In 2008, the software company Sum Effect acquired the eCommerce platform digiSHOP Pro and turned it into CoreCommerce. Since then, CEO Matt DeLong has helped CoreCommerce earn a permanent spot as one of the top platforms on the market. Today, CoreCommerce adds updates about every six weeks to try and stay competitive in a crowded market. Read our CoreCommerce review below.
OverviewCoreCommerce is a cloud-based online-shopping platform. Its goal is to help businesses and entrepreneurs quickly create a professional site for an affordable price. While it is a reliable option, there are obvious areas for improvement.
Who is CoreCommerce Designed for?
While they will be quick to assert that the program is designed for any size business, that may not be entirely accurate. CoreCommerce is capable of handling high volume sales. However, even the more expensive plans come with usage restrictions. Larger businesses may find that they exceed storage and bandwidth limitations. This can result in monthly fees. It simply isn’t worth paying penalties when there are unlimited options on the market. For this reason, CoreCommerce is best for small to medium businesses.
Area of Focus
CoreCommerce bills itself as a versatile platform that is perfect for entrepreneurs. It also offers excellent discounts for non-profits looking to build a site. Otherwise, its big selling point is excellent customer service. They work to provide superior support to all their clients. In this area, they succeed.
Limitations
Storage and bandwidth limitations may be enough to turn away some potential users. While this isn’t uncommon in eCommerce platforms, it can be problematic. If you are expecting to expand quickly, paying for overages isn’t something you want to worry about.
Scalability
CoreCommerce is scalable in the sense that you can upgrade plan at any time. However, there are better choices for big businesses looking for sophisticated SEO tools and no overage fees.
Canceling Your Account
Unhappy with CoreCommerce? Canceling your account is easy. All you have to do is create a cancelation ticket. If you want to restore your account, there will be a $150 fee. Otherwise, there are no cancelation fees. Only monthly subscriptions are available, so there is no need to big refunds.
Reputation
CoreCommerce has built a reputation for customer service. While they still have some room for improvement, you can expert help. The software is also commonly ranked among the top ten platforms. The company is a trusted name in the industry.
Awards and Certifications
CoreCommerce is PCI certified. However, they have yet to snag any significant awards. In 2012, they did receive three Stevie nominations. They were recognized in the Computer Software, Best Software Programming/Design, and Best Ecommerce Site categories.
The future may bring some actual wins. The platform was recently acquired and is gearing up for a big makeover. New features may bring new accolades.
Key FeaturesOne obvious drawback to CoreCommerce that is frequently cited by expert reviews is that CoreCommerce comes with limited storage. Even the most expensive and expansive packing plans only allow for a limited inventory. While this might not be a problem as you are starting your business, it may cause significant headaches down the road as your needs change.
Despite this limitation, critics were pleased with the program, awarding it 8 to 8.5 stars out of ten. While CoreCommerce isn’t necessarily the strongest all-around program on the market, it has successfully made a name for itself by focusing on a few key areas. The program has tried to make a mark by offering a broad range of quality features and excellent social media tools. They have also gone above and beyond to provide reliable customer support. If these areas also rank among your top priorities, then CoreCommerce is a great eCommerce solution.
Finally, critics do acknowledge that while a lot of features can be a plus, it can also create a confusing and crowded control panel. This seems to mirror the user criticism that the backend is too disorganized. Despite this, CoreCommerce is a strong contender and worth checking out.
Oddly enough, a lot of the positive reviews directly contradict the negative criticism from users. While some users have been fully disappointed in the interface, others found it easy to use and navigate. This may vary according to how much experience you have with exploring the backend of websites.
CoreCommerce users also found the customer support very helpful. The support team is based out of the U.S., which definitely works in its favor. Users felt like it was easy to contact someone in the same time zone who could provide informative answers.
Other CoreCommerce positives include:
Finally, CoreCommerce provides excellent social media tools that are easy to integrate. If social media is a big part of your marketing strategy, then CoreCommerce can help.
While CoreCommerce has been around since 2008, there simply isn’t a lot of consumer feedback about the program. What is out there isn’t exactly glowing. CoreCommerce receives poor reviews when it comes to user experience. Many feel that the entire program is poorly designed and chaotic. It seems that the developers forgot to think about how to bets organize features and present a clean interface to users to navigate the backend of their site. This can make CoreCommerce feel overwhelming, especially for beginners.
Here are a few other areas that were commonly mentioned in negative reviews:
Design & CustomizationTemplates
CoreCommerce offers over one hundred free templates. Unfortunately, many of them look out of date and have an amateur feel. Part of the problem is the color palates. A simple update to more professional and appealing colors would do some of the templates a world of good. Overall, the themes lack a polished look that is available in other competitors’ selection of themes.
