There is a wealth of functionality available to CS Cart via Add-ons making it a superb option for eCommerce. B2B, B2C, and enterprise marketplaces can benefit from the robust software, and in the hands of the right developers, CS-Cart can offer the specific functionality you need. The software has been trusted by over 50,000 eCommerce businesses. On top of that, there are over 500 multi-vendor sites that are running from the platform.
Why CS-Cart?
The community of developers who are affiliated with CS-Cart, and who are using this platform for their businesses (and their clients’ businesses) means there is a huge set of tools to choose from, ready-made to expand your business functionality.
CS-Cart offers an infrastructure that is suitable for scaling, so even if a business starts small but eventually takes off and becomes a global organisation, CS-Cart can handle this growth with ease. If you start with a platform that isn’t flexible and doesn’t have the capacity to grow with you, redeveloping could be a huge job.
CS-Cart has plenty of functionality without plug-ins and add-ons. There are already over 500 different features to suit different purposes and business types, and to cover more specific requirements, there are add-ons…
What is a CS-Cart Add-On?
CS-Cart add-ons are built by developers to expand the functionality of the software. They are coded to work in perfect harmony with CS-Cart but to add certain features you might require, from booking systems through to SEO compatible functions. They usually come in the form of “plug-ins” which work in a similar way to WordPress Plugins.
For example, if you want to add functionality to your product pages, such as adding new galleries and ways for people to see your products, or customisation options for the products, CS-Cart may offer this functionality to fit your specific needs. If it doesn’t you can explore the use of add-ons.
While great developers can go into the source code of CS-Cart and tailor it to your exact requirements, add-ons can be a tried-and-tested method to add some functions.
Below we’ve shared some of the best CS-Cart add-ons available today, all of which serve different purposes that may be very useful for your eCommerce business.
Where to Find CS-Cart Add-Ons
CS-Cart supports a number of add-ons, and the company is keen to promote others to submit their own to the marketplace.
This marketplace is split into categories including Marketing, Bundles, Finances, Optimisation (SEO) and Content.
Within the CS-Cart marketplace you will find individual product listings for the add-ons, and this is where their features are explained and described, helping you to choose the ideal option for you. On top of this, there is a review system so you can learn from other peoples’ experiences and what they have got out of the add-on.
The Best Add-Ons For CS-Cart
Of course, the “best” add-ons will depend on what you need, but there are certain models that are incredibly well-reviewed and can help with many different stores. Let’s dive into some of the best (and most widely used) add-ons for CS-Cart.
Live search and search history add-on
A quick and easy search for buyers to use to find what they want in real time. As they start to type a query, the items they are searching for are shown, by both direct matches and using a search algorithm to show items they may wish to buy.
The add-on is integrated with a service that can correct spelling errors, meaning you won’t miss out on sales based on a misspelling. On top of that, it can even take context into account when using typos.
This add-on gives you a great deal of control over the looks, with options relating to how the results appear as well as the search bar itself.
This plugin adds convenience for the user in terms of the site’s usability as well as potentially increasing conversion for the store.
Features:
- Easily search by category or search the whole store
- Loads of customisations regarding the look of the search (and results)
- Support for single seller or multi-vendor sites
- Collect and analyse search history
SEO add-ons (all in one package, 10+ add-ons)
SEO is the art of dominating the search engines and getting organic traffic to your website from Google and its competitors. Being able to properly optimise a site for the search engines can be the difference between getting no traffic and getting a continuous stream of customers from Google.
This software add-on allows you to add SEO-optimised titles and descriptions, which is one of the most crucial ways to get Google and other search engines to understand your site and rank it for search terms.
You can also control which pages you don’t want to be indexed, optimise your images with tags, and even target different locations.
The antibot technology helps to avoid blacklisted servers and bots accessing your site and hacking it or putting unnecessary load on your server. You can also take advantage of semi-automation with features like SEO for tags pages and auto-assignment by rules, which assigns the tags and meta data using a set of rules.
Features:
- Optimise category and tag pages as well as product pages
- Antibot technology to avoid hackers and spam bots
- Encourage indexing and manage the pages which appear in Google
CS-Cart booking system
The CS-Cart booking system is built to allow people to expand a traditional eCommerce marketplace and incorporate bookings based on date, time, and more. The system is ideal for hotels, restaurants, and even rental companies. You can automate availability and the plugin provides a calendar display for customers to see when they can book in before they make a payment.
The rental system and booking system work on real-time data to avoid double bookings and is very easy to manage from the back end. It’s suitable for any kind of booking, requiring payment or deposits, or booking a table or time to visit a business.
Features:
- Easily manage availability and multiple bookings
- Use real-time data to provide booking slots and to black out unavailable slots
- Convenient calendar display
Simple import from Excel, XML, CSV files with multivendor support
This is an add-on to help you to import products and product details from a variety of Excel formats. It can automate the workflow of adding these products, and for multivendor sites it can allow sellers to export their product details from an existing platform and easily upload them.
The plugin also helps with tasks like price lists and stock management, drawing information directly from files such as XML and CSV. You can also use price lists to quickly import data on how much an item costs and make it easier for sellers who may want to use your platform.
Features:
- Works with a variety of Excel file types
- Draw real-time data on stock levels and make it easy for sellers to integrate
- Easily calculate wholesale and bulk discounts using rules
FAQ addon (questions and answers)
Easily add a Frequently Asked Questions section to your page. This is something a huge number of multi-vendor platforms offer. For example, Amazon has an FAQ section for products.
With this add-on, you can choose exactly where the FAQ section is on the page, and it even supports structured data using Schema. This can help with Google and other search engine rankings. This is a great way to differentiate your service from other stores offering the same (or similar) products.
As well as helping customers make their buying decisions, it can also add SEO benefits for a site, making it more likely you will match search queries on Google and other search engines. You can choose where the FAQ section displays and choose between a number of templates to alter how the section appears on your page.
Features:
- Schema supported
- Great SEO benefits as more content is created
- Easily help customers with their buying decisions
Affiliate and Referral
Affiliate programs are notoriously tough to manage but they are an amazing way to drive traffic to your site in return for a small cut of any sales. With the Affiliate and Referral add-on it is much easier to manage pay-outs and help interested affiliates promoting your products and driving sales.
This add-on has a flexible number of payment plans and also allows you to make custom banners and widgets so your affiliates can include your site on their online platforms.
Features:
- Full video guide of how to use the affiliate programme
- Create custom links and sharing options for your affiliates
- Flexible, easy-to-manage payments
Summary
The CS-Cart community of plugins is exceptional, and there are always new and exciting plugins and additional functions being added.
CS-Cart already has over 500 different functions so you may not need add-ons to get a store up and running. Of course, the best CS-Cart add-ons vary depending on exactly what features and functionality you need, but you can hugely add to the functionality available within your site and shopfront by using the available add-ons.
