I'm trying to decide on a shopping cart for a friend and so far Magento is my favorite (free or really cheap is the main requirement), but it does seem slow.

What are your opinions? Is it realistic to expect Magento to run in a shared hosting environment? The only alternative I've found so far is OSCommerce.

Magento Commerce is a really powerful eCommerce tool. It can't be compared to OsCommerce as they are different.

A dedicated server would be perfect for Magento.
However, shared hosting is also ok if you are willing to 'wait'. ;)

Just make sure you get a faster shared host. :D

Check out ZenCart.

Magento has been recently discussed by alot of people. Take a look at some of these threads below, and use the search feature to find more opinions if you need them:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=688435
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=695102

Hope that helps,

Magento Commerce is a really powerful eCommerce tool. It can't be compared to OsCommerce as they are different.

A dedicated server would be perfect for Magento.
However, shared hosting is also ok if you are willing to 'wait'. ;)

Just make sure you get a faster shared host. :D
If Magento uses as much resources as people suggest, shared hosting my NOT be okay if he gets suspended for resource abuse.

If Magento uses as much resources as people suggest, shared hosting my NOT be okay if he gets suspended for resource abuse.

100% agree & correct, personally tested on shared and dedicated server

I'm definitely trying to avoid Zen Cart, as that hits the database ridiculously hard. Now it seems like Magento will be too resource intensive, too. :( Why can't any of these projects write a decent cart without leaving my server a smoking ruin?

I'm definitely trying to avoid Zen Cart, as that hits the database ridiculously hard. Now it seems like Magento will be too resource intensive, too. :( Why can't any of these projects write a decent cart without leaving my server a smoking ruin?
Are you running it on shared or dedicated hosting?

Shared, although I've never had a problem with load times before trying the shopping cart software. We've decided to go with Magento and possibly switch hosts once the store is set up.

Shared, although I've never had a problem with load times before trying the shopping cart software. We've decided to go with Magento and possibly switch hosts once the store is set up.
Good luck. Hope you'll update us on the site link. :)

P/S: Magento actually works in Shared environment as well. We've tested it. ;)

Magento works on any platform, it's just a matter of how slow it loads. It really is a nice piece of software, barring the fact that it is possibly the most slow new-style web application I've ever tried coming across.

Magento 1.1 is coming around the corner with some new features:
1. Performance Improvements: Since the 1.0 release we have been working on improving the performance of Magento and the 1.1 release will see further gains (as much as 40% performance improvements in the catalog and sales modules).
2. Admin UI improvements: Changes will be made to only load data when necessary, improving the responsiveness of the Admin Panel.
3. Web Services API: A highly requested feature which will make integrating Magento with 3rd party software much easier. The API will be added for the catalog, customers and sales modules.
4. Virtual Products: These products which do not require shipping information and/or inventory management add to Magento’s product types by allowing for store owners to more easily create and manage products.
5. Customer Defined Product Options: This functionality will allow customers to define text, images, etc. for products.
6. Bundled Products: One of the most exciting features, this will allow store owners to create built to order products and will further extend the product options available in Magento.
7. Improved support for EU and Canadian taxes: The tax rules and functionalities for EU and Canadian taxes will be added to the Core, which should be especially exciting to the Magento community outside of the US.
Source: http://www.magentocommerce.com/blog/comments/sneak-peek-magento-version-11-features

It states "performance gains", but I don't how realistically what those will be like. For us, wherever we put Magento (with the exception of some really more high end servers running locally), Magento has been crawling along and is unusable. It's nice that it has so many features, but it needs some serious optimisations as soon as possible.

Another cart software we looked at for a customer was Prestashop (http://prestashop.com/) but it's still in the RC phase; it also does not have as many features as Magento does.

Hope that helps,

:eek: Zencart runs just fine on shared servers ... I am running multiple ZC sites (personally, myself) with over 600 items apiece on the same server, and it doesn't even blink. I am not sure where you're getting your info, but ZenCart works great on a shared account.

(If your prospective host is having trouble with ZenCart on a shared server, that's a direct reflection on the host, not the script... the script is fine.)

:D Bailey

I was developing a site using Zencart/Drupal and it worked pretty good and loaded just fine but I needed something to work better with Drupal so I was going to give Magneto a try but did read about the heavy resource usage. Eventually I ended up with Ubercart and so far its turned out pretty damn good and 100% integrated with Drupal..

(If your prospective host is having trouble with ZenCart on a shared server, that's a direct reflection on the host, not the script... the script is fine.)

Oh, my host is definitely slow, but I wouldn't consider 200+ queries per page on a fresh install "fine".

:eek: Something isn't right there... a correctly-operating fresh install does not have 200+ MySQL queries per page... I just ran MySQL logging to check, and ZC uses 2 to 5 sessions per page. At most. Some pages are less. :)

And ZenCart doesn't use 1/20th the RAM/CPU that Magento uses, literally.

:D Bailey

My apologies ... I should have said 2-5 queries, not 2-5 sessions (above). It's late and I am overdue for my appt with the pillow. :)

:D Bailey

Are you sure about that? Did you use the built-in method of displaying the page parse time and number of queries? If you've got it down to 5 queries or less (which is impressive for pretty much any script), I'm definitely interested in knowing what version you're running and if you customized anything.

Their forum is filled with people complaining about the number of queries only to be told by the developers that it's normal (600-800 is about average from what I've read, the record is over 200,000 (http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64594&highlight=queries)).

See here (http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83340&highlight=queries), here (http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46702&highlight=queries), or here (http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38417&highlight=queries) for more people with the same problem.

Are you sure about that? Did you use the built-in method of displaying the page parse time and number of queries?

No, I used standard server-level MySQL logging.