Customizing Your Site
For beginners, you can just use the design wizard to get started. It will provide you with a step-by-step guide. Basic directions cover choosing a theme, changing the logo and adding navigation menus. For those you want to make more changes, there are plenty of tools. You can use the drag and drop editor or edit through CSS and HTML. CoreCommerce is quite flexible when it comes to customizing your site.
Design Services
If you don’t want to spend time on design, you can pay for CoreCommerce’s design services. Designers will customize individual parts of the website for a few hundred dollars. For example, you can purchase a logo for $399. Or, you can opt to have the entire site customized, which starts from $2299. In the world of web design, this is a relatively affordable price. Just be careful. That number can quickly grow as you add requests.
Whatever design route you choose, expect your site to be mobile friendly. Not all themes are responsive, but you will get a mobile version of your site. This is a critical feature for online businesses. The majority of shoppers browse on a phone or tablet.
Design Interface
The admin panel has been described as boring by some. Fortunately, it still gets the job done. Even novices will quickly take to the layout and learn where to find common functions. You can even customize your display so that the features you use most are listed first. There is no need to waste time scrolling through options. Like most of the program, the user interface could benefit from an update, but it offers all the functionality you need.
Social Sharing
Social media integration is a real CoreCommerce strength. Linking your social media accounts is simple and intuitive. You can even sell products on Facebook. The features encourage customers to “like” and comment on products. This is a big bonus for those looking to build a social media following. A built-in blog feature also makes it easy to create and publish posts.
Features & Tools | Feature | Overview |
|---|---|
| Online Store Setup | The setup wizard takes all the guesswork out of getting started. Just follow along and build your store in minutes. |
| Bandwidth and Storage | These features vary per pricing package. This is a common practice among eCommerce platforms. Usage limitations may not be an issue for small or medium sized stores. However, beware of overage charges for larger stores. |
| Shopping Cart Plugins and Add-ons | Your shopping cart is fully customizable. Their list of options is quite impressive. From one-page checkouts to handling returns, you can do anything. |
| Order Management | CoreCommerce has gone above and beyond to include order management tools. You are in full control and can make changes as needed. Every little detail is fully customizable. |
| Shipment Tracking | CoreCommerce offers more shipping options than other eCommerce platforms. Use the shipping wizard to get started and ship through major carriers. You can calculate rates or set a flat rate. Drop shipping is also available, and you can print your labels. It doesn’t get much more all-inclusive than that. |
| CRM Features | Again, this platform is perhaps strongest when it comes to management tools. Easily communicate with customers and build a reputation for exemplary service. |
| Templates and Themes | They tend to look outdated, but can be customized. This is a weak spot for CoreCommerce, so you may want to weigh average themes against other strengths. |
| Integrations and Add-ons | The settings menu in your admin will help you access a full list of add-ons. Here, you can integrate some of the today’s most popular tools. Options include Constant Contact, Google Analytics, and eBay. CoreCommerce users can use these add-ons to create a dynamic site. |
| Mobile eCommerce | All the themes are mobile friendly. You don’t have to give a second thought to whether your site will look good on a phone or tablet. |
| Web Hosting | Rackspace provides hosting. You can rely on their powerful servers to keep your site up and running. There is no need to manually backup your data. It is also nice to know that software is updated every six to eight weeks. You won’t ever have to worry that your hosting technology is falling behind. |
| App Store | The app store is organized into main categories. You can search according to your needs. The best part is that CoreCommerce has partnered with other industry leaders to provide you will a great list of powerful tools. Amazon, Shipwire, and MailChimp can all be added with just a few clicks. |
| Blogging | A built-in blogging feature will allow you to market to customers. Write posts and quickly add images. The interface is similar to Word or WordPress and will look familiar to most users. |
| SEO and Marketing | It almost seems odd that CoreCommerce doesn’t have better SEO tools. If you are going to run an online store, you want advanced optimization capabilities. CoreCommerce only offers the most basic of options. Meta tags and custom URLs are not available on every page. This can have a significant impact on conversions. |
| Newsletters | You can set up newsletter campaigns using available add-ons. Choose from major providers like Constant Contact. CoreCommerce makes it easy to build a mailing list and reach customers. |
| Security Features | Enjoy a shared SSL, 256-but encryption, and daily backups. Hosting is secure, and an advanced firewall protects your site. These layers of protection go above and beyond most other platforms. You can rest assured that your site is secure. |
| PCI Certification | CoreCommerce is PCI certified. You can feel confident that they are implementing industry best practices. |
| Content Creation | The dashboard makes it easy to add content and products. Create custom forms and information pages or update your blog in just a few clicks. If you can use Word, you can add content. |
| Gift Certificates | Selling gift certificates and offering discounts just takes a few clicks. It couldn’t be easier. |
| Payment Options | CoreCommerce is compatible with over 50 gateways. You have plenty of great options when it comes to accepting credit cards. |
| Tax and Shipping Calculators | Quickly and easily calculate these rates. Choose your shipping options and generate tax according to location. |
| Reports | CoreCommerce is all about making it easy to manage your store. Robust reporting tools can help you look at the bigger picture. |
| Site Statistics | In just a few clicks, you can integrate Google Analytics. This is perhaps the most popular and trusted way to track and view site performance. |
Plans & Pricing Use the 15-day free trial to give CoreCommerce a try. No credit card is required, and you can enter up to three sample orders. An email address is all you will need to get started. If you like what you see, there are plenty of pricing packages to choose from. Each plan offers an SSL certificate and a monthly subscription. In general, the plans vary according to how many products you can add and the amount of bandwidth and storage you will need. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about transaction fees.
