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The Antropy OpenCart Blog

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Partex Direct OpenCart Rebuild

Multi-national corporation Partex gets a much needed overhaul of its UK branch's ailing OpenCart 1.5 site.

Antropy Hourly Rate From 2026-07-01

We review our rates twice a year, as started in January 2021. This allows us to hire the best staff and use the best tools in order to deliver…

Why Has Email Got So Difficult?

Email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo are fighting an endless war against spam, phishing, and fraud. To protect their users, they've…

Best Payment Gateways for your OpenCart Store

Choosing a payment gateway is an essential task if you sell online, and can be difficult with so many options available. It's important to find…

PetCart - A Modern OpenCart Theme Designed for Online Pet Stores

PetCart is an OpenCart theme built specifically for online pet stores. It combines a clean and approachable design with practical ecommerce…

6 Key Automations to implement for your Online Store

Providing clear and timely communications with your customer base is key to running a successful e-commerce store. One way to do this is by…

Why We Still Recommend OpenCart 3 in 2026

We take another look at OpenCart 3 and 4 - here's why OpenCart 3 is still the best version.

How to Make Your OpenCart Store Feel More Premium Without a Full Redesign

In the world of eCommerce, first impressions are everything. You only have a few seconds to convince a visitor that your brand is trustworthy,…

How to set up and use OpenCart filters

Filters can be a very useful tool for your OpenCart store, allowing customers to quickly find what they want without having to deal with…

How to Write Product Descriptions That Actually Sell

The product descriptions on most e-commerce websites are… fine. Usually, these pages would list features, maybe mention the product’s material…

CaféCart – A Warm and Elegant OpenCart Theme for Coffee Stores

CaféCart is an OpenCart theme designed specifically for businesses that sell coffee and coffee-related products. Whether you operate a specialty…

Ensuring Your Website's FTP is Fully Working

We may ask you for "FTP details" if we need to look at your site. Many times we've received details that are not working due to errors or issues…

The Hidden Reason Your OpenCart Store Is Running Slow

If your OpenCart store feels slow, whether it's loading category pages, searching for products, or processing orders, the issue is often more…

How to Install Analytics Tools and Make Sure You are GDPR Compliant

February 26, 2026

Setting up an analytics tool (like Google Analytics or Microsoft Clarity) or your store can be a great way to understand visitors to your web…

Do You Really Need a PCI Scan?

February 17, 2026

PCI compliance can be complicated, confusing and costly for any small to medium business owner. Many store owners find themselves approached by…

Ensuring GDPR Compliance in Your OpenCart Store: What You Need to Know

February 12, 2026

Running an OpenCart store means handling customer data every single day; from account registrations and orders to contact forms and marketing…

GameCart – A High-Impact CSS-Only OpenCart Theme Built for Video Game Stores

February 3, 2026

GameCart — a CSS-only OpenCart theme created specifically for video game retailers and gaming gear stores that want their storefront to feel…

CSS-Only UI Design: Why It Works So Well for OpenCart Stores

January 27, 2026

When it comes to designing high-performing OpenCart websites, simplicity often delivers the strongest results. While modern web design is full of…

OpenCart and PHP version incompatibilities

January 20, 2026

One important thing to keep in mind with your OpenCart site is to make sure that the PHP version being used in the site and your OpenCart version…

WebP - The Image Format Made for the Web

January 15, 2026

Image formats are a highly important component of modern web performance. Every image that is served to a browser affects page load time,…

How to Fix Maintenance Mode on Your OpenCart Site

January 6, 2026

Learn about Maintenance Mode and how to make sure it doesn't disrupt sales.

HomeCart – A Modern, CSS-Only OpenCart Theme Designed for Furniture Stores

December 16, 2025

HomeCart combines elegant visuals, smart structure, and high performance into a theme that puts your products first. With its carefully balanced…

How to Install a Theme in OpenCart 3.x

December 9, 2025

OpenCart themes enhance the look and feel of your e-commerce website, allowing you to create an identity which matches your brand and style.…

Making sure your website's private files are not publicly accessible

December 4, 2025

One important thing to pay attention to in regards to your own OpenCart website is to make sure that all private data remains private, as any…

Deciphering Customer Details in OpenCart: Real Users vs. Bots (How to avoid spam?)

November 25, 2025

As your OpenCart store grows, so does the likelihood of attracting automated spam and bot-driven activity. While some attempts are obvious,…

Antropy Hourly Rate From 2026-01-01

November 18, 2025

As described in a previous blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire…

Optimising OpenCart for Mobile: Best Practices for 2025

November 12, 2025

Learn how to optimise your OpenCart store for mobile in 2025. Boost site speed, improve UX, streamline checkout, and increase conversions with…

Product Options in OpenCart

November 4, 2025

Product Options in OpenCart allow you to create variations of products, such as size and colour, without having to make duplicate products. This…

Why You Shouldn’t Edit the Default Theme Using the Theme Editor

October 30, 2025

While using the OpenCart Theme Editor seems like a quick and easy way to modify the looks of your site, It’s generally not a good idea to use the…

Why the Journal Theme Might Not Be the Best Choice for Your OpenCart Store

October 21, 2025

Journal is one of the most popular OpenCart themes - but as we all know, popular doesn't always mean better....

Introducing SnazzyCart – A Stylish, CSS-Only OpenCart Theme for Sunglasses Stores

October 17, 2025

If your OpenCart store sells sunglasses, eyewear, or accessories, there’s a new way to make your products stand out — introducing SnazzyCart, a…

Dark Mode in eCommerce: When to Use It and Why It Works

October 10, 2025

In recent years, dark mode has become more than just a design trend—it’s a powerful UX strategy. Brands across fashion, tech, luxury, and gaming…

The Importance of Caching for Your OpenCart Store

October 2, 2025

Learn why caching is essential for OpenCart stores. Improve speed, SEO, and conversions with the right caching strategy....

Why Should You Upgrade to OpenCart 3?

September 18, 2025

If your online store is currently running on an older version of OpenCart 1 or 2, now is time to upgrade to OpenCart 3. The platform introduced…

PayPal Standard - OpenCart 3 - Rounding Decimals - Wrong Amount in Total

September 10, 2025

We came across an issue in OpenCart 3 with PayPal Standard where the rounding of prices causes a total mismatch....

Why We Still Recommend OpenCart 3 in 2025

September 9, 2025

Whether it's a brand new website for your online business or an upgrade to your existing OpenCart website, you want to be on the latest and…

PrimeCart – The Ultimate Theme for Modern Electronics Stores

September 2, 2025

In the ever-evolving world of online shopping, customers expect more than just products — they expect a smooth, fast, and visually engaging…

Why You Should Not Modify Core OpenCart Files

August 28, 2025

An explanation as to why it is not a good idea to modify core OpenCart files....

AI Progress in 2025 and What It Means for Ecommerce

August 28, 2025

Like many who grew up in the '80s with the ZX Spectrum, I've always been aware of a background narrative of the amazing progress of technology.…

Too Many Connections Error in OpenCart

If your OpenCart store suddenly shows an error like “Too many connections” or "Max user connections", this means your site has hit its server…

How to reduce your disk space usage in OpenCart

Running out of disk space on your OpenCart website can lead to serious problems - from failed checkouts and broken backups to complete site…

VeloCart – A Fast, Clean, CSS-Only OpenCart Theme for Cycling Stores

VeloCart is a modern, CSS-only OpenCart theme designed for cycling stores that want speed, style, and simplicity. With a lightweight build and…

An Introduction to The OpenCart 3 Language Editor

The language editor exists to edit much of the text that can be found on an OpenCart site. It natively continues the multilingual support of…

Fix Gmail SMTP in OpenCart (2025 Update)

Running into issues sending emails from your OpenCart store using Gmail? You're not alone. Google has sunset support for app passwords, breaking…

Introducing TimeCart: A Modern CSS-Only OpenCart Theme for Watch Retailers

TimeCart is a refined, fully responsive CSS-only OpenCart theme designed specifically for modern watch retailers and luxury timepiece brands....

How to Properly Restrict Bingbot from Crawling Unnecessary Links

In this blog we will cover the basics on how to restrict Bingbot (or any other search engine crawler - excluding Googlebot). We'll dive into how…

Antropy Hourly Rate From 2025-07-01

As described in a recent blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire the…

Unleash the Power of Your Store with FitCart - A High-Impact OpenCart Theme for Fitness Brands

Your fitness brand needs a storefront that works as hard as your products do. Introducing FitCart, a bold, performance-driven CSS-only OpenCart…

Introducing PlantCart: A Lightweight OpenCart Theme for Plant & Garden Stores

If you're running an online store for plants, garden tools, or eco-lifestyle products, your website should reflect the calm, natural aesthetic of…

How to add a Manufacturer in OpenCart

This article will outline how to add, edit and remove manufacturers from your OpenCart store....

At What Point Do You Need a Redesign?

Considering a website rebuild then lets dive a little deeper into why you would need to consider a rebuild, main reasons focusing around slow…

The Benefits of Offering Free Shipping

Having a free shipping option allows you to meet customer needs quickly and efficiently, keeping them satisfied throughout the buying experience.…

Why You Should Have More Than One Payment Method

Offer more than one way of payment can bring great benefits to you as a business, increase revenue, profit and customer satisfaction. ...

Midnight Rainbow Theme: A Bold Harmony of Monochrome and Color

If you're running an online store for musical instruments and want a look that’s both bold and elegant, meet the Midnight Rainbow Theme — a…

Pulse eCommerce Summit 25

An independent eCommerce event focused on innovation, technology, product management, growth strategy, internationalisation, data and more...

Audiophile Theme: The Ultimate OpenCart Theme for Audio & Tech Stores

If you're looking for a sleek, modern, and high-performance OpenCart theme, the Audiophile Theme is the perfect choice....

How To Find Your Site's FTP Details

Everything you need to know about finding the FTP login details for your website....

OpenCart 4.1.0.3 Released: Key Fixes and Improvements

OpenCart has rolled out version 4.1.0.3, bringing several refinements, bug fixes, and documentation enhancements. This maintenance release…

Here's What You Should Check After a Completed OpenCart Upgrade or Rebuild

February 28, 2025

So we’ve just completed updating or fully rebuilding your OpenCart store. But before we wrap things up, there's one important step left: testing.…

Introducing the NEW Nightshade Theme for OpenCart!

February 21, 2025

Following the recent launch of our vibrant Citrine theme, we're excited to introduce NightShade - the perfect choice for those looking for a…

Why We Don't Recommend Staying With the Default Opencart Theme

February 14, 2025

When setting up your OpenCart store, you might be tempted to stick with the default theme. After all, it comes pre-installed, it’s free, and it…

Why Customers Abandon Cart in OpenCart (and How to Fix It)

February 7, 2025

Cart abandonment is a frustrating challenge for any ecommerce store owner. You’ve done the hard work of attracting customers, getting them to…

Introducing the NEW Cinnamon Theme for OpenCart!

