VirtueMart 
Version
2.0.20b (last update on Mar 20, 2013)
Rating
Compatibility
Reviews
403
License
GPLv2 or later
Non-Commercial
Type
Date Added
5 March 2006
- Template overwritting,
- Implementation of Joomla Plugins for: payment, shipment, coupons, calculation rules, custom product fields, ...
- Simple installation and integration of other joomla extensions.
CATEGORIES
- nested categories
- with meta tags for seo
- with description and media
PRODUCTS
- with meta tags for seo
- short and long description
- dimensions (weight, size)
- multiple media
- variants, attributes
- unlimited child products and derivated levels
- product pattern (Parent product used as pattern for child products)
- related products
- reviews and ratings
SHOPPERGROUPS
- pricing depending by shoppergroups
- price display depending by shoppergroups
- payment/shipment depending by shoppergroups
SHOPPERS
- customizable shopper input form
- input form depended on registration, checkout or shipment
- adressbook
- default Bill-to and Ship-to address
- default payment and shipment method
INVENTORY/STOCK
- stocking/inventory
- stock warning
- virtual stock (ordered but not finally bought)
PRICES
- various type of prices to display depended by shoppergroup
- prices adjusted by shopper choosen currency
- different currency format per currency
- unit price
- quantity based pricing
REAL MULTI CURRENCY
- auto updating rates
- add your own currencies for fixed currency rates
SEF/SEO
- default SEF/SEO integrated
DYNAMICAL CALCULATOR
- discounts based on time, category, shoppergroup, country, and state
- tax based on time, category, shoppergroup, country, and state
- discounts, tax per product and/or order
- discounts, tax have their own currencies (for duties)
PAYMENT
- based on plugins: Paypal, Authorize.net, PayZen, Systempay, Moneybookers, Klarna, Heidelpay
- minimal amount / maximal amount to use a payment
- transaction fees
- by countries
- by shopper groups
SHIPMENT
- based on plugins
- by shopper groups
- by countries
CHECKOUT
- guest checkout; completly anonymous checkout
- option to register at begin of checkout
- cart is an object, competly overridable by template
- cart is stored in the session
- multi-page checkout
- one page checkout (not by default)
- SSL
ORDERS
- payment/shipment workflow
- history
- modifiable
- order tracking for anonymous users
PRODUCTS DISPLAY
- latest
- topten (most sold)
- newest
- featured
- sortable
- searchable
MULTILINGUAL
- native with joomla 1.7
- with extra joomla components (joomfish) for joomla 1.5
MARKETING PROMOTION AND TOOLS
- coupon handling
- recommend a product to friend link
- mail to shoppers who bought the product
OTHER
- hidden debugging tool
The 2.0.10+ is a security release, everyone using 2.0.8 or lower must update as soon as possible.
It may be somewhat buggy and the lack of in-depth documentation is really inexcusable, but has some benefits that other carts can't match, at least for the time being:
1) It's free and
2) It has a much bigger user base than anything else.
Now, when I look for support I don't rely much on the developers. Even if they are great and very responsive, they really can't offer the same number and flexibility of solutions that a large number of users can. I want my shop to have a long lifetime, and a commercial solution with a limited number of users can't offer me the certainty that I will be finding solutions to my problems in two years from now.
I have built a highly customized shop full of hacks and my own template designs and I realize that no shop can offer me what I want without me messing with the code myself. But what I like in Virtuemart is that very often what I want has been already done by some other user who has generously shared his code. If I have a problem then it's pretty possible that someone else has solved it before me. I don't have to wait for support to answer my questions, especially since most times they are about new features that aren't even implemented.
So yes, it could have been less buggy and it could have good documentation, and perhaps there are better carts for people who know nothing about PHP, SQL and Javascript. But for someone who wants a fully customizable solution, Virtuemart's great user base can't be beaten. And it has that large user base exactly because it's free.
Of course the developers should be aware that in the fluid world of software, it's pretty possible that another product may appear that will eventually attract more users and so VM's greatest advantage will disappear. So they have to stay free AND antagonistic.
1) It's free and
2) It has a much bigger user base than anything else.
Now, when I look for support I don't rely much on the developers. Even if they are great and very responsive, they really can't offer the same number and flexibility of solutions that a large number of users can. I want my shop to have a long lifetime, and a commercial solution with a limited number of users can't offer me the certainty that I will be finding solutions to my problems in two years from now.
I have built a highly customized shop full of hacks and my own template designs and I realize that no shop can offer me what I want without me messing with the code myself. But what I like in Virtuemart is that very often what I want has been already done by some other user who has generously shared his code. If I have a problem then it's pretty possible that someone else has solved it before me. I don't have to wait for support to answer my questions, especially since most times they are about new features that aren't even implemented.
