8 Admirable Zen Cart Sites

By Leora Wenger, December 27, 2009 9:08 pm

Zen Cart (or zen-cart) is a popular open-software shopping cart that is used to sell products online. The basic Zen Cart set up is rather dull; I wanted some examples of well-designed sites that use Zen Cart. Here are the ones I found (click on the graphic to visit the shopping cart site; under the graphic is a link to the designer’s site):

Peek A Tees

Peek a Tees

Site by CuriousLight

Dear Johnnies

Dear Johnnies

Site by CuriousLight

Pomona Fruits

pomona

Site by JSWeb

Hobby Hill Farm

Hobby Hill Farm

Site by 2 Dogs Design

Xtreme Beauty

Xtreme Beauty

Site by @janidhaval

Chan Luu

chanluu

Clark and Mayfield

Clark Mayfield

Site by Winnie Lim

You can see live shops on the Zen Cart site itself, and I admired this one:

eFabrics

efabrics

Thank you to @curiouslt, @coolphotoideas, @janidhaval and @jsweb_zencart for your help with this post.

Note: I cannot attest to the customer service, security nor product reliability of any of these sites. All I can say was there was something about each one that I admired.

Update: Since it turns out that Clark and Mayfield no longer uses Zen Cart but it is a beautifully-designed e-commerce site, I decided to leave it on this post and add one more intriguing Zen Cart design as well:

Isabel Harris

Isabel Harris

I love how this site uses a subtle, neutral palette of tans and browns, even for the links. It doesn’t shy away from the boxiness of the Web but celebrates it with a grid of inviting products and text.

17 Responses to “8 Admirable Zen Cart Sites”

  1. Dhaval Jani says:

    Thank you so much for including my design! After looking at other good ones, I doubt if I was even close to any of these! Some great new sites here that I am seeing for first time!

  2. Jill C. says:

    Leora, thanks so much for including my Hobby Hill site! I am thrilled to be included – there are some really great sites here, goes to show how awesome Zen Cart is when in the right hands!!!!

  3. Yam says:

    Wow I like these sites. Great to see what can be done with Zencart.
    I am trying to get to these standards so it’s nice to see.
    Thanks.

  4. Tino says:

    Nice collection. I really like the “Clark and Mayfield” Shop. Very elegant design. And the product pictures and Zoom are excellent. Well Done!

    • Leora Wenger says:

      Someone pointed out that Clark and Mayfield is no longer using Zen Cart. But, yes, it is a great design. Looks like the design could be on Zen Cart, judging by the others.

  5. Qacaq.com says:

    Very lovely examples of excellent design jobs. Thanks to one of the great Open Source E-Commerce package. But I like my Zencart Website as well :) Maybe I am a bit biased :) Have a look at tell me -> http://www.qacaq.com

  6. Kerrin says:

    Thanks for the great list. I think that the Peek-A-Tee site is a great idea – and a good store design too.

    I’ve also started collecting Zen Cart Store designs – http://www.kerrinhardy.com/zen-cart/zen-cart-gallery/. Like you said, the default design is not exactly awe-inspiring and it’s good to be able to see what a great design can do for a great shopping cart!

  7. Paul says:

    Hi guys im interested what you think about those ones, all build in zencart:

    http://daysale.co.nz/
    http://tgaint.co.nz/

  8. Eclectica says:

    Very nice sites! I always love to see fellow Zenners and how creative they are with their sites.

  9. Hal says:

    I’ve been looking for some great designs for a ecommerce site and I really like the Hobby Hill site you show.

    I also found some great looking sites from a company in Australia. A few of these are really beautiful
    http://webcare.com.au/category-3.html
    Hal“s last blog ..Is eBay Feeling the Heat?

    • Leora Wenger says:

      Hobby Hill was designed by a Zen Cart specialist here in New Jersey. I haven’t met Jill Caren in person, but her designs and my pleasant interactions with her online suggest she will do an excellent job on a Zen Cart design.

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