January 24, 2025

Following the success of our vibrant Citrine theme, we’re thrilled to introduce Cinnamon – a modern, warm, and elegant design that blends…

B2C Keyword Research for Your OpenCart Store

January 17, 2025

Every successful OpenCart store thrives on visibility. Ranking high in search results isn't about using any keyword, it’s about using the right…

Why You Should Have an OpenCart Site Audit Every 6 Months

January 10, 2025

Think of a code audit for your OpenCart store like a car MOT. Just as a car needs regular checkups to make sure it’s running smoothly and meeting…

Introducing the NEW Citrine Theme for OpenCart!

January 2, 2025

Following the recent launch of our sleek Obsidian theme, we're excited to present Citrine - the perfect choice for those looking for a bright,…

Introducing the NEW Obsidian Theme for OpenCart

December 17, 2024

We're excited to introduce our newest OpenCart theme: the Obsidian Theme. With its clean, modern design and built to OpenCart's standards,…

Most Viewed Blogs of 2024

December 13, 2024

Here is the roundup of our most popular blog posts this year! We have written a range of blogs from "how-tos" to "top tips", but here are our…

How to Grow Your OpenCart Store for Free

December 6, 2024

Did you know you don’t have to spend thousands on marketing to drive traffic to your website? Many ecommerce businesses believe that success…

Which Version of OpenCart Should I Use for a New Site?

November 29, 2024

If you're setting up a new OpenCart store, one of the first questions you’ll face is: Which version of OpenCart should I use? It might seem…

Essential OpenCart Extensions for Your Online Store!

November 22, 2024

To unlock the full potential of your OpenCart store, you'll need the right extensions tailored to your store's unique needs. Below are some of…

Top OpenCart Sites in the UK!

November 14, 2024

Discover the top UK OpenCart sites showcasing powerful, custom-built ecommerce solutions. From fine art pottery to vape shops, explore the best…

Antropy Hourly Rate from 2025-01-01

November 8, 2024

As described in a recent blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire the…

Why You Shouldn’t Use Big Hosting Providers for OpenCart Hosting (GoDaddy, SiteGround, 123 Reg etc.)

November 1, 2024

When choosing a hosting provider for your OpenCart website, there are countless options available, from well-known brands like GoDaddy,…

Tips for Finding the Perfect OpenCart Extension

October 25, 2024

Finding the perfect extension can be a game-changer in terms of functionality, customer experience, and store success. OpenCart’s marketplace has…

Is OpenCart Good for SEO?

October 18, 2024

OpenCart offers various built-in features and extensions to help you optimise your website for search engines. If you'd like to get more…

Blank Pages in OpenCart and How to Fix them

October 11, 2024

If you’re seeing a blank or white screen in OpenCart, it usually means a PHP error has occurred. However, instead of showing an error message,…

A Guide to OpenCart Order Statuses

October 4, 2024

Managing an ecommerce store effectively requires a deep understanding of how the system handles orders. In OpenCart, various order statuses help…

OpenCart vs. Shopify: Cost Calculator

September 27, 2024

When choosing an ecommerce platform, it's important to consider not just the upfront costs but also the hidden fees that can impact your…

Adexa Direct - Complete OpenCart Rebuild

September 13, 2024

Adexa Direct is one of the UK's top suppliers of commercial catering equipment, and with over 1 million page views a day, their website plays a…

Why You Should Connect Your OpenCart Store to eBay

September 6, 2024

While you may have built a well-functioning OpenCart store with a loyal customer base, relying solely on one platform can limit your growth…

How to Get Thousands of Followers on Your Ecommerce Store’s Instagram

August 30, 2024

Everyone wants thousands of followers, right? In today's digital age, it's no secret that social media views and followers can directly translate…

Common OpenCart Issues and How to Fix Them

August 23, 2024

OpenCart is a powerful eCommerce platform, but like any software, it comes with its fair share of challenges. To help you navigate these, we’ve…

ConcreteCMS vs WordPress: Which One Should You Choose?

August 16, 2024

When choosing a platform for building websites, Concrete CMS and WordPress are two leading options. Concrete CMS excels with its intuitive…

How to Get More Product Reviews in OpenCart

Customer reviews are crucial for building trust and driving sales, and OpenCart offers various ways to collect and showcase these customer…

OpenCart Error Log Locations

As an OpenCart store owner or developer, understanding error logs is crucial for maintaining a smooth-running e-commerce platform. This…

The Best OpenCart Extensions for Optimising Your Store's Marketing Efforts

Running a successful online store means constantly finding ways to attract more visitors and convert them into loyal customers. If you're using…

Why Custom OpenCart Extensions Cost Thousands While Generic Ones Start at $20

When you browse the OpenCart marketplace, you might notice that many extensions are available for as little as $20. Yet if you enquire about…

The Best 5 OpenCart Clothing Stores Online

In a recent blog, we showcased the top 5 OpenCart tech stores, highlighting the best in technology and innovation. Today, we're shifting gears to…

How to Set Up OpenCart Google Merchant Feed - Part 2

In Part 1 of our guide, we discussed setting up your OpenCart Google Merchant feed, an important step to ensure your products appear in Google…

How to Set Up OpenCart Google Merchant Feed - Part 1

Setting up an OpenCart Google Merchant feed is a crucial step for any OpenCart store looking to expand its reach through Google Shopping ads.…

The Top 5 Biggest Tech Stores Using OpenCart

We recently wrote an article on the top 10 OpenCart websites globally, and now we're excited to dive deeper into the tech industry. The world of…

10 of the Best OpenCart Sites

OpenCart is known for its flexibility and robust features, and powers an impressive range of online stores across various industries. From…

Emails Going to Spam in 2024: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Explained

In 2024, ensuring that your emails land in the inbox and not the spam folder requires a solid understanding of email authentication protocols;…

How to Display Tax in OpenCart

Ensuring that your customers can see the tax applied to their purchases is crucial for transparency and compliance. Customers appreciate knowing…

Antropy Hourly Rate From 2024-07-01

As described in a recent blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire the…

Knowing Your OpenCart Store Competitors

Looking to gain the most competitive edge for your OpenCart store? If so, you're likely aware that understanding your competition is crucial for…

How To Optimise Your Product Pages in OpenCart

Ensuring your product pages are optimised for search engines is crucial for visibility and success. OpenCart offers various tools and…

Why Should You Implement Autoresponders in Your OpenCart Store?

Every interaction with a customer matters. From the first click on your website to the delivery of their order and beyond, every touchpoint is an…

Why a Full Rebuild Is Often Necessary for OpenCart Updates

We often get a lot of questions asking why we typically recommend rebuilding a site when it comes to updating the version of OpenCart.…

How to Use OpenCart's Built-in Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the (if not the most) powerful tool for businesses to engage with customers, promote products, and drive sales.…

Outsourcing vs Insourcing eCommerce Fulfilment

Many businesses are successful because their founders are willing to ‘get their hands dirty’, and involved with every facet of business…

How to Start a Successful OpenCart Ecommerce Business

Are you considering launching your own online store using OpenCart? Follow the key essentials for a successful launch in our guide below!...

OpenCart vs WooCommerce: Which One Should You Choose

Are you grappling with the decision between OpenCart and WooCommerce for your online store? In our recent article, we delved into a comparison…

How to Install an OpenCart Extension in OpenCart 3

OpenCart extensions can add functionality and enhance the features of your e-commerce website. Installing these extensions is relatively…

How to Set Up Facebook & Instagram Ads for Your OpenCart Ecommerce Store

February 23, 2024

You want to make more online sales. Great! A good step in the right direction is to leverage social media advertising. With Facebook and…

Best OpenCart Themes to Use

February 16, 2024

When it comes to setting up your online store, choosing the right theme can make a world of difference. OpenCart offers a plethora of themes to…

How to enable SEO Friendly URLs in OpenCart

February 9, 2024

Want to enhance your OpenCart store's visibility and drive more sales? It's time to start enabling SEO URLs – a simple yet effective strategy…

Antropy's Recent Interview with Starter Story

February 2, 2024

In a recent discussion with Starter Story, Paul provided valuable insights into the secrets underpinning Antropy’s growth, the origin story, and…

The Impact of Marketing Audits on Ecommerce Growth

January 26, 2024

Reviewing and addressing the marketing efforts of your e-commerce store is an effective strategy to ensure your online presence is at its peak…

Best Extensions for Your OpenCart Store

January 19, 2024

OpenCart thrives on its extensive range of extensions that enhance functionality and streamline operations. We have put together some of the best…

Why Choose Antropy for Your OpenCart Hosting?

January 12, 2024

Website hosting, who do you choose? As devoted OpenCart developers with more than a decade of hands-on experience in leveraging the capabilities…

3 Actionable Strategies to Increase Conversion Rates For Your OpenCart Store

January 5, 2024

As an online shop owner, you’re probably always on the lookout for new ways to increase sales, conversions, and reduce cart abandonment.…

Most Viewed Blogs of 2023

December 20, 2023

Here is the roundup of our most popular blog posts this year! We have written a range of blogs from "how-tos" to "top tips", but here are our top…

Why do you need a robots.txt file?

December 15, 2023

SEO can be complex at times, and the robots.txt file is an aspect that's very often overlooked, but extremely important for website…

OpenCart vs Shopify: Which One Should You Choose?

November 24, 2023

OpenCart? Shopify? Do you find yourself stuck deciding between which platform to choose? Deciding on the right platform is crucial for the…

Antropy Hourly Rate from 2024-01-01

November 17, 2023

As described in a recent blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire the…

10 Proven Strategies to Supercharge Your Website's Visibility

November 10, 2023

Having a website is essential for businesses and individuals alike. However, merely having a website is not enough; you need to ensure that it…

How to Set the Robots Meta Tag in OpenCart

November 3, 2023

In the digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for the success of any e-commerce business. When it comes to SEO, one of the…

The Importance of Mobile Optimisation for OpenCart Ecommerce Websites

October 27, 2023

The rise of mobile devices as the preferred choice for accessing the internet is no surprise. Mobile phones are portable, convenient, and readily…

How to Take Exceptional Product Photos for Your Online Store

October 20, 2023

In the fast-paced world of ecommerce, product photography plays a large role in captivating potential customers and securing the sale. In the…

Antropy Attends the Ecommerce Expo in London

October 2, 2023

On the 27th September Alex, Project Manager, and Jack, Digital Marketer, embarked on an exciting journey to the ExCel in London. With Antropy…

Protecting Your OpenCart Store: Insights from Antropy's Senior Developer

September 26, 2023

Recently, our senior web developer, Tyler, had the opportunity to talk with SafetyDetectives for an in-depth interview on how we approach…

How to Remove the Category Product Count Within OpenCart

September 15, 2023

Having the amount of products within your category pages in your dropdown list can be very useful for customers to see. However there are…

7 Tips To Boost Sales In OpenCart Using Social Media

September 12, 2023

In the ever-evolving world of e-commerce, finding effective strategies to boost your online sales is crucial for the success of your OpenCart…

How to See Monthly Sales Trends in OpenCart

August 15, 2023

Analysing trends in your sales can be a valuable asset when it comes to forecasting and making data-driven decisions for your business. Alongside…

How to Enable Estimate Shipping in OpenCart

Enabling the Shipping Estimator feature on your OpenCart site can greatly enhance the user experience for your customers. This tool empowers them…

How to Apply a Limited Time Offer on a Product Within Your OpenCart Site

Limited Time Offers (LTOs) can be a game-changer for e-commerce websites. By creating urgency, they drive action, increase conversion rates,…

How to Copy in the Store Admin on all Customer Emails

In default OpenCart, when a customers makes a purchase, a minimum of two emails are sent. One email is sent to the store owner and another is…

Handy AI Websites

There's been an explosion in AI that really took off in late 2022. A lot of these services like ChatGPT have free versions, and a lot of them…

How to Alter Your Dashboard Layout Within the OpenCart Admin?