Most small businesses will do just fine with the Pioneer or Advanced plans:
Pioneer – $24.99/Month
Advanced – $39.99/Month
Larger businesses can choose from the Professional, Expert, Premier and Enterprise plans. You can also upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time if needed.
CoreCommerce’s pricing plans are in-line with the competition but aren’t necessarily leading the pack. It would be helpful if they offered more unlimited options and discounts for paying for an annual subscription up front. Instead, you can expect to be billed monthly.
It is also important to note that bandwidth and storage limitations come with overage fees. This is another fact that CoreCommerce could advertise more openly. There is a $9 charge for every GB over your monthly bandwidth limit. You will also be charged $9 for every 100 MB you go over your allotted storage space.
Finally, the lower tier plans require a $199 fee to unlock your store’s API. For most entrepreneurs running their site, API access won’t be a priority. However, it is something to be aware of when comparing available platforms.
As mentioned above, the pricing plans are certainly in the same range as other platforms. The problem is that they aren’t impressive. Just middle of the road.
Customer Support CoreCommerce has one of the most accessible customer support departments in the industry. They offer:
You can reach a U.S. based representative 24/7 during the week or from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST on the weekends. Also, emergency tickets can be submitted at any time or day. Users can also connect to CoreCommerce’s active Twitter and Facebook pages.
The platform also offers an extensive and easily searchable knowledge base and plenty of video tutorials. There are a variety of highly informative resources if you run into problems. To hone your skills, sign up for the monthly webinars.
With CoreCommerce, there is a clear commitment to customer service and support. The staff is quick to respond, courteous and informative. If you go looking for an answer, you are sure to find it. In fact, you can probably find it in several different places.
Ease of Use CoreCommerce advertises itself as designed for beginners. However, if you have zero experience with the backend of websites, the dashboard can feel cramped and overwhelming. More experienced users will have an easier time sorting through the options. The good news is that you can customize your admin view. It won’t take long to get a hang of how to navigate around create a personalized menu that provides helpful shortcuts.
While the overall look may feel outdated, the functionality is all there. The drag and drop editor is easy to use, which means no need for coding. Making changes to every detail of the site feels pretty intuitive. You won’t waste time trying to figure out what certain buttons do. The entire user interface should look and feel familiar to anyone with the slightest about of web experience.
More advanced users can go directly to the CSS or HTML to enter changes. CoreCommerce offers all the design and management features you would want in a user-friendly platform. It may not be the most visually impressive dashboard, but it certainly gets the job done.
Conclusion Is CoreCommerce Right for You?
If you are a small or medium size business who is looking for the best management tools, then yes. Out of all the eCommerce and shopping cart platforms available, CoreCommerce seems to offer the most options when it comes to running your business. A lot of people get caught up in the design of their website. While appearance is essential to attracting customers, it can be easy to forget about day-to-day tasks. CoreCommerce will help you run your business. With the strong and flexible order, inventory and customer management tools, you will feel in full control of you online store.
On the other hand, if a design is most important to you, CoreCommerce can feel a little at the time. The dashboard and themes look a little dated despite their functionality. For the latest in gorgeous and professional themes, you will want to look somewhere else.
The exciting news is that a new company recently acquired CoreCommerce. One can only assume that new leadership will mean a design update. With new templates, CoreCommerce may truly be a force to be reckoned with.
Alternatives
Expert Reviews
User Reviews