So yes, it could have been less buggy and it could have good documentation, and perhaps there are better carts for people who know nothing about PHP, SQL and Javascript. But for someone who wants a fully customizable solution, Virtuemart's great user base can't be beaten. And it has that large user base exactly because it's free.
Of course the developers should be aware that in the fluid world of software, it's pretty possible that another product may appear that will eventually attract more users and so VM's greatest advantage will disappear. So they have to stay free AND antagonistic.
This is an ok extension out of the box, but configuring it is a complete nightmare. The layout of the front end is ugly and if you want to do anything complicated with the shipping like applying certain rates to specific products or have deliver rates according to post code it is horrible to work with.
Owner's reply
Thank you for taking the time to review VirtueMart 2, when you say the front end is ugly, have you tried any of the numerous templates developed specifically for VM2, may we also suggest you head over to the extensions directory where you will find help postage and shipping extensions as well as some really awesome templates.
Unfortunatley, I found that Virtuemart 2 is not usable unless you are prepared to "hack" the code. VM1 was fine and easy to setup but VM2 has too many variables that are too complicated. A simple product discount has turned into a nightmare where you have to setup a separate record and then apply to the product. I have moved to MijoShop and find it much better and easier to use with no hacking necessary. I will continue to use VM as a catalog only.
Owner's reply
Each person has their own goals when building a shop, and whilst we disagree the core needs to be hacked to get VirtueMart up and running each user has to decide what is best for their use. We would also like to thank the hundreds of thousands of users who use and trust VirtueMart 2 to power their websites. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!
VirtueMart and I had a rocky beginning, but that was mostly due to the fact that I started out on joomla 1.5 and tried to make it work with the lastest VM. Now that I have updated my Joomla to 2.5 VM2 is working perfectly. I'm not a programmer so I wanted to find a solution that I could handle.
I never used VM1 so I can't compare, but VM2 seems pretty easy to setup get working. There was one hiccup at the end of my setup where there wasn't a good solution for calculating taxes in States like WA and CA, but they recently contracted with AvaTax and now my tax calculations are super easy.
Highly recommend this product if you are using Joomla 2.5!
I never used VM1 so I can't compare, but VM2 seems pretty easy to setup get working. There was one hiccup at the end of my setup where there wasn't a good solution for calculating taxes in States like WA and CA, but they recently contracted with AvaTax and now my tax calculations are super easy.
Highly recommend this product if you are using Joomla 2.5!
Owner's reply
It is interesting that you did not use VM1, many people who used VM1 maybe expect VM2 to be the same when it is not, and this has caused confusion. Thank you on behalf of the whole VirtueMart community who equally deserve your kind words.
Virtuemart WAS a great eCommerce component - unfortunately this new version is so different to the older version it is unrecognisable.
The support forum is a mess. Beware that selecting your version before starting does not mean that the answers are applicable.
Many of the common bugs remain unanswered months later - including "Guest checkout" which has me stumped. Unfortunately the articles that rank so highly in Google do not provide solutions - after months of looking.
How to change the 'required' form fields is another problem unanswered.
Documentation is non existent - more than a year since release.
Version 1.1 was great and version 2 is very disappointing.
I realise this is a non-commercial release and I appreciate the work done - but this has turned from an excellent first choice tool that I had confidence to support to a product that feels like it was designed by a government committee - and is is now somewhere between a nightmare and useless. (unfortunately)
Version 1.1 had minor issues - ALL I knew how to work around or solve. I would have preferred to see a professional version released (that I even paid for) than this.
such a shame
Steve
The support forum is a mess. Beware that selecting your version before starting does not mean that the answers are applicable.
Many of the common bugs remain unanswered months later - including "Guest checkout" which has me stumped. Unfortunately the articles that rank so highly in Google do not provide solutions - after months of looking.
How to change the 'required' form fields is another problem unanswered.
Documentation is non existent - more than a year since release.
Version 1.1 was great and version 2 is very disappointing.
I realise this is a non-commercial release and I appreciate the work done - but this has turned from an excellent first choice tool that I had confidence to support to a product that feels like it was designed by a government committee - and is is now somewhere between a nightmare and useless. (unfortunately)
Version 1.1 had minor issues - ALL I knew how to work around or solve. I would have preferred to see a professional version released (that I even paid for) than this.
such a shame
Steve
Owner's reply
We are sincerely saddened by your lack of confidence on VM2. The volume of features, increased security and general code that has gone into VM2 is staggering, if you read what some others say about VM2 they differ greatly from your unfortunate experience, whilst we believe VM2 is better than many paid solutions, you must consider this is a free product that grows from great feedback like yours, thank you!
I feel really sorry to place this review, but I'm really disappointed about the new VM version 2.x. I was using VM for about 5 years now and it was good and simple.