Your OpenCart Dashboard is a useful first port of call to quickly see some key statistics. It is automatically configured to include the…

Website Planet Interviewed Antropy Founder and MD Paul Feakins

Antropy's Managing Director, Paul Feakins, recently had a delightful conversation with Roberto Popolizio, a distinguished interviewer from…

Unleashing the Power of VPS Hosting for OpenCart

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, e-commerce has emerged as a driving force for businesses worldwide. To succeed in the competitive…

What Payment Gateway Can I Use for My OpenCart Vape Store?

The vaping industry has faced significant challenges when it comes to finding payment providers that are willing to support their businesses.…

When Should You Get Custom Work Done on OpenCart?

OpenCart offers a wide range of features and extensions to help businesses create their online stores. However, there may be instances where the…

How to Send Abandoned Cart Emails from OpenCart

The best way to send emails to customers who may have exited your website is through the OpenCart MailChimp Integration Pro extension by Clear…

Antropy Hourly Rate from 2023-07-01

As described in another blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire the…

What's the best One Page Checkout for OpenCart?

As an online retailer, you know that a smooth and seamless checkout process is crucial for converting visitors into customers....

How Do I Find What Version of OpenCart I’m Using?

This bit of information is very important to know about your OpenCart store; as well as being for your own personal knowledge, it is crucial to…

OpenCart Builds From Enquiry to Go-Live

Whether it's modernising your out of date OpenCart site or looking to move from another platform to OpenCart, you will go through our process of…

OpenCart PayPal Checkout Integration Upgrade

Recently, PayPal has released an upgraded extension for the OpenCart e-commerce platform. The upgrade provides many new features and enhancements…

What Happens if You Let Your Error Logs Fill Up Within OpenCart

If you let your error logs fill up within OpenCart, it can have several negative consequences. ...

How to Add and Edit Return Actions in OpenCart

February 24, 2023

When a product is returned either due to a fault or not being quite right for the customer, it can be frustrating for any business. That is why…

What Are the Drawbacks of Moving Away From OpenCart to a New Platform?

February 17, 2023

Moving away from OpenCart does have some significant downsides, depending on your specific situation. Here are some potential drawbacks to…

Should I Work on My Opencart Store Myself or Pay Professional Developers?

January 27, 2023

Whether you should work on your OpenCart store yourself or pay professional developers depends on your own skills, resources, and goals for your…

How to Set Up Weight Based Shipping in OpenCart

January 16, 2023

Setting up weight based shipping for your OpenCart store is a very useful exercise to undertake if your store requires it....

Aquafayre OpenCart Rebuild

January 6, 2023

We have worked with Aquafayre for many years and undertaken numerous smaller projects over this time....

Quick Checkout Extension

December 16, 2022

We get asked quite frequently about how you can improve the OpenCart checkout and potentially reduce the risk of customers abandoning their…

Facebook Extension for OpenCart

December 2, 2022

OpenCart is working directly with Facebook and has a free of charge extension that is available to all OpenCart users. They have been working…

Antropy Hourly Rate from 2023-01-01

November 28, 2022

As described in a recent blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire the…

Our Meeting With OpenCart

November 25, 2022

On Thursday 24th November, we enjoyed a splendid lunch with OpenCart's Marketing & Partnership Director Ben Ajenoui. We had a lovely meal…

How to Refresh Your Statistics Within OpenCart and Why This Is Important

November 16, 2022

Making sure your store statistics are up to date within OpenCart is a very useful process to undertake. This blog will highlight where you can…

Why Replying to Emails After Making an Enquiry Is So Important

November 9, 2022

It may seem like a very odd blog to write but it is a very important point to get across....

How to Contact OpenCart Extension Support

November 1, 2022

We always ask clients to buy extensions for various different reasons and our blog Why do we ask Clients to Buy Extensions highlights this....

How Product Returns Work Within OpenCart

October 14, 2022

There are two ways product returns are added within OpenCart, either by the customer or manually by yourself. So, let's start with the…

4 Reasons to Upgrade to the Latest Version of PHP

October 5, 2022

If you're like most people, you probably don't think much about the programming language your website is running on, but your web host should…

Our New Antropy Electron Theme

September 23, 2022

We have now released our third OpenCart theme named Electron and is available to purchase on the OpenCart Store right now....

Where to Locate the Sales Statistics List Within Opencart 3.0.3.8

August 17, 2022

You can get a good overview of your sales within the OpenCart Dashboard but in order to get more in depth analytics on your sales then the…

Why Email New Requests to Our Info Email?

August 10, 2022

Whenever you have a new requirement it is always best to email info@antropy.co.uk as opposed to just one of the team. The main reason for this is…

Mercers Furniture OpenCart Rebuild

We always enjoy undertaking rebuilds for current clients and this one was no different....

Why and When to Make Use of Our Priority Fee

We have the Priority Fee available for projects that need to be completed urgently to hit a specific deadline. This means that for a small…

What Is Gogs and Why We Use It

When you either have a retainer, work hourly (only possible if you host with us) or have a long prepaid block of time and have a lot of tasks to…

Why Use Wise for International Bank Transfers

Bank transfers for international payments can be expensive with the conversion rates but equally PayPal fees have also become extortionate. So…

How to Add a New Image Banner on your Homepage Within OpenCart

Rolling banners on your homepage are a very important visual representation of the products or brands that you sell on your site. Being able to…

Antropy Hourly Rate from 2022-07-01

As described in a recent blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire the…

Derails OpenCart Rebuild

We have worked with Derails for many years and undertaken numerous smaller projects over the years....

Team Antropy Attends the Three Bridges Networking Event

On the 25th May, Alex, Paul, Joe and Adem went to a local networking event held at Three Bridges Football Club....

Sparks Electrical OpenCart Rebuild

Near the end of 2020 we were tasked with updating a very tricky custom built OpenCart store for a company called Sparks Electrical....

Blocks of Hours vs Support Retainers vs Fixed Price

So we have a number of different ways of working on a project basis with clients. In this blog I will highlight the different ways we can tackle…

Antropy’s Most Downloaded Free OpenCart Extensions?

‘Nothing in this life is free’, the old saying goes but we beg to differ when it comes down to our most popular free extensions. Here are our top…

Hawkins OpenCart Rebuild

We have worked with Hawkins Hobbies since the middle of 2019 and we were very happy to rebuild their OpenCart site....

6 Strategies to Promote Your eCommerce Brand to Millennials and Gen Z

Digital marketing for eCommerce brands isn’t the same as it was years ago....

How to Send an Opencart Extension to Us?

So as per a previous blog of ours, we always ask clients to buy extensions and the reasons for that can be found here - Why do we ask Clients to…

What do UK Ecommerce Sellers Need to Know about EU VAT?

VAT can be a tricky subject for ecommerce sellers in the UK. What’s more, since Brexit there have been a number of changes which have changed how…

Importance of User-Generated Content in eCommerce

Running an eCommerce platform can be exhausting, no matter how well you manage your stock or shipments....

Celena Website Rebuild

It is always pleasing to see a client returning to get their website upgraded after we built their first site....

Antropy Subcategory Images Extension

Adding images within subcategories has been a request we have had a fair bit recently, so we decided to package up our fix into a free extension…

5 Instagram Stories Tips and Tricks to Optimize Your Social Media Marketing Efforts

If you think Instagram Stories are only for sharing funny, entertaining, and momentary content, then you’re in for a surprise....

How to Clear Your Browser Cache

There are many different caches within OpenCart and we have a useful blog on this aptly titled ‘How to clear all caches in OpenCart 3.0.2.0’....

Antropy OpenCart Blog Extension

February 22, 2022

There are a lot of downsides of using Journal as an OpenCart Theme but one of the plus sides is the blog feature that comes with it....

Top 5 Payment Gateway Extensions for OpenCart

February 11, 2022

We often get clients ask us what is the best Payment Gateway to use for your OpenCart store. So here is a rundown of who we would recommend:...

Opayo Update Deadline for your OpenCart Store is Looming

February 4, 2022

As I am sure those Opayo (formerly SagePay) users have seen, the SCA Deadline is set for the 14th March 2022. There are a number of updates that…

Is your OpenCart admin panel being DDoS attacked?

January 25, 2022

If your online shop has suddenly been hit with major speed issues, you could be being targeted by one of a recent surge of brute-force attacks.…

Antropy's 2-Step Strategy for Handling Complex OpenCart Rebuilds

January 17, 2022

The normal way rebuilds run is we undertake a Phase 1 and then put the site live, if any further work is needed after this then that goes into a…

PayPal Search Transaction History within OpenCart

January 12, 2022

A useful feature within the OpenCart Admin is to be able to search the transaction history of current or previous PayPal orders. This can be…

How to Update Your Information Pages Within OpenCart

December 22, 2021

The Information page within the OpenCart Admin Panel is a little hidden and you could be clicking around for some time if you don’t know where to…

Vape Liquid UK OpenCart Build

December 16, 2021

We have recently built a brand new website for a new vaping company called Vape Liquid UK. We once again based the new site on our iStore theme…

Most Viewed Blogs of 2021

December 8, 2021

Just like in last year's blog, we go through the most viewed blogs written this year according to Google Analytics....

British Land Rover Parts Website OpenCart Rebuild

November 19, 2021

We were asked to rebuild the British Land Rover Parts website as they were running on version 2.0.3.1 of OpenCart which was in need of a…

Antropy Hourly Rate from 2022-01-01

November 15, 2021

As described in a recent blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire the…

How Easy Is It to Switch to OpenCart?

November 12, 2021

A question we get asked a lot when clients are potentially looking to switch from one platform to another is a) how hard is this to achieve and…

Master Plastics OpenCart Upgrade

November 2, 2021

We were asked to rebuild the Master Plastic website as they were running an older version of OpenCart which was in need of an update and refresh.…

Handy Git Commands

October 21, 2021

Just a little page for some handy git commands, including adding files, committing changes, and workflows for pushing and pulling....

How Can Social Media Impact Your Mental Health?

October 19, 2021

Social media has become a part of our daily life, a business and a job for some, or a way of communication for others....

