make changes. Finally, the WYSIWYG editor can be used to adjust the layout and customize the header and footer areas.
Overall, the design interface is user-friendly. It provides plenty of wiggle room to make adjustments. You can create a custom storefront that best showcases your products and offers easy shopping and checkout. The templates may leave something to be desired, but that is a problem that can be easily fixed with the many editing options.
Features & Tools | Feature | Overview |
| Setup | Setting up your site it quick and easy. The wizard will walk you through all the steps. The entire process can be completed in under an hour. |
| Gateway Integration | 3dcart is compatible with over 100 payment methods. It is quick and easy to integrate a variety of payment gateways. You can choose the best options for both you and your customers. |
| Customer Rewards and Wishlists | Customers can shop and add items from your store to their wish list. This feature helps convert future sales. You can also use 3dcart to set up a rewards program. You might use it to all frequent customers to accumulate points towards their next purchase. These features help you to build strong relationships with your clients. |
| Order Management | 3dcart makes it easy to manage orders. Detailed reports tell you exactly how certain products are performing. You can also streamline the bookkeeping process. The program eliminates duplicate content for easy data entry. All this can be done right in the admin section of your website. |
| International Sales Optimization | The standard version of 3dcart is not optimized for international sales. You can purchase apps that will help you market to a global audience. Some apps offer translation services and other marketing tools for a monthly fee. |
| CDN Technology | Unfortunately, 3dcart does not come with CDN technology. This can create slow page load times. Users can integrate their CDN programs or shop the app store for add-ons. |
| Plugins and add-ons | 3dcart is already one of the most feature-rich platforms on the market. You can further enhance your site’s functionality by adding apps. Many of these apps are available for free. Pricing for other apps varies and may require a one-time fee or a monthly or yearly subscription. All of the apps are easy to integrate into your existing site and start using from day one. |
| Inventory Management | Adding new products to your site can be labor intensive with 3dcart. The products page is packed with different required fields. Working your way through all the available options can be a little daunting. Fortunately, you can speed up the process by using a CSV template. Take advantage of the sample CSV import file that 3dcart makes available. 3dcart will also send you an email to warn you when your inventory is small. |
| Shipment Tracking | Enjoy the benefits of real-time shipment tracking and the shipment cost calculator. You can instantly determine how much it will cost to ship an item and produce a tracking number. Users can watch as your package makes its way across the country or the globe. |
| CRM Features | Businesses can quickly build mailing lists and track customer behavior. You can even send reminder emails to clients who have abandoned their cart. The CRM system allows customers to create tickets and saves a record of all interactions. Both customers and employees can easily follow-up on the status of a ticket for better customer service. |
| emplates and Themes | As mentioned above, 3dcart is often criticized for not having more template options. However, that might not be a fair assessment.Currently, there are about 100 available templates.That number is steadily growing. Also, users can easily customize any template using a variety of tools. There are unlimited options when it comes to creating a unique eCommerce site. |
| Integrations and Add-ons | 3dcart comes standard with a long list of features. Unlike other products on the market, it doesn’t require add-ons to provide a fully functional and versatile shopping experience. However, there are add-ons available that can be integrated into any existing website. |
| Mobile Optimization | Users will enjoy a website that has been fully optimized for mobile devices. This is true no matter what template or pricing plan you choose. |
| Web Hosting | 3dcart offers free hosting and domains. You can build your entire site from the ground up with 3dcart. |
| SEO and Marketing | 3dcart provides a fully optimized platform that uses the latest in best practices to help you outrank the competition. 3dcart will help you create search engine friendly URLs and meta tags. You can also contribute to boosting your rankings and online presence by taking advantage of the blogging platform that allows you to publish posts quickly. |
| Newsletters | Users will receive regular emails from 3dcart. You can also access an online community and a university that offers video tutorials on a broad range of topics. |
| Site Security | The last thing you want is to leave your customers’ private information vulnerable to attack. 3dcart offers some of the best security protection available in the form of a free shared SSL. You can also choose between five other security plans to amp really up the protection. Prices for this additional service start at $79 and go to $995. |
| PCI Certification | 3dcart has been PCI certified since early 2009. |
| Content Creation | The WYSIWYG editor allows you to create pages quickly and adds content. You can even start and maintain a business blog from the admin section of your website. |
| Gift Certificates | With 3dcart, you can create and sell gift certificates as a product item. When a customer purchases a gift certificate, a unique code is generated that can then be redeemed for the dollar amount. |
| Payment Options | 3dcart provides access to over 100 payment processors – from credit cards and PayPal to Dwolla and everything in between. You essentially have limitless options when it comes to processing payments. You can even opt for the 3dcart Merchant, which starts at $19.99. Buyer beware: this service has a tendency to accumulated hidden costs. You may end up paying far more than the advertised sticker price. |
| Tax and Shipping Calculators | Both taxes and shipping are automatically calculated at checkout based on the customer’s location. |
| Reports | Detailed reporting tools allow you to gather information on your clients and your products. You can quickly:
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Plans & Pricing Plans are competitively priced and include some perks. Bing ad credits, a Facebook store, and domain registration are all standard. Just remember that there are bandwidth limits. You will have to keep an eye on your usage or be prepared to pay $5 per GB.
Customer Support If you encounter problems, there are plenty of avenues to seek customer support.
Response times vary, but the company advertises an average hold time of 5 minutes over the phone and up to 30 minutes online.While this isn’t ideal, it is still within the realm of reasonable. This is especially true considering the volume of inquiries they must deal with from their 17,000+ clients. Overall, reviews of 3dcart’s customer service trends towards the negative. Clients report an unsatisfactory experience although most of the complaints were related to billing issues.
Ease of Use 3dcart offers a versatile platform that speaks to a wide range of ability levels. Beginners can start from scratch and quickly build a site. Once you enroll, you will receive a detailed instructional email. The site includes a wizard that will walk you step-by-step through the setup process.
User interface/Admin Panel
3dcart has been criticized for having a drab interface. However, from a functional perspective, it is extremely intuitive and easy to navigate. The interface design isn’t the most visually appealing, but it is highly useful. The display features prominent buttons to sign post standard tools and a logical organization that is easy to understand. If you have any problems, there is help available. You can ask questions using the live chat, call customer support or watch some of the video tutorials. The drag-n-dropped editor is similar to WordPress. It offers a simple and straightforward way to create and update your website.
Those with a little more design experience, have a few options. You can use HTML, CSS or the WYSIWYG editor to customize your website. There are plenty of editing options that make 3dcart user-friendly and perfect for anyone from beginners to experts.
Conclusion The combination of an intuitive interface and a comprehensive customer support system makes 3dcart an extremely accessible option. With competitive pricing, a fully hosted system and a platform that is packed with features, it is easy to see why 3dcart has mass appeal.
On the whole, users report an overwhelmingly positive experience with 3dcart. The program allows beginners to get start an eCommerce store in just minutes. The crowded interface may involve a learning curve, but the video tutorials can help bridge that gap.
If nothing else, try out the 15-day free trial and be your judge.
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