As cs-cart worked on “cs-cart 5” renamed “cs-cart enterprise” we were told that they were different products and would still continue to be supported. I do feel we are getting less and less though. In support of this I note
4.13.1 had 27 new features
4.14.1 had 21 new features
4.15.1 had 18 new features
4.16.1 had 13 new features
4.17.1 had 7 new features
4.18.1 had 3 new features
I feel really hard done by having brought a lifetime licence just b4 cs-cart changed their focus!
Will this change? Is there something big coming that we don’t know?
Maybe. Though please note we are talking a constant decline in the number of new features for last few years. That is a constant decline from 4.12.1 (which wasn’t included in my list above but that was even more at 48 new features, possibly makig up for the prior smaller release so there has been some ups and downs but this seems constant, like abandoning).
The desired features trail disappeared recently and many what some might think are bugs are answered with “designed as intended” it does feel as though cs-cart is in the process of abandoning the product.
There was no reason given so anyone like myself who saw there were regular updates with new features prior to buying is entiled to feel misled. However there may be a reason I am not aware of hence the question … is there a reason? Am I missing something?
As someone who was involved in the discussions of “CS-Cart 5” and “Enterprise” and who also had a hand in writing the changelog, I feel qualified to address some points brought up in the opening post.
I see several main points:
New versions don’t offer something that makes me want to upgrade.
The number of features in the changelog is decreasing.
Is the supposed shift to Enterprise to blame for this?
The first point is the most important, but also the most subjective. Different people want different things. All we can do is keep track of the requests made here, in Help Desk, and via other channels, so that we can decide on future features. But ultimately, you are the judge of whether or not a new version brings something worthwhile to the table.
Now, the other two points are easier to for me answer, because they are less subjective.
The smaller number of [+] in the changelog is indeed a thing. But as I looked through the past records and noticed a few things.
Change scope is very different. “Redesigned admin panel” or “Configurable onboarding for sellers” were much longer projects than, say, “Tax number was added to company variables in document editor”.
This is also the reason why “Bug fixes” is and will always be the biggest part of any release: as small as an issue is, it can take up a line in the changelog, just like any big new feature.
It depends on how much of the new functionality is shipped initially. For example, one of the changes we’re working on right now is support of YouTube videos for products. It will most likely end up as a single note in the changelog, something like this:
[+] A product can now have videos from YouTube, not just images.
Whereas in reality, it could have more notes, especially if we were to release this functionality over time:
[+] Products can now have videos from YouTube displayed in their image gallery.
[+] You can decide if images or videos appear first in the product image gallery.
[+] Import and export now support product videos.
[+] Mobile app now supports product videos.
etc.
Instead, we’re planning to include all of the above into 4.19.1. In the past, I noticed things like [+] Mobile application: Support for the Product Reviews add-on was added. I’m not saying one model is better or worse, but it’s a balance to strike each time.
There has indeed been a shift towards smaller number of more polished features in recent years. As in, when to ship a feature, what changes to include at the start, and why. This is just a description from my angle; but this shift has also affected how our software engineers work on CS-Cart architecture.
CS-Cart Enterprise remains a separate product. I am not involved in its development at all, and focus on the current CS-Cart products: Store Builder and Multi-Vendor. And what I said all those years ago about still remains true to this day. We are committed to improving our current product line-up further, and that’s what the majority of our developers are working on.
Their time goes into developing new features (like product videos and some other things I’m not ready to share here yet), updating integrations (like FedEx, PayPal), addressing confirmed bugs, and supporting the technical side of things (ensuring that CS-Cart runs on a modern PHP version, etc.)
Speaking about new builds and why they can be released. A change like “support of PHP 8.3” — admittedly not important to many business people on its own— might still require a big release like 4.19.1 or 4.20.1 when PHP 8.3 becomes a requirement. Or, when FedEx say they might discontinue an integration, we’ll do our best to release a new one around the time when it might happen. Even if some other features in the works can’t make it into that version yet.
Thank you for addressing some of the concerns here. I appreciate the insights into recent changes and development direction. However, a few key points are still causing some friction within the user community:
Lack of Product Roadmap: In the past, CS-Cart had a visible roadmap, which provided users with clarity about upcoming features. Currently, it feels like users are left in the dark, unsure about what’s ahead.
Community Feature Discussions: Previously, there were active threads for feature discussions (like product variations), where users could contribute ideas and see community-driven developments. This openness fostered engagement and allowed users to feel heard.
User Feedback Threads: Some time ago, there was a dedicated thread gathering input on which features (like new logic for promotions) needed improvement. It seems that feedback was collected but hasn’t resulted in tangible changes, leaving users feeling that the time spent sharing insights wasn’t as valuable as anticipated.
Add-ons vs. Native Features: There seems to be an inconsistency in support’s approach to feature requests. For example, support has previously stated that features available as add-ons (like AB’s video gallery) wouldn’t be implemented as native features. However, with the planned native YouTube video support, it would be helpful to understand if there has been a change in this approach.
If there are any plans to address these areas or reintroduce a roadmap, it would greatly help in understanding the direction and aligning expectations. Thank you again for your response and ongoing support for the CS-Cart community.
This has been my complaint for while now. CS-Cart has been releasing frankly useless features like payment integrations no one asked for, admin panel revamp (nice but there was nothing wrong with the old design).
We need more features like more advanced reporting, better support for mobile app, better hosting options like autoscaling, better pricing/markup models, better accounting, S3 support to make Admins easier to manage, scale and make administration more efficient and in general make Multivendor a robust solution for Multivendor E-Commerce.
Instead of focusing on actual features, They’ve been releasing new builds for the sake of releasing new builds.
The lack of a customer-driven product roadmap and listening to its users as someone above mentioned is definitely one of reason for this lack of innovation and direction. A roadmap is NECESSARY.
Thank you for acknowledging the concerns. @ikoshkin
This is exactly the point of a road map. Different people want different things. That’s why a system where all users vote on what they want most gets seen and worked on. The best features win. Not only does this satisfy customers, it gives you - The management of CS-Cart 100% clarity on what users want and what you should focus your development and time on, saving your precious resources as well. It’s very simply a win-win. CS-Cart can go a long way if it listened to users.
Unfortunately relying on anecdotes and single-sided concerns on Helpdesk or the forum is just not an efficient way to monitor and track requests, and this still leaves the current issue, where most Admins are left in the dark about what direction CS-Cart is heading in or what features to expect.
This has also been my point for a while, CS-Cart doesn’t need to develop everything from scratch, they can purchase licenses from any of the developers thousands of existing solutions and simply refactor them to better integrate it in the schema and CS-Cart platform as a whole and make them as default cs-cart features (for some features that are essential) increasing turnaround time for adding new features, and allowing customers to continue using the add-ons they were using.
Discussions aside, when can we see a feature request system or a roadmap?
Long time ago I said that cs-cart is constantly occupied with some new no success projects sacrificing the main product that generates main income. While they put their human and time resources elsewhere product itself is put behind. There is no road map because there is no long term strategy. Possibly only strategy is to remove something that was given and offering back under new name
I try to imagine the auto seller who would offer same car body for 10 years, probably only some tesla could get away with this.
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