Organic Textile Company OpenCart Rebuild

October 13, 2021

We were asked to rebuild the Organic Textile website as they were running an older version of OpenCart which was in need of an upgrade and…

Total E Liquid OpenCart Rebuild

October 6, 2021

We were asked to rebuild the Total E Liquid website as they were running an older version of OpenCart which was in need of an update....

Plantex OpenCart Rebuild

September 29, 2021

We were asked to rebuild the Plantex website as they were running off an older version of OpenCart and in need of an update....

Quay Traders OpenCart Rebuild

September 17, 2021

We were approached to update and rebuild the Quay Traders website as they were looking for a fresh, yet simple new site....

Cold Spring Website Merge

September 7, 2021

This was a website merge and update that we are very proud about....

OpenCart v WooCommerce: How Do They Line Up When It Comes To Customer Safety?

August 26, 2021

If you’re looking for a self-hosted ecommerce solution, you’ll undoubtedly encounter both OpenCart and WooCommerce during your research....

Onion Reporting OpenCart Website Rebuild

August 20, 2021

Onion Reporting Software are a Belfast based company who specialise in putting your Sage accounts in Excel format. They were running on the old…

Toucan Property Services Website Build

August 12, 2021

I would roughly guess that 98% of the work we undertake is on OpenCart but we do have a couple of clients that run on Concrete5....

How to Find the Perfect Name for Your Company

August 12, 2021

The right brand name is critical to a company's success since it can optimize and transform it from a mediocre business into a market leader....

Crawley Sheds & Cabins Website Rebuild

We always enjoy helping local companies with their ecommerce websites and the Crawley Sheds & Cabins rebuild was no different....

Is PHP 8 Going the Way of ActionScript 3 (OOP Soup)?

Many years ago, Macromedia Flash was all the rage in web development with talented developers able to produce some truly amazing things with…

Why use Concrete5 over WordPress?

When it comes to eCommerce stores, OpenCart is of course our go-to but when the site does not need to sell online, then we always go for…

Antropy Hourly Rate from 2021-07-01

As described in a recent blog article, we started reviewing our rates twice a year starting from the 1st of January 2021 to allow us to hire the…

New VAT System from 1st July 2021

As Chris Smith of leading Sage Business Partners, Smith Cooper System Partners, explains: as of July 1st 2021, new VAT schemes will be made…

How To Make Risky Decisions for Small Businesses

Big decisions can carry numerous risks for small businesses in every industry. Here’s how to take those risks in a way that benefits your…

Dolphin Single Click on Xfce

Even if you're a developer who uses Linux, you may not have heard of Dolphin or XFCE but Dolphin is my favourite File Manager (and has been for a…

Instagram Marketing - A Comprehensive Guide for Businesses

With over 1 billion users, Instagram has become one of the most popular advertising and sales channels....

How To View Your Subscriptions in PayPal

Ah PayPal. Love it or hate it, it's going to be around for a while. Even one of the original PayPal founders, Elon Musk himself, has said PayPal…

Missing Orders Mysteries

A comprehensive guide on OpenCart's 'Missing Orders' - what they are, their causes, and how to solve....

How to Add Reward Points to Customers Within OpenCart

Keeping customers happy and making them feel valued is very important. One way to go about this is by rewarding them with Reward Points. In this…

How to Enable or Disable Payment Methods in OpenCart

What payment methods you want to use on your OpenCart store is a very important decision to make. It is very easy to select which payment methods…

How to Redirect to WWW and HTTPS

I've mentioned before that you should always use WWW, and I've also blogged that it's time to switch to HTTPS. Here's how to set up the redirects…

How to Enable or Disable Reviews on Your Site

This may sound like something you should know how to do but I had to squirrel around the admin to find where you enable or disable reviews on…

We Have Updated Our EU VAT Extension

February 19, 2021

VAT and especially VAT not being applied in Europe from the UK is a hot topic at the moment. We have already written a blog on this as we have…

How to Add a New Voucher Theme in Opencart

February 8, 2021

Themes/ pictures on vouchers are important when sending a voucher or when a client purchases a gift voucher. The default themes are Birthday,…

Antropy Hourly Rate from 2021-01

February 3, 2021

Setting one's rate has always been tricky. Too high and you'll price yourself out of the market, too low and you'll find yourself unable to…

Our New Technical Audit Service Now Available

February 1, 2021

We have been undertaking our SEO audit for quite some time now and it really helps clients understand what the website is like from a customers…

How to Add a New Weight and Length Class in OpenCart

January 18, 2021

Adding a new weight or length class is a useful exercise to know within OpenCart. It could be that you notice that in correspondences with…

Dropbox Sync Takes Ages and Seems to be Stuck on Ubuntu

January 11, 2021

I had to reinstall the OS on one of my main computers recently, I was switching from Linux Neon KDE to Linux Mint XFCE for various reasons…

New VAT Rules Now We Have Left the EU

January 11, 2021

Now that we have left the EU as part of Brexit, you will need to alter your VAT statuses to comply with this....

KDE Neon Boots to Black Screen with Mouse Cursor

December 16, 2020

If you love open source like we do at Antropy, you may be using Linux and if you love KDE like I do, you may use its official distribution, KDE…

How to add an IP for an extension that uses the OpenCart API

December 15, 2020

Sometimes a 3rd party extension or developer will need to access your OpenCart API, for this to happen they will need to get their IP added. I…

How To Speed Up OpenCart (and/or Fix Speed Issues)

December 15, 2020

Speed is one of the most important things when it comes to how enjoyable a website is to use for a customer and these days Google considers it a…

4 Sensible Risks To Take With Your Ecommerce Store In 2021

December 10, 2020

Calculated risk lies at the heart of business growth. If you play things too safe, you'll never reap any significant rewards....

Our Most Viewed Blogs of 2020

December 4, 2020

Just like in last year's blog, we go through the most viewed blogs written this year according to Google Analytics. This year we have really…

How to Change an Order if the Customer Has Made a Mistake

November 23, 2020

If a customer places an order but makes a mistake in the checkout, such as putting in the wrong delivery address, then it is important to know…

How to Add a Custom Stock Status

November 16, 2020

If you want to add more stock statuses on top of the default OpenCart offerings then this is a simple guide as to how you do this:...

How to Add a New Currency

November 11, 2020

If you get asked by a customer or whether you feel it would be beneficial to add a new currency to your store, this is how you do it....

How to put your OpenCart 3 site in Maintenance Mode?

November 2, 2020

If your site is undergoing development work or having a major update and needs to be temporarily put into maintenance mode, this is a useful…

How to Manually Make an Order Through OpenCart

October 30, 2020

Sometimes customers prefer to order over the phone or are having issues purchasing good on the site....

Why Do We Ask Clients to Buy Extensions?

October 26, 2020

One questions always crops up when putting together a proposal or talking to clients about projects… ‘Why do we have to buy the extension’?...

Products Reports within OpenCart

October 14, 2020

It is imperative that you know which products are being regularly viewed and thus being converted into sales....

How to Add a New Admin User

September 29, 2020

Knowing what people can and cannot see on your admin can be very important and there is information that is very personal to you and your…

How to Add a New Return Reason in OpenCart

September 21, 2020

If you notice a product is being return for a specific reason on multiple occasions then there is a quick way to add or modify a new or existing…

How to Send Out a Marketing Message or Update to Your Customers Through Opencart

September 11, 2020

Sending out marketing content such as blogs or offers is always important to keep your customers up to date with what is going on within your…

How to Send a Gift Voucher to a Customer through OpenCart?

September 4, 2020

Loyal clients are what makes companies tick and keeps them going....

Updated Error Log Trimmer Extension

August 26, 2020

Three years ago we built an extension that trims your error log so that it doesn’t build up over time and potentially crash your site. This was…

How to Change the Images on a Rolling Banner Within OpenCart?

August 14, 2020

If you have a rolling banner on your OpenCart store then it is important to know how to either change the pictures on the banners or delete it…

Our New Theme Build Package

If you are looking for an upgrade with a simple CCS only theme then look no further than our iStore and Multipurpose themes....

Astra Free Trial for Antropy Customers

Our long terms security partners Astra are offering a free trial to our customers. We have worked alongside Astra for a number of years now and…

3 Key Reasons to Upgrade from OpenCart Version 1.5

We get this a lot - 'Why should I upgrade to the latest version of OpenCart?’ Many clients have the age-old attitude of ‘if it ain’t broke, then…

Watch out for scam attacking OpenCart sites!

We have had a spate of OpenCart customers contact us about a scam whereby they have received an email purporting to be from a customer that akes…

Our recent website build for the Scottish Association of Marine Science

Our journey with the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS) starts back in December 2018 when we were asked to put together a document for…

5 E-commerce Trends to Follow in 2020

With the general change in online shopping behavior, staying competitive is key....

How Better Inventory Management Brings in Higher Sales

Selling products doesn’t just require a clever marketing plan. Every element of a business can be optimized to increase profits. This includes…

Setting up Different Shipping Rates

If you start to ship to other countries, territories or specific states then you will need to add these on your OpenCart store with the correct…

How to Change Your Address and Other Contact Details on Your Opencart Contact Form

Some things you know you should know and appear to be very simple but if you don’t know where to look, then that simply isn’t the case....

Breakdown of OpenCart Versions by Downloads

When building extensions we often get asked which versions of OpenCart are most popular and which versions are in use....

Kate Hadfield Gallery

So first of all a bit of background about what Kate Hadfield and her team does....

OpenCart Spam Types and Their Protection Methods

The e-commerce industry is battling a number of cyber-threats including spam. Spam issues are quite common to e-commerce websites and OpenCart is…

5 Key Reasons Why Your Site Should Be Mobile Friendly?

Over 50% of sales come from mobile or tablet device, so from this alone why would you not make the site mobile friendly?...

How to Set Up Google Analytics Tracking in OpenCart

February 24, 2020

Google Analytics is a key component to any business as it gives you helpful data regarding the comings and goings of your website. Being able to…

How to Find Good Quality OpenCart Extensions

February 21, 2020

We love OpenCart, it's a great platform and has a thriving and active community who support users on the forums and develop great extensions…

Why It's OK to Split Projects into Phases

February 16, 2020

It is a common myth that if you have a lot of work to complete that this will mean that it has to be done all together in one large project. If…

Linnworks Partner Event: Amazon Shipping Meetup, London

February 4, 2020

On Wednesday 29th January, I made my way to London for the Linnworks Partner Event at the Amazon Fashion Studio....

Error Messages not showing up and how you can check these in OpenCart

January 26, 2020

Blank white pages or 500 Internal Server Errors are a PHP error. For some reason the error messages do not appear due to the server not being…

How to Check your OpenCart Site for Hacks

January 16, 2020

Sometimes you can experience unusual behaviour on your website such as it not sending emails to customers properly and even the whole site being…

How to Switch Hosting Providers

January 14, 2020

Most of our clients have the hosting and web development under the same banner (attach blog) with us....

How To Lock Down Your OpenCart Site in Case of a Hack

December 20, 2019

It is hard to find viable answers to pressing questions like, what steps to take to minimize the damage to your OpenCart site on the web....