Now they changed many many features that were perfect before to be way more complicated now... eg the vat system, price showing (still dont get it), checkout-site.
Sorry, but I think you're going to the complete wrong direction.
I have a lot of coding knowledge and VM knowledge, but I'm too tired to solve all those issues and questions I have with the new VM2.
I wish, they had just improved the features from VM1 and not turned everything upside down.
Now they changed many many features that were perfect before to be way more complicated now... eg the vat system, price showing (still dont get it), checkout-site.
Sorry, but I think you're going to the complete wrong direction.
I have a lot of coding knowledge and VM knowledge, but I'm too tired to solve all those issues and questions I have with the new VM2.
I wish, they had just improved the features from VM1 and not turned everything upside down.
Owner's reply
Thank you for sharing your insight with us, VAT is a simple matter of adding a tax. If you are referring to the way tax is displayed on the products page, this can easily be adjusted with radio buttons in the administrator/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=config >> configuration > checkout.
Hope this helps, if not, please head over to the VirtueMart forum for help.
Started 5 years ago with VM1 after trying a lot of other shopping carts....now i'm Updating to Version 2 and i like it very much.
Ok, there are still some bugs here and there, but the developers do really take care about them and most of them are solved immediatly.
They give you even personal support if you run in some strange errors....
The thing i like most about Virtuemart is, that is totaly open and you can change whatever you want by your own.so no shop is looking like the other...
Ok, there are still some bugs here and there, but the developers do really take care about them and most of them are solved immediatly.
They give you even personal support if you run in some strange errors....
The thing i like most about Virtuemart is, that is totaly open and you can change whatever you want by your own.so no shop is looking like the other...
Owner's reply
Thank you for your kind comments!
My first online shop wasn’t VM. Then I realize that I was wasting time and money on it. I installed and tested a several solutions and after few months analyzing other options I realize that VM 2 is the best extension cart solution.
Obviously, the job isn`t final yet. We have to give time to team continues providing us this great/ excellent extension upgrades.
Community is active and forum works fine.
Go VM team!
Obviously, the job isn`t final yet. We have to give time to team continues providing us this great/ excellent extension upgrades.
Community is active and forum works fine.
Go VM team!
Owner's reply
Thank you we really appreciate your feedback on behalf of the whole VirtueMart community.
I'm running web consultancy agency, so i can review based on developer perspective and also user perspective.
I can understand why some reviewer give low rating. Because virtuemart is not 'out of the box' shopping cart extension.
With TONS of features and flexibility, it will be difficult for VM team to create one solution that fits all online business. So when you install, you get the GENERIC template which simply need lots of tweak.
But in developers perspective, when you able to understand Joomla MVC, VM2 is really a complete shop that has TRUE integration with joomla, you can do almost anything.. the sky is the limit !
Why i don't give 5 star ? because of the documentation! At this time of writing, this is where Virtuemart Team need to put more commitment, even their wiki for Virtuemart 2 plugin development is outdated. (per December 2012) This can mislead a lot of people who wanted to develop solution with Virtuemart 2. So, if you want to learn VM2, you must gather information yourself in forum and by compare the code from default plugin.
Conclusion ? Virtuemart 2 is in the right direction to build powerful shopping cart in Joomla, it need extra work on the documentation (i think you should give the user guide for free instead of buying it from oscmanuals).
If you claimed to be a Joomla developer, this extension is worth 'time investment'
I can understand why some reviewer give low rating. Because virtuemart is not 'out of the box' shopping cart extension.
With TONS of features and flexibility, it will be difficult for VM team to create one solution that fits all online business. So when you install, you get the GENERIC template which simply need lots of tweak.
But in developers perspective, when you able to understand Joomla MVC, VM2 is really a complete shop that has TRUE integration with joomla, you can do almost anything.. the sky is the limit !
Why i don't give 5 star ? because of the documentation! At this time of writing, this is where Virtuemart Team need to put more commitment, even their wiki for Virtuemart 2 plugin development is outdated. (per December 2012) This can mislead a lot of people who wanted to develop solution with Virtuemart 2. So, if you want to learn VM2, you must gather information yourself in forum and by compare the code from default plugin.
Conclusion ? Virtuemart 2 is in the right direction to build powerful shopping cart in Joomla, it need extra work on the documentation (i think you should give the user guide for free instead of buying it from oscmanuals).
If you claimed to be a Joomla developer, this extension is worth 'time investment'
Owner's reply
Thank you for your comments re: documentation, it has been noted.
Have used virtuemart with Joomla 1.5 and this iteration of the extension on Joomla 2.5+ is simply amazing. Unfortunately some reviewers feel its not easy to setup. One could feel this way when the AIO part of the setup is left uninstalled. This contains all the plugins, modules etc. Install this and everything else is a breeze. Everything is where its supposed to be in the config area and the extension is simply amazing. Not enough stars - too bad, cos VirtueMart deserves 10 stars!
