CS-Cart 5 (CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise) FAQ and Comparison with CS-Cart 4

⚡ ⚡ ⚡ IMPORTANT. “CS-Cart 5” was only a working title of our enterprise headless solution for marketplaces. It’s officially called CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise. It’s not version 5, it’s a standalone product that we will be developing along with version 4.

Usually when updating CS-Cart, you download a new version in the Updrage Center, and your store or marketplace gets the latest features. Then we proceed to develop the next version.

But when it comes to CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise, everything is different. And here’s why.

What’s the difference between CS-Cart 4 and CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise?

With CS-Cart 4, we pay much attention to backward compatibility. It means that other developers don’t have to do much to adapt their add-ons and themes for the newest version. Therefore, it is easier and cheaper for you to upgrade your store or marketplace.

CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise is not compatible with any of the add-ons or themes developed for CS-Cart 4. Third-party solutions will have to be recreated from the ground up for the new CS-Cart architecture. We had to sacrifice backward compatibility in favor of newer technologies, such as the Laravel framework.

Laravel is popular with developers: it’ll be easier for you to find an experienced developer and tailor CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise to your needs.

Why isn’t CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise a regular update?

It is not just a different CS-Cart version, it is a completely different product. We build it from scratch with a different technology stack. To give you some examples, it uses Laravel for the back end, will support PostgreSQL from the start, and will use GraphQL API for interactions with the front end.

That is to say, almost everything about CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise will be different. Developers will have to remake any add-ons or themes you may be using now, and it may take a while.

Which product suits you more?

CS-Cart 4 is great for starting an online store or marketplace quickly, without any coding. It comes with hundreds of features, and CS-Cart Marketplace offers many more add-ons and themes.

CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise is perfect for Enterprise clients—for large businesses who make a turnkey project by the means of in-house or third-party developers. The new product will have fewer constraints imposed by legacy code, and its technology stack is newer and familiar to more developers.

What are the plans for CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise?

There are some focal points that we keep in mind while developing Enterprise:

• The “API first” approach to architecture. You may also know it as “headless eCommerce”. It means that developers will be free to use any tools or frameworks to create the front end of a store or marketplace, or even a mobile application. Third-party solutions will have just as many tools to interact with CS-Cart back end as we do.
• Performance and scalability. For example, you’ll be able to run your front-end and back-end on different servers. This is just one of the many ways how CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise will allow you to increase the performance of your site.
• “Mobile first” approach to the front-end. We want Enterprise to be comfortable for use on different devices. Whenever feasible, we’ll try to use the “mobile first” approach: design the interface for mobile devices first, and then expand it for desktops.
• Ease of development. Many back-end developers know Laravel, so you’ll have more potential candidates for your projects. The “API first” approach will allow front-end developers to use any technology they like.

What will happen to CS-Cart 4 when CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise gets released?

We continue to develop, support, and update CS-Cart 4. Both CS-Carts will have separate teams responsible for them.

We do not want to force you to move to the new solution and deprive you of the things you are used to. For the entrepreneurs who want to launch an online store or marketplace fast and without coding, CS-Cart 4 will remain the best choice in the years to come.

How to get CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise when it is released?

CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise is going to be a separate product for large Enterprise clients. If you are interested in this solution, please contact us with the contact form on our website. We’ll be more specific closer to the release date. But we know one thing for sure: if you are using CS-Cart 4, you won’t see the upgrade to CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise in your Upgrade Center. These products are simply too different.

When will CS-Cart Multi-Vendor Enterprise be released?

We are planning to release Enterprise in the second half of 2022. At first, it will not have all the features and integrations that CS-Cart 4 has. We will keep enhancing it step by step.