Our Most Viewed Blogs of 2019

December 2, 2019

Having a rundown of our most viewed blog of this year through Google Analytics made for some intriguing reading. So below we run down what blogs…

Our New Antropy Multipurpose Theme

November 15, 2019

So as promised a couple of months ago, this is our second theme that is now available exclusively on the OpenCart Theme Store. In the same way we…

How To Scale Your Ecom Business Via Multi-Channel Inventory Management

November 6, 2019

Though the startup costs are low, ecommerce businesses are capable of incredible growth. The retail world is littered with examples of…

How to add a new tax rate within OpenCart

October 28, 2019

Changing tax rates or tax names on products is always a useful exercise to know as it is a little hidden away within the OpenCart admin. Some…

Remotely Debugging PHP with Xdebug

October 27, 2019

PHP is one of the most popular programming languages in use today and is the language that powers the majority of websites. Although it's free…

OpenCart Demo site

October 14, 2019

We have had a number of inquiries over the last few months asking us what OpenCart is like as a platform and whether it would be best for the…

The downfall of Thomas Cook highlights the shift from high street to online retail

September 26, 2019

In a similar vein to when Monarch went out of business in 2017, there is sadness and a tinge of anger around the Thomas Cook collapse....

Changing URL Structure - is it a good idea yes or no?

September 9, 2019

It is a common question we get asked as to whether it is ok to change URL’s and whether this will affect SEO rating’s in anyway. The answer in…

Welcome Cameron

August 30, 2019

We are pleased to welcome Cameron McDermid to our team this month....

One simple way to speed up your OpenCart Store

August 20, 2019

The speed of your site is one of the key components to the successful running of your site....

Hobby Mounts Quick Checkout

One of our key clients gave us the briefing of replicating the quick checkout process that you can have in Shopify onto OpenCart....

How to utilise coupons on OpenCart 2 & 3

Using coupons on your website is a good way to promote and push projects....

Why Have Your Hosting and Development Work Under the Same Roof?

We are in the lucky position of having the majority of our key clients hosting with us, as well as doing their development work....

How To Build A Profitable Multi-Channel Retailing Strategy For Your Online Store

Outperforming your ecommerce competition is about ensuring that your brand (and your items) appear in the right places at the right times....

How To Get Good Support on the OpenCart Forum

The OpenCart 3.0 General Support Forum is a great place to get free help and support with your OpenCart issues....

5 Ways Enterprise Resource Planning Will Streamline Your Ecommerce Business

Enterprise resource planning, or ERP, is a vital part of running a competitive enterprise-level business — particularly in the digital world....

Nauticalia Website Rebuild

In September 2018 we were approached by our long-term clients Nauticalia to rebuild and update their OpenCart website....

Online Shopping Secrets: How to Get the Most Out of Amazon

Multi-channel selling is one of the best ways to boost sales, but knowing which platforms to utilise can often be a bit of a minefield....

7 Podcasts Every Ecommerce Entrepreneur Should Subscribe To (And Why)

Self-education is crucial for any ecommerce entrepreneur hoping to achieve success. As an ecommerce entrepreneur, it’s important to keep your…

Our Newly Created Custom Themes Are Now Available to Purchase

This has been a project which has been quietly running in the background for a number of months now....

Handy PHP Snippets

Just a little page for some regularly used useful PHP snippets:...

Why do we ask for login details?

We get asked this around 3-4 times a day so I thought I would clarify why we require a websites login details when we need to look into an…

Open Office Cannot Remove Page Break Before Table

If you use the excellent OpenOffice (now called LibreOffice) word processor instead of Microsoft Word, you may come across the issue where you…

How to create Product Specials within your OpenCart Store

Setting up a special price for a product is very important for your ecommerce business in order to push product sales....

Updates on our Advanced Captcha & Next Day Delivery Countdown timer extensions

Due to popular demand we have now made our Advanced Captcha code into an extension that can now be purchased on the OpenCart extension store....

Ecommerce Inspiration: Examples Of Successful Businesses Using OpenCart

February 20, 2019

In any industry you care to mention, learning from those who’ve already achieved what you’re trying to do is one of the best ways to improve....

WooCommerce vs Shopify vs OpenCart — Which One Suits Your Business?

February 20, 2019

If you’re looking for a great ecommerce CMS, you’re not lacking for options, because the standard has gone up enormously since the early days of…

How to Create an OpenCart 3 Theme

February 15, 2019

Creating a new theme for OpenCart 1.5 used to be pretty easyOpenCart 3 brings new features, but creating a theme is a little more difficult....

Using Windows File Explorer to Manage Images in OpenCart

February 11, 2019

Unbeknown to a lot of OpenCart users you can use File Explorer to put images from your computer in to the OpenCart image manager. This is very…

How to prevent spamming on your OpenCart store

January 25, 2019

This section is split into three sections whereby I will go into more details with regards to why you should enable CAPTCHA & Google reCAPTCHA,…

How to view and create a new product review within OpenCart

January 12, 2019

Reviews are crucial to the stability and growth of a product range for a company. Being able to view the reviews that you are receiving and being…

Our Christmas do and why they are important for a company's growth

January 4, 2019

On the 22nd December we embarked on our annual curry to the lovely Taj Mahal restaurant in Crawley....

How the admin can place an order as a customer

December 22, 2018

This is a very useful exercise that enables you to see the store from a customers perspective when they are logged into their account. I have…

Antropy MD Paul Feakins Gets Certified in Machine Learning

December 21, 2018

I've just completed Andrew Ng's excellent Machine Learning course from Stanford University. Machine Learning (ML) is not a new field in computer…

Xmas 2018 Antropy Opening Hours

December 14, 2018

Thanks everyone for your support this year, it's been a very exciting year for us! Here are some Xmas dates ......

Here's a Proven Way to Make More Online Sales

December 13, 2018

All eCommerce and “bricks & mortar” shops would like to increase sales and revenues. eCommerce in the UK continues to grow between 13% and 15%…

5 step process to make sure your Ecommerce Store ready for Christmas!

November 30, 2018

Ho Ho Ho Merry Ecommercemas (I have been waiting months to release this pun)!...

Abandoned Orders Extension

November 26, 2018

We recently helped to install an extension for a client that has helped them show missing or abandoned orders....

How to Add Relative Links in OpenCart with Sub Stores

November 14, 2018

If you use the excellent sub-store functionality in OpenCart, you may have come across the issue of internal links in the product and category…

[SOLVED] OpenCart 1.5 Site Search Very Slow

November 13, 2018

We came across a problem recently where an OpenCart 1.5 site with no extensions and the default theme was often running very slowly for no…

[Case Study] Hobby Mounts Monthly Competition

November 8, 2018

Hobby Mounts are the UK's largest DJI, Yuneex and Action Camera Specialist and one-stop shop for your Drones and accessories. They are based in…

The big question- Amazon vs eBay

October 27, 2018

Now I am big into my sport so I will use this analogy for the Amazon vs eBay showdown!...

Move to PHP 7 before Jan 2019 or Risk Getting Hacked!

October 19, 2018

We were all quite excited here at Antropy back in 2015 when PHP 7 was released because it included improvements all round as well as a massive…

OpenCart 3.1: What Does the Recent Alpha Tell Us About the Next Full Update?

October 12, 2018

OpenCart first hit public release way back in 1999, and it’s come an incredibly long way since then, keeping pace with newer, better-funded and…

Top 5 free OpenCart Extensions

October 11, 2018

There are many different OpenCart extensions that range from $20 to $120 that cover a wide range of scenarios that can help your business....

OpenCart Checkout Hack Authorize.net

October 4, 2018

We have recently been contacted by several different companies who have noticed extra payment gateways or errors on the checkout....

Antropy Pricing Structure

September 27, 2018

Unlike most web companies we have decided to buck the trend and put our pricing scheme on our website....

What Impact Could A No Deal Brexit Have On The UK Ecommerce Industry?

September 26, 2018

Brexit has been the UK’s defining topic since 24 June 2016. Whatever your Brexit stance, the conversation around the deal the UK will get from…

10 Years Since the Financial Crash

September 14, 2018

There seem to be a lot of articles in the news this week about the Financial Crash that began in 2008....

Always on hand when you need us

August 30, 2018

Having recently joined Antropy I have had to not only move into a completely different industry but also a different sector entirely. That being…

How to clear all caches in OpenCart 3.0.2.0

August 20, 2018

Caches can be the absolute bane of a developer's life, but what exactly are they, why can they be annoying, and how can we make them less…

Why You Would Benefit from a Collection Account Abroad

If you are selling overseas via the internet, you are likely to deal with foreign currency exchange with your buyers....

PHP Script Keeps Timing Out Despite ini_set

Occasionally when programming you may need a script to run for quite a long time and unfortunately without changing some settings, the script may…

Antropy's Best Email Productivity Hacks

Love it or hate it, email as a method of business communication is here to stay....

Please Use "Reply All" in Group Emails

Why you should always use "Reply All" in group emails to keep everyone in the discussion....

Will e-commerce continue to help the finance sector grow?

The e-commerce explosion has been huge and far-reaching and shows no signs of slowing down....

GDPR TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

There's a lot of talk lately of the new EU GDPR rules that come in to force in May 2018, and we've been asked by several clients for advice....

Automatic OpenCart Website Backups

January 25, 2018

Everyone knows that backups are very important, but how many online sellers could quickly and easily get you a recent backup of their ecommerce…

6 Ways To Mix Up & Manage Your Product Inventory For 2018

January 4, 2018

Product inventory. The mere mention is enough to send shivers down your spine. It conjures images of clipboards and long hours jotting down…

Efficient Learning for New OpenCart Developers

November 19, 2017

A programming language like PHP has a fairly large number of built-in functions and a lot of developers get by knowing just a small subset of…

How to Write a Really Good Web Project Brief

November 2, 2017

Why should you go to the effort of writing a good web project brief? Surely that's the job of your web agency....

Freetrade: Trade Stocks & Shares for Free

October 20, 2017

One of your goals should certainly be to accumulate as much capital as possible. Why? Because money generates more money. It's the reason the…

Opencart Emails Not Arriving When Using SMTP

October 12, 2017

We have mentioned previously about issues which can cause your OpenCart emails to fail when sent using SMTP. Unfortunately this is a fairly…

Computing in 1995 vs 2017

September 22, 2017

I was recently tagged in an old school photo from one of our IT lessons which I think was taken around 1995, so it's a good chance to have a look…

We've Moved to Three Bridges in Crawley, West Sussex

September 19, 2017

We've settled in nicely to our new offices at Crawley Business Centre, Three Bridges....

Are Passwords with Numbers Instead of Letters Secure?

The amount and sophistication of hacking activity has been increasing and is likely to increase still further....

[Case Study] The Good Care Group Speed Improvements

The Good Care Group is a UK national company specialising in live-in care for the elderly and disabled. Their website was built using the…

What's New in OpenCart 3?

After a fairly quiet period of intense activity behind the scenes, OpenCart 3.0.0.0 was released just over a week ago....