Owner's reply
Thank you!
1.5 is a great product. But since everybody had to move to 2.0, it's a mess. Basic features simply don't work. And the development team doesn't respond to complaints or pleads for help. Which is frustrating. I've spends days debugging just to get some basic features working.
I understand you can't get everything right the first time, especially for such a big upgrade of such a complex product. And I understand this product is free, which is great! But I'm having a very hard time explaining all the problems to my clients. And would be happy to pay for support if the option is available.
Please don't ask people to upgrade when this product is not finished. This should still be in a development stage. And causes major headaches in any production environment.
So think twice before using this plugin, or wait another year if possible.
I understand you can't get everything right the first time, especially for such a big upgrade of such a complex product. And I understand this product is free, which is great! But I'm having a very hard time explaining all the problems to my clients. And would be happy to pay for support if the option is available.
Please don't ask people to upgrade when this product is not finished. This should still be in a development stage. And causes major headaches in any production environment.
So think twice before using this plugin, or wait another year if possible.
Owner's reply
Hello nuntius, thanks for your feedback. A version vm1.5 was never officially released. I think you mean vm1.1.5? It took us some time to find your 2 posts in the forum. I am quite sure that there was just a misconfiguration, but we work on it so that it is easier to configure, for more read here http://forum.virtuemart.net/index.php?topic=100330.msg372778#msg372778
The component virtuemart 2 is really very big and has a lot complex features. Most people use only 30% of the features, but of course all people have different 30%. So your problem was just not considered as important for most people. Anyway a fix is on the way, you may read my answer in the forum here http://forum.virtuemart.net/index.php?topic=105773.msg370755#msg370755.
And please consider. The JED is not the correct place to push bugs you wanna have fixed. Virtuemart 2 is a project, not a product. Consider how you can help the project. Thank you.
I have just finished updating an old Virtuemart 1.18 with about 6,000 products to the new version 2 with Joomla2.5. While it took just over a day to correctly move all products it took another 5 days to get the new version working perfectly and looking right within the new template we chose (with a little help from the Virtuemart forum). It was just 20 minutes after making it live that the first new order appeared!
The shop is obviously faster than the old one and looks a whole lot better - much more professional. It does need a little more knowledge and experience of the way things work and more thought in configuration as there are many more settings than the old version that need attending to. Once I learned the right way to use overides, changing the layout and look of the pages was much easier than on the old version.
Now my sister's shop site needs updating. At the moment it uses another store extension, but it will change to Virtuemart 2.
All in all a great job - and a great price, too!
The shop is obviously faster than the old one and looks a whole lot better - much more professional. It does need a little more knowledge and experience of the way things work and more thought in configuration as there are many more settings than the old version that need attending to. Once I learned the right way to use overides, changing the layout and look of the pages was much easier than on the old version.
Now my sister's shop site needs updating. At the moment it uses another store extension, but it will change to Virtuemart 2.
All in all a great job - and a great price, too!
I use Virtuemart since 2 years and for me and my clients it is the best solution to combine a content website with a shopping cart. Virtuemart has extensive possibilities to customize. You can build easy a multilingual shop and implement so many features that you can build a shopping cart like the big players.
Virtuemart is a great solution for users with or without php-knowledge. It is easy to use and it is for free!
If someone have problems, go to the forum and there are many people who will help you. Some day I was also a beginner and I found in the forum help on all my questions.
Virtuemart is a great solution for users with or without php-knowledge. It is easy to use and it is for free!
If someone have problems, go to the forum and there are many people who will help you. Some day I was also a beginner and I found in the forum help on all my questions.
Thanks a lot! Its one of the best free extentions in jed. Easy to install with lots of features. I like this module!
It's easy to config and use. I used it on 2 online shop sites. Great work!
When I have to deploy an ecommerce, Virtuemart is always the safe choice. It can be improved and made more modern, but it's always a win!
VM2 has become a mess with several bugs. You can't remove a product with custom field from cart. It says it was removed, but still there. Since june people are complaining at the Virtuemart Forum and they simply does not respond or find a solution. Several posts are left alone. With a bugy product (bugs with more than 5 months old) , bad support, and untattendant forum it is going down everyday. Sorry about that, but VM1 was much better.
Owner's reply
Thank you for your thoughts, sorry for the late response. It would be impossible to identify your specific problems from this post, we would suggest you break down any problems you have and you will find solutions and find answers on the VM2 forum. In many cases people do not clear their cache, which results in products appearing to not be removed. I refer to the website cache, not cash which is not required for the VirtueMart as we all know this is free.
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