If you've got it down to 5 queries or less (which is impressive for pretty much any script), I'm definitely interested in knowing what version you're running and if you customized anything.

Current version, not very customized, pretty much straight out of the box. I do have an SEO URLs plug-in installed, which does its magic through simple mod_rewrite, but that's it.


It's not so much how many queries there are Steve, but rather how the script utilizes resources. Does the script suck RAM? Does it gobble up CPU trying to chew data? ZenCart does neither of those things. Queries themselves are not a big deal. Where the problem comes in is when the server is supposed to crunch data. Simple queries do not crunch data. Simple queries are not a big deal.

Really Steve, I've been running this particular site for years and years ... I've been through four scripts with it now, and ZenCart is the lightest solution so far (in terms of server resources) ... it never comes up on the CPU/MySQL high-use report in WHM ... it never flags resource usage warnings on our monitoring scripts ... I have never, ever seen it drive the load up on the server.

In my experience, ZenCart is a very well written, optimized, implemented piece of software ... way way way better than its gangly predecessor OSCommerce. And it is but a whisper of a shadow compared to the resource HAWG called Magento. ;)

(I am running ZenCart and Magento side-by-side, incidentally, and they are so dissimilar it should be a crime to discuss the two in the same thread.)

:D Bailey

I realize that several simple queries would be faster than a complex one, but there's no excuse for the amount of queries people are seeing, especially since many of them seem to be the same query executed multiple times. If your database server isn't using a lot of resources, that's just luck more than anything. The fact that basic database usage is apparently too difficult for the developers doesn't exactly fill me with confidence in the rest of their code.

Try enabling "Display the page parse time" in your admin panel, as I really doubt only 5 queries are being executed. If you've got it running quickly though, I'd love to know how you did it. Got a link?

No Steve, it's not luck. It's standard.

You are confusing performance issues with very large product databases, which have multiple options per product and inventories per option per product, with a standard and average stock store. You are referring to the exception and insisting it is the standard -- No. It is the exception, it is not how the 98% of Zencart installations run. Most shop's carts run quickly and smoothly. It is a rare bird that encounters problems.

When considering which shopping cart to use for your website, you absolutely must know what you will be selling, the functionality you need to properly present it (e.g., do you need to be able to specify sizes? Have a text box for monogramming?), and what customer service and website features that you want your site to have. Make a list. These are the factors that you need to have in your prospective shopping cart.


How many SKUs will you expect to have?
What kind of products will you be selling?
How many categories will you have?
Those are the factors which should be guiding your script choice, not what random issues a few fringe users are experiencing. ;)


This thread was inquiring about the resource usage of Magento. We have established that ZenCart is far easier on server resources than Magento. That is fact. ZenCart is far easier on server resources than an equivalently hacked-up copy of its ancient cousin, OSCommerce. That, too, is fact. These were the questions being asked... And those are the answers.

No matter what cart you choose, if it has a lot of options and dependent inventories/data, then there will be a lot of variables which are called from the database in the course of each SQL query. This is necessary because of the type of data -- the dependencies -- which are absolutely essential in order to provide the data being requested. Think through the architecture here. The more options you have, the more data that must be sought and retrieved.


If you are looking for another cart which is designed to handle options, but does not have as much "fringe" functionality as ZenCart (such as defining and adding pages), have a look at Avactis (http://www.avactis.com). I haven't yet had a chance to play with it in depth, however, I also haven't read a single performance-related complaint anywhere. And the developers are extremely responsive. ZenCart has a lot of bells & whistles that Avactis lacks ... Avactis is beautiful both in its simplicity and its flexibility, so maybe that will be more your speed.


I appreciate that this can be a challenging process, especially when first starting out. I've walked that walk myself -- I know what it's like. And I went through it repeatedly, each time I discovered a cart didn't meet my customers' needs, so I had to find and redeploy to a new one. ZenCart is the best of all that I have tried to date (Mal's E-Commerce (http://www.mals-e.com), OSCommerce (http://www.oscommerce.com), CRE Loaded (http://www.creloaded.com), Avactis (http://www.avactis.com), and ZenCart (http://www.zencart.com)). That doesn't include carts I won't personally touch with a 10-foot pole based on reports my customers have shared with me. :) So I appreciate the kind of work involved, and the desire to do it right the first time. That was my goal too ... but over 11 years' time, both internet technology and web users' savvy has changed. What was perfect in 2001 was painfully outdated by 2005. :)

I hope you are able to find a cart that meets your needs and that your business venture is successful. :)

:D Bailey

I have to say I'm a little confused why you're so eager to defend Zen Cart. Have you been reading my posts? Hundreds of queries per page is the standard. 214 queries to display the home page in a store with 1 product, to be exact. I think you must have either misread or had the logging configured wrong when it showed the 2-5 queries per page.

I understand that it's product attributes and categories that really make the queries skyrocket later on, but a base of 214 queries sure isn't a good place to start from. I understand how databases work and I've even written some of my own web apps. To even think that this many queries is ok for a web page just boggles my mind.

Yes, Magento is extremely slow, and I probably would have gone with a non-free script if I were making the decisions. However, I can at least do a little bit of optimization with things like mod_php. Nothing less than a complete rewrite will ever speed up Zen Cart.

oscommerce can actually be made to be quite fast and also light on server ressources..

With some very basic optimization - about 45 mysql queries pr page

With some more advanced optimization - between 25 to 35 queries pr. page

With optimization and cache - between 10 to 15 queries pr. page

I have to say I'm a little confused why you're so eager to defend Zen Cart.

Because I use it and I like it. *shrug* It works great -- better than many other carts I've tried and investigated.

I can't figure out why you're so dead-set against a piece of software you've never even used. ;) LOL

Oh well, to each their own. You are convinced you're right. Rock on. I hope all goes well for you. :)

:D Bailey