Marketing Automation Emails Are Now Free in MailChimp

I've blogged a fair amount about automation in the past because it's one of the keys to a succesful, profitable and scaleable business....

Contact Form Not Sending Email

Most websites will have a contact form of some sort designed to take sales enquiries in a simple way and send them on to the business by…

[Video] How easy is it to edit products in OpenCart?

A quick test of a head mounted camera, and a very quick example of how easy it is to edit products in OpenCart....

OpenCart PHP Session /tmp Files Filling Up

When users come to a website, especially an ecommerce website, it's useful for the server to be able to keep track of who they are so it can do…

How to Acquire Awesome Customer Reviews & Testimonials

The way we shop forever changed when ecommerce exploded via the internet and delivery services streamlined....

Antropy Introduce Hourly Task Reports

Antropy have just released a fantastic new feature for our "hourly" clients that will help keep you on top of your tasks and your budget when…

OpenCart PayPal Standard Error after March 31st 2017 Update

PayPal did an update on 31/03/2017 that has broken a lot of checkouts with customers seeing a message like: "Things don't appear to be working at…

How to Stop OpenCart Emails Going to Spam by Using SMTP

Spam email is a massive problem these days and the best defense we have against it is spam filters....

The Singularity is Near: How Kurzweil's Predictions Are Faring

January 29, 2017

Back in 2007 I was very excited to start reading The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil which had been published 2 years earlier in 2005....

Finding and Fixing Bugs in Software

December 2, 2016

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, computer software is incredibly brittle (as opposed to being flexible). That means that a small change…

Antropy Ecommerce Website Audits

October 21, 2016

I'm pleased to announce that Antropy are now offering full ecommerce website audits that help identify areas where online shop owners are missing…

How do OpenCart Layouts Work?

October 14, 2016

Once you know how it's actually very easy to adjust the layout of various OpenCart pages to move things around and remove or add items. Here's a…

AI in Ecommerce

October 7, 2016

There's a lot in the news lately about AI (Artificial Intelligence) with names like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking warning about its dangers and…

What's the Quickest Way to Install OpenCart?

One of the fastest ways to get a functional ecommerce website up and running very quickly is to get some web hosting that provides cPanel (such…

What does the Brexit mean for ecommerce?

Whether you wanted the UK to Leave or Remain in the EU, the decision has now been made by the UK public and we will leave the European Union in…

What is the difference between modules and extensions in OpenCart?

In computer software, the terms "module", "extension", "plug-in", "add-on", "app", and even "vQmod" (in OpenCart only) are often used…

How to Use Product Tags in OpenCart 2

If you're adding products to your OpenCart 2 store, you're going to want to make sure that everything is done in the best way possible for SEO…

How to Speed Up OpenCart in 2 Minutes

If you're OpenCart store has a lot of products and categories (especially sub-categories), there's a very quick and very easy way to speed it up…

OpenCart 2.2 Fulfilment By Amazon

OpenCart 2.2 was released recently and hiding amongst the other standard updates such as "cleaner code" is something we think is really quite…

How Cognitive Biases Affect Our Everyday Decisions

I don't always share infographics, but when I do it's because I found them pretty interesting ......

How to Transfer a Busy Ecommerce Website with Next to No Down-Time

As your ecommerce business grows, so do demands on your web server - as you add more products, more categories, more customers, more sales, more…

OpenCart Automatic Error Log Trimmer

I blogged some time ago about a very elusive but dangerous beast of a problem that can happen to unsuspecting OpenCart sites....

It's time to switch to HTTPS

February 19, 2016

Very simply, if you want your site to be more secure and your customers to see the lovely green padlock in their browser, then you'll need an SSL…

Don't Forget to Make a Profit!

January 14, 2016

If you're just starting out in ecommerce, knowing how to price your products is going to be one of the most difficult things to get right. With…

December 23, 2015

The release of PHP 7 is very good news for everyone who uses the Internet because it will speed up the majority of websites out there in one fell…

OpenCart Maintenance Checklist

December 14, 2015

With Christmas 2015 approaching, it's definitely a good time to make sure your OpenCart installation is as stable as possible. So here are a few…

Ecommerce Marketing Strategies Overview

November 27, 2015

If you're running an online shop, then the most important thing will be getting people to actually go through the checkout process....

The Antropy Software Development Project Management Process

November 10, 2015

Estimating and quoting can be one of the hardest things in software development, even for the most experienced developers....

How To Speed Up OpenCart

October 16, 2015

Your customers are willing to pay significantly more to their Internet Service Provider per month for faster Internet speeds....

Retail Week Supply Chain Awards

September 30, 2015

Last Thursday Antropy were invited to join the Lengow table at The Hermes Retail Week Supply Chain Awards which took place at the Hilton Park…

September 11, 2015

You may have wondered whether it's best to include the www....

Business Automation with OpenCart

August 14, 2015

Business Automation in its broadest sense could be said to have happened when the first person delegated a task to someone else....

OpenCart Themes

One of the best ways to get an online shop set up quickly is to start with a theme for your eCommerce platform....

OpenCart Not Sending Order Emails

If you're running an online ecommerce business, you won't need us to tell you how important it is that your customers receive their order…

Seldom Used Hacks That Will Amplify Your Marketing Productivity

At times, things don’t go well and we may end up having a messed up day at work. Yes, it simply means that we failed to have a productive day. So…

Secure Trading Payment Gateway

There are lots of payment gateways to choose from, but it's definitely worth having a look at Secure Trading. Secure Trading is an integrated…

Allow your Customers to Finance their Purchase in OpenCart

If you sell high-value items through your website, you may find that customers would rather break the purchase in to on-going monthly…

PayPal Standard Hack Causes Wrong Order Total in OpenCart 1.5.x

If you're using PayPal Standard, your shop is potentially vulnerable to an attack that will allow customers to pay what they want for your…

php.ini Settings Not Working

Sometimes you need to apply a configuration change to a PHP server and it just doesn't seem to be taking effect whatever you do. Usually it will…

Speed-Up Ecommerce Websites with a CDN

You may have heard people talking about CDNs. You may not have. But essentially what you need to know is that they can very quickly, easily and…

Handy Linux Commands

Just a little page for some regularly used useful Linux commands....

Perception of Value

Well this is quite a fascinating infographic on the perception of value. Especially useful if you're selling on eBay, Amazon and especially your…

A Fantastic Ecommerce Experience

As an ecommerce professional, I'm always paying extra attention when buying online. I look closely at the websites I'm using, their marketing and…

On 21st April 2014, Google made a change to their search algorithm that meant websites that aren't very well optimized for small touch screens…

How do OpenCart Multi-Stores work?

If you have more than one ecommerce website as part of the same business, it may make sense to put them all together in to one OpenCart install…

Top Reasons Why People Migrate to OpenCart

Due to the rapid expansion of e-Commerce around the world, the digital marketplace is becoming flooded with modern, cheap and advanced shopping…

Importance of Being Close to Early Customers

There are a number of common mistakes made by startups, but arguably the most important one is forgetting to stay close to your early…

The Lure of Magento

Magento. The name conjures up the image of a big, successful ecommerce operation, full of features and doing a lot of business - or at least it…

Personalization – Getting Closer to Your Customers

Personalization has become one of the leading trends in e-Commerce. But what is it exactly and how it can be implemented?...

Why You Need to Aim for a "Frictionless" Checkout

If humans were purely logical creatures, buying decisions would be cold and calculated....

Why Hourly Charging can be a Win-Win for Client and Agency

Along with writing documentation, quoting and estimating on complex programming work are some of the most difficult tasks a developer has to…

Kiva Robots for an Automated Warehouse

With the revolution in e-commerce, vouchers sites are a hot topic....

How to build personal relations with the visitors of your website

February 16, 2015

Relationships are the basis for business. This is true for all industries and sectors, including eCommerce. They are the vital asset for the…

ASOS is 15 Years Old

January 21, 2015

ASOS.com is a British online fashion and beauty store. Primarily aimed at young adults, ASOS sells over 850 brands as well as its own range....

Shopping Cart Trends

January 15, 2015

It's always good to be aware of industry trends and "Google Trends" is a great tool for this. Assuming that the number of searches on a given…

eBook: How to Take Your Retail Business Online

December 24, 2014

If you're part of a successful retail business and sales are okay but not really growing like they used to be and you've got that nagging feeling…

Amazon's Retail Revolution Business Boomers BBC Full Documentary

December 15, 2014

The ultimate online retail success story - a business that was born in a garage twenty years ago and grew into a 100 billion pound global…

New EU VAT Rules 2015

December 11, 2014

You may be aware that some rather onerous new tax rules will come in to force from January 1st 2015 to do with the way that VAT is charged in the…

Showrooming: How it Feels to get Amazon'd

December 11, 2014

How big of a problem is showrooming to high street retailers?...

OpenCart CAPTCHA not working JFIF gd-jpeg v1.0 [SOLVED]

November 26, 2014

I came across an issue with OpenCart CAPTCHAs recently for the about the third time, which was difficult to fix each time....

Shipping Software – How to Know When Your Business Needs It

November 20, 2014

Coming in a variety of forms, shipping software is a computer program that is specifically designed to process labels (with your customer…

Cyber Monday 2014 Infographic

November 19, 2014

This year, Monday 1 December is Cyber Monday! Hundreds of retailers will be slashing prices for 24 hours as consumers scramble to find a…

What emails does your store send?

November 11, 2014

During the buying process, your customers will receive various email updates about the status of their order. Are you making the best use of…

A Quick Look at OpenCart 2.0

October 31, 2014

Finally the long-awaited OpenCart 2.0 has been released to the public for use. The new version of our favourite ecommerce platform has a whole…

10 Years in the Web Industry

October 17, 2014

It occurred to me this month that I've been working in the web industry for just over 10 years. How time flies! And what better occasion to look…

How do nameservers and DNS Records work?

October 2, 2014

You'll probably be thinking DNS is pretty complicated. Luckily it's not actually that tricky and here's a simplified description of all you need…

The State of Beacons in Retail 2014 [Infographic]

September 30, 2014

iBeacon is the trademark for an indoor proximity system that Apple Inc. calls "a new class of low-powered, low-cost transmitters that can notify…

OpenCart Orders to Tradebox to Sage 50

September 23, 2014

After many long evenings and far too much caffeine to be considered safe, we have released our OpenCart to Tradebox extension in to the wild to…

A Century of U.S. Consumer Purchase Decisions

September 19, 2014

An interesting look at how consumers purchased products over the last 100 years....

How Retailers are Converting on Mobile

September 8, 2014

What are online retailers doing in terms of mobile marketing and website optimization?...

How Do Colours Affect Purchases?

September 2, 2014

There are many factors that affect website sales and, as ecommerce experts, all of them are of great interest to us. ...

What Are People Really Buying Online?

August 29, 2014

There are some pretty surprising findings below that may have an effect on the product ranges that you choose to stock and sell online....

The Growth of Online Shopping

August 20, 2014

It's interesting to see such strong growth in ecommerce, but also that while bricks and mortar stores worry about "showrooming", such a thing…

10 Ways to Convert More Customers

August 15, 2014

10 interesting and counter-intuitive ways of increasing sales. 1, 3 and 6 are particularly interesting!...

Flubit the Online Marketplace with a Difference

August 14, 2014

There's a new marketplace in town that's free to join, has 5 million UK shoppers, is easy to connect to your online shop and has a massive…

Portrait of a Mobile Consumer

August 12, 2014

In 2018 90% of mobile traffic will come from cloud applications, compared to 82% at the end of 2013. It is expected to grow at an annual compound…

Tablet Growth: What to Expect

The trends are clear, desktop is diminishing and tablets are becoming ubiquitous. Essentially, tablet and mobile can no longer be ignored. They…

Tracking the Path to Purchase

The path to purchase has dozens of points where retailers can collect valuable data, enhance the shopping experience, and convert browsers into…

Benefits of Live Chat for e-Commerce

Imagine going to your local grocery store only to be surprised by an empty counter....

Google's 200 Ranking Factors

Although the ranking algorithm is one of Google's most closely guarded secrets, this very extensive infographic must cover almost all of the most…

How to Report a Bug the Right Way

In order to get the best out of any web agency when you have a problem with your website, you'll need to give them a very clear description of…

Calls to Action Without Transaction: Squeezing Value Out of Every Click

In an ideal world, every single visitor to your eCommerce store would like what they see enough to make an order....

OpenCart Currencies

There seems to be some confusion about how multi-currency works in OpenCart, so here's a short article to clarify some of the main points....

How do you approach your ecommerce marketing?

Let's be blunt - the way in which you approach the marketing of your online business will be one of the most important factors in your success or…

What is The Heartbleed Bug?

The Internet has been panicking this week at the discovery of a serious vulnerability that may have compromised passwords and data on many of the…

Facebook buys Antropy for £12 million

Mark Zuckerberg reveals plans to expand the ecommerce on facebook (f-commerce) after announcing the purchase of Antropy for £12 million....

Add to Cart Popup Confirmations in OpenCart

Maximising sales in ecommerce is all about delivering the simplest and best user experience possible....

Using a CRM with your Ecommerce Website

We really love open source software at Antropy, not just for the cost savings but for the flexibility of being able to change the software to fit…

RC Geeks Website Re-Design Case Study

Lots of companies invest heavily in the design/branding of their websites....

The Importance of Website/Server Monitoring

February 28, 2014

What is server/website monitoring? And why is it so important for ecommerce websites?...

Canonical URLs in OpenCart

February 21, 2014

If you've looked in to SEO on any level you'll probably have heard of canonical URLs. So we'll try and answer a few questions about them....

Ecommerce Guest Blogger Needed

February 14, 2014

We're looking for ecommerce guest bloggers, to help with guest posts and articles. We're keen to feature thoughtful and creative articles about…

Comparison of Multi-Channel Selling Platforms

February 11, 2014

If you're serious about selling online, you need to be selling across multiple channels and if you have any number of products at all, you need…

Do you have backups of your ecommerce site?

January 31, 2014

It never fails to surprise me how many companies have their ecommerce website at the centre of their business but fail to have a proper backup…

9 Reasons Your Bricks and Mortar Shop Must Master Online Selling or Die

January 28, 2014

Some of the most compelling reasons why the time is now to take your business online. If you're wondering why sales are lagging off-line and…

Benchmarking Your Google Adwords and Product Listing Ad Metrics

January 23, 2014

If you are going to be pumping your hard earned cash back into promoting, you will want to know whether that cash is doing its best for your…

Consumer Psychology at the Ecommerce Checkout

January 14, 2014

This detailed and informative image looks at the motivations underlying customers' behaviour during the checkout process on e-commerce sites....

Why have Debenhams not done as well as John Lewis?

January 3, 2014

Many retailers and online shops saw the Christmas surge come later this year, with more customers leaving their shopping to the last minute....

Ecommerce and the Christmas Holidays 2013

December 20, 2013

This year many online retailers have seen the Christmas rush come later than ever with more and more people leaving their online shopping to the…

Why the Telephone Will Still be Vital to E-commerce in 2014

December 11, 2013

You might think that telephone sales have been kicked to the sideline after the explosion of eCommerce, but you would only be half right....

Amazon Prime Air

December 6, 2013

This week Amazon.com announced that it's working on technology that will make deliveries by drone aircraft (hexacopters) straight to the…

Advertising on Amazon: How it Can Help Your Business

November 28, 2013

Amazon.com, Inc. is undeniably one of the giants of e-commerce....

Email Customers Who Bought Certain Products in OpenCart

November 22, 2013

Usually we'd recommend sending your marketing email to previous customers via MailChimp or other similar web-based service....

How To Get more Facebook Followers

November 15, 2013

If you're looking to sell more (and who isn't?) then it won't have escaped your attention that having a facebook page for your business with a…

Selling on Google Shopping with OpenCart

November 8, 2013

Google have been trying to list products for quite some time....

Delivering an Exceptional Ecommerce Experience

November 5, 2013

Well I was so impressed recently when placing an order on overclockers.co.uk that I thought it would be worth highlighting some of the things…

Securing OpenCart

October 25, 2013

No computer system can ever be 100% secure, as proven recently by security breaches at Facebook, Twitter, Apple and Microsoft. But there are some…

Ecommerce Website Breakdown of Costs

October 18, 2013

Before starting a new online business, it's important to have a clear idea of the numbers involved in terms of initial investment, fixed…

TrustPilot and OpenCart

October 11, 2013

If you're not aware of TrustPilot already, it's an independent platform that allows customers to review the service they receive from your…

eCommerce Expo 2013

October 4, 2013

We went to London yesterday to check out the eCommerce Expo and had a great time meeting some of the key players in the ecommerce industry. The…

Hosted vs Self-Hosted Shopping Carts

September 20, 2013

Whether you sell online via eBay and Amazon already or whether you're looking to start selling online for the first time, at some point you're…

eBay is No Longer Bargain Basement

September 13, 2013

Ebay was once seen as the place to go for those seeking rare or specific second hand items at bargain basement prices....

OpenCart Customer Review Email

September 6, 2013

Selling online is all about trust. If you can increase the trust your users have if your site, your company and your products, you will increase…

How to Add Video to Products in OpenCart

August 30, 2013

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a video must be worth a thousand pictures. And pictures are very useful when selling online. So how…

Why Your Web Host Should Know OpenCart

August 27, 2013

When choosing a web host there are a lot of things to consider, especially if you're an online only ecommerce business....

New Antropy Offices!

August 16, 2013

The Antropy team are settling in nicely to our new offices in Crawley, West Sussex, in the same building as successful ecommerce company, RC…

Setting Up Recurring Payments in OpenCart

August 13, 2013

One of the most exciting new features in OpenCart 1.5.6 is the ability to allow customers to set up recurring payments or subscriptions....

Improving Title Tags for SEO in OpenCart

OpenCart is very well optimized for search engines by default, but there are certain things that can be done to improve the on-site SEO still…

Latest OpenCart 1.5.6 Connects to Ebay, Amazon and Play

The latest OpenCart has been released, version 1.5.6 and it has several really great new features!...

OpenCart PayPal Orders Not Showing IPN

Various OpenCart websites that use PayPal Standard have been seeing a problem recently where orders are being placed and appearing in PayPal but…

Showing Sale Prices in OpenCart

You may have seen on some ecommerce websites a price of a product that's crossed out and discounted for a sale. It's a very good visual way to…

How to Get More Traffic with a Press Release

So we're not talking about the old fashioned kind of press release that goes in a printed newspaper....

OpenCart Abandoned Cart Reminder

Abandoned shopping carts are where someone has added a load of items to their shopping basket on your website and then for whatever reason they…

PayPal Standard and Credit/Debit Cards

You can use PayPal Standard to take payments by credit card, but do your customers know this?...

How to do Refunds in OpenCart

A frequent question that comes up amongst OpenCart users is how are refunds and returns are processed. Even long term users of OpenCart often…

How to Fully Backup OpenCart

If you've used OpenCart for any length of time, you've probably seen the Backup/Restore buttons in the admin area of your website. You may, like…

freshindulgence.com Goes Social

Our latest website to go live combines social media and ecommerce in a new and innovative way that provides a better, more immersive shopping…

PayPal Pro as an OpenCart Payment Gateway

There are lots of payment gateways available for OpenCart and it's important to choose one that will suit your needs. Some of the most popular…

Managing Online Orders in One Place

If you're selling online via multiple channels, you'll know that it can get quite time consuming monitoring each channel to process the incoming…

Uploading Multiple Images in OpenCart

If you've used OpenCart for any period of time with a reasonable number of products you'll probably know that you can't upload multiple product…

7 Ways to Boost Your OpenCart Sales

Here are 7 things you can do relatively quickly to boost sales on your OpenCart website....

The Problem with Outsourcing

When considering a new web project, it can be tempting to look for the lowest price, which often means outsourcing to a developing country....

Printing Shipping Labels from OpenCart

As you start to sell more and more from your OpenCart store, you may find yourself printing a lot of invoices and shipping labels. Wouldn't it be…

12 Essential Ecommerce Website Features

Whether you're looking to build a new ecommerce website or review your existing one, here are some of the features to look for that will get you…

Coupon and Voucher Codes in OpenCart

We've been asked a couple of times recently about how the coupon codes work in OpenCart. Well here's a brief overview....

Amazon and eBay are the biggest online sales channels by far....

Linnworks and OpenCart

If you're selling any volume of products online, you're probably selling on multiple channels already. The three most popular channels are eBay,…

OpenCart 1.5 Virtual Memory Usage and CPU

We were seeing an issue on one of our sites recently where occasionally and without warning it would throw an Internal Server error. The site did…

OpenCart vs Prestashop

OpenCart and PrestaShop are both great systems, both come with pretty much all of the features you'd need to get your ecommerce business off the…

Setting Up Your OpenCart Product Feed with Google Shopping

February 22, 2013

One of the best ways to increase sales through your OpenCart shop is to get your products automatically listed on Google Shopping. It's pretty…

Google Webmaster Tools Connectivity Errors

February 15, 2013

We're pleased to be able to say that since moving to us, our client has reduced the errors they were seeing in Google Webmaster Tools down to…

Custom Code or Existing Platform?

February 8, 2013

It should go without saying that before starting any new software development project, it's essential to think carefully about the requirements…

Retail is Dead. Long Live Etail!

February 1, 2013

The economy is changing fast. The global credit crisis has been hard on any inefficiencies and some of the old retail business models are dead.…

Web Design Trends: Flat Colour

January 28, 2013

I've noticed a new trend (aesthetic, style, paradigm) in web design which I think is rather nice....

One Quick OpenCart SEO Tip to Avoid a Duplicate Home Page

January 18, 2013

So here's a quick code change that you can do to your OpenCart shop to improve its Search Engine Optimisation....

OpenCart 1.5.x Internal Server Error 500

January 11, 2013

We've seen a problem recently which will cause an OpenCart website to suddenly start causing an internal server error....

The Future of Programming Interview

January 3, 2013

Sean Morris, Implementation Executive at TradeDoubler Interviews Paul Feakins, Managing Director at Antropy....

OpenCart Cost Price Has Disappeared

December 21, 2012

In business, the bottom line is everything. So it was nice that versions of OpenCart prior to 1.5 could calculate gross profit and produce…

Is the Face of Business Changing Forever?

December 14, 2012

I read a very interesting article recently, here's a summary....

Integrating OpenCart with other Software

December 7, 2012

OpenCart is an absolutely fantastic ecommerce platform. It is not, however, a blog, CMS or forum - that's not what it's designed for as those are…

osCommerce vs OpenCart

November 16, 2012

Not so long ago, osCommerce was the platform to be on when it came to open source ecommerce solutions. How does it compare to OpenCart, our…

How to Find a Web Host

November 9, 2012

If you're planning on setting up a new website of any kind, it will need to be hosted somewhere....

Using Facebook to Sell More Products is Easy

October 31, 2012

If you're already selling on eBay, Amazon or through your own website, increasing your sales through Facebook is actually pretty straight…

October 9, 2012

So what’s all this fuss about the Internet cookies? And what are they anyway?...

How to set up affiliates in OpenCart

September 28, 2012

Setting up affiliates is a great way to increase traffic and sales on your OpenCart store....

Monitor Makes High Pitched Noise When Off

September 23, 2012

I've just found the solution to an irritating problem with one of my computer monitors that makes a high-pitched sound when the computer is in…

Is this the future of input devices?

September 19, 2012

It’s more accurate than a mouse, as reliable as a keyboard and more sensitive than a touchscreen. For the first time, you can control a computer…

10 Fantastic Web Design Principles from the UK Government (No less!)

September 19, 2012

Government websites aren't usually known for excellent design in terms of both graphic design and software design but I came across this the…

Quick Overview of Online Marketing Methods

September 17, 2012

How can I get more traffic? How can we make more online sales? Here's an overview of some steps you can take today....

A Great Piece of Online Marketing

September 14, 2012

I saw a really great piece of online marketing the other day that instantly made me want to click it....

Shopify vs OpenCart

September 13, 2012

Shopify is a hosted shopping cart solution that can be set up by almost anyone with basic IT skills and an internet connection. It’s easy to set…

Matraxis Goes Live!

September 3, 2012

Matraxis identified the need for a new website that not only looked highly professional and befitting of a digital company but was easy to…

OpenCart vs Magento

August 24, 2012

Which shopping cart should I use? OpenCart or Magento? It's a great question that's asked a lot on business and ecommerce forums alike....

A Closer Look at the Raspberry Pi

August 13, 2012

The Raspberry Pi is a very small and very cheap (£22) computer, designed to get more people in to programming, which can't be a bad thing!...

Google Apps Free/Standard

Google make it hard to find the Free/Standard version - they'd rather you went for the paid version which does have some further benefits, but if…

deadmau5 Lights Up London with 3D Projection Mapping

On Monday 28th November Nokia brought deadmau5 and the world's most advanced 3D technology together and created an amazing free light show at…

Manage Your Products Quickly and Easily in OpenCart with Product Manager

There's an extension called Product Manager which dramatically speeds the process of administering your OpenCart store....

Hanah UK Ecommerce Website Goes Live

Our latest website went live this week, a trade-only wholesale ecommerce website built with OpenCart....

How to Sell Products Across Multiple Online Channels

Having your own ecommerce website is great, but you'll generate significantly more sales if you're also selling on ebay and amazon....

SEO Toaster is a relatively new ecommerce platform that includes a B2B quote engine. It's built from the ground up with SEO in mind at every…

Developing iPhone and Android Apps with Flash

A lot of developers are put off creating iPhone and Android apps because of the time an difficulty of learning a new programming language,…

Why You Should Also Be Selling On Ebay

If you're already selling online with OpenCart or another shopping cart platform, it may be worth also selling through ebay to increase your…

UK Enters Double-Dip Recession

As the UK enters the double-dip recession I'm glad we operate in the services sector....

How To Use the Meta Description Tag

Here are a few quick, simple ways to make the best use of the meta description tag on your website....

Monitor Your Web Traffic

I'm often surprised when I ask people how many visitors they get to their website and they're not sure. They could be getting between 1 or 1,000…

One Simple OpenCart Tip to Increase Sales

Here's something you can do right now in about 10-20 minutes that will increase traffic and sales on your OpenCart store....

OpenCart Support Service

Antropy has been designing and developing OpenCart websites for quite some time now so it makes sense that we're now offering help and support to…

No Photoshop No Problem

A trend in IT is towards hosted software applications where software exists in the cloud and is access and used through web browsers....

Concrete5 vs Joomla

Concrete5 or Jooma. Which is better? Both have different properties. Joomla has been around for years and according to www.opensourcecms.com is…

Mozilla App Store - Mozilla Marketplace

February 24, 2012

Mozilla, the non-profit behind the legendary Firefox browser have announced plans to build their own app store called Mozilla Marketplace in…

Why You Should Be Sending Email Newsletters

February 21, 2012

For a few reasons - first and foremost, they bring in work, which is of course their aim. If your recipients are previous clients or potential…

The Future of Flash

February 10, 2012

So... the Adobe Flash player seems to have a bit of an uncertain future at the moment, what's going to happen?...

BMW Drives Itself

February 3, 2012

Cars that drive themselves are getting closer! BMW developers have designed a car that can drive itself down Germany’s autobahn....

January 27, 2012

EPFL scientists have developed a new generation of 3D computer chips, stacked vertically rather than placed side by side....

3D Printing Makes New Shapes Possible

December 23, 2011

Besides making it more efficient to produce existing parts, 3D printing techniques make it possible to produce things that weren’t even…

HTML5 Geolocation

December 15, 2011

One of the exciting new features in HTML5 is Geolocation. This allows any website you visit to ask you to share your location, much like an…

The 4 Variables of a Project

December 9, 2011

In most projects, including web projects, there are just 4 variables:...

Microsoft Office Word vs. OpenOffice Writer

October 21, 2011

Open source software can prove to be better than its closed source counterpart. Firefox vs. Internet Explorer being just one very clear…

You built your own website? I'm out!

October 14, 2011

As a start-up you have to keep your costs to an absolute minimum. You also need a website to refer people to. So it's tempting to have a go…

Why Picking Up a Software Project Half Way Through Can be Tricky

October 7, 2011

Most software developers prefer to start a project from scratch rather than pick up an existing project. Here are a few reasons why:...

Faster Than Light

September 23, 2011

Interesting news today that scientists believe some particles may travel faster than the speed of light!...

Which credit card payment gateway should I use?

September 16, 2011

There are a few things to consider when choosing a credit card gateway... how easy is it to set up, what are the transaction fees like, and…

Tesco Trial Augmented Reality for Online Shopping

September 9, 2011

Tesco have begun trials with augmented reality... which means allowing you to see and interact with 3D products in your own home using just a PC…

3D Computer Games in Your Living Room

September 2, 2011

3D TV without glasses could be available in Europe in the next four months according to this article on The Register....

Steve Jobs Resigns from Apple

August 26, 2011

Steve Jobs stepped down on Wednesday (24th August 2011) as CEO of Apple....

The Pros and Cons of PayPal

August 19, 2011

Using PayPal has its advantages and disadvantages. This article weighs up the pros and cons of using PayPal....

3D Products for eCommerce

August 12, 2011

With the proliferation of 3D displays and increasingly advanced software available, it's perhaps surprising that big online retailers haven't…

Drive a BMW Z4 with a Webcam and Adobe Flash

Using augmented reality, BMW allow you to drive a model version of their Z4 around any flat surface....

How to Start Selling Online

An online shop can often enhance the existing business, giving customers the choice of where to shop and the convenience of shopping online....

What to look for in an eCommerce Platform?

If you want to sell on the Internet through your own website, one of your first and most important decisions will need to be which eCommerce…

eCommerce vs. mCommerce

eCommerce refers to websites that sell products online....

When Saving Money Can Cost You Money

Imagine you run a courier company. You invest in your fleet of vehicles and you have running costs such as fuel and maintenance....

How to Restore Accidentally Deleted Files in cPanel

However careful you are, mistakes happen. Sometimes surgeons remove the wrong kidney. Sometimes pilots fall asleep while flying a plane.…

Does social media work?

More specifically, "will spending time and money on social media be a good investment for our business?"...

What is "Open Source" and Why Do We Love It?

There's a lot of interest in open source these days, and not just from the software developer community. Many average PC users would be able to…

RC Geeks Goes Live!

We're excited to announce the launch of RC Geeks, an eCommerce shop built on OpenCart....

Last Thursday I attended Kent2020. It was a beautiful sunny day which made it pretty hot inside....

New Ecommerce Website Goes Live!

Our latest website has just gone live - an Ecommerce shop selling unisex baby products, clothes and gifts....

Agile Project Management with Backlogged

If you're looking for an Agile Project management solution which was built from the ground up with Agile in mind, look no further than…

What Website Layout Should I Use?

Something interesting we came across recently was that websites in certain industries seem to often follow a similar layout to each other....

Using Animoto to Create YouTube Videos

February 23, 2011

We used Animoto to create this 30 second portfolio showreel....

How To Make a Digital Microscope for £15

February 21, 2011

This video tutorial shows you how to turn your PC in to a digital microscope for less than £15 using readily available items....

February 17, 2011

When it comes to features, ease of use, speed, in fact pretty much all the criteria we'd use to assess a CMS, concrete5 is way above the…

3D Projection Mapping Creates Stunning Visual Effects on Buildings

February 17, 2011

With 3D projection mapping it's possible to project light on to a 3D surface in such a way that it appears as one flat screen....

IBM Computer Beats Humans at "Jeopardy"

February 16, 2011

A computer built by IBM can understand the questions and word-play in this popular US quiz show! Perhaps a small step forward for Artificial…

January 11, 2011

One of the first decisions that needs to be made when building a content managed website is "which content management system to use"?...

Shopping Cart Review

December 30, 2010

There are plenty of open source shopping carts written in PHP and a very common question is "which one should I use?" Well here's our review of…

November 27, 2010

It's not often that you find a piece of software that is of such obvious benefit to so many people but today I came across CameraMouse....

Website Features vs. Business Benefits

November 4, 2010

A table to show what the business benefits are of each technical feature....

HubSpot Website Grader

September 21, 2010

The HubSpot Website grader has been around a while and it's such a useful tool for SEO that we thought it deserved a mention....

August 18, 2010

I remember my early "adventures" while learning CSS and with the benefit of a few year's hindsight it's now easy to see which of the rules in the…

Software Design Patterns in Adobe Flex

August 18, 2010

It's been well over 10 years since "Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Software" was first published by the so called "Gang of Four" an…

If you've ever wondered why when you install a program on Windows, it scatters files all over your computer, GoboLinux is worth a look....