For the past month, I have been searching for the most suitable engine for the store. It feels like I could have built one myself during this time.

Here is the bottom line: there is one database on the hosting, and three different CMS systems are connected to it with different prefixes. I need a simple store engine that can be connected to a single database. Since we will be installing the engine in multiple instances, prefix support is crucial.

I have experimented with various engines from search engines and GitHub. Some I found on toaster others on different forums:

- Some were impossible to install due to specific hosting service or software requirements.
- Others were overwhelmed with functionality, making them too complex for ordinary users who don't want to learn Joomla, WP, OpenCart, and the like. All we need is the ability to manage categories and products. The engine will be displayed on the main site via "include('shop2/index.php')". The owner will manage it using "include('shop2/admin.php')". Therefore, excessive buttons are both inconvenient and look absurd.

As a result, I've concluded that I should seek advice from knowledgeable people who have experience with older engines, when there weren't so many unnecessary buttons. Please share any names of such engines. The more options, the better. Today, I will try them all. Thank you!

You may want to consider engines like Magento, WooCommerce, or PrestaShop as they are popular and widely used in the e-commerce industry. Additionally, you can explore alternatives like osCommerce, Zen Cart, or X-Cart, which have been around for a while and might have the simplicity you are looking for.

suggestions for store engines that you can explore:

1. Shopify: Shopify is a widely recognized and user-friendly e-commerce platform that offers a range of features for managing categories, products, and orders. It has a simple interface and allows for easy customization.

2. BigCommerce: BigCommerce is another popular e-commerce platform that provides a comprehensive set of tools for building and managing online stores. It offers flexibility, scalability, and a user-friendly interface.

3. OpenCart: OpenCart is an open-source e-commerce platform that is known for its simplicity and ease of use. It offers a wide range of features, customizable themes, and extensions to enhance the functionality of your store.

4. WooCommerce (WordPress plugin): If you already have a WordPress website, then WooCommerce might be a suitable option for you. It is a powerful plugin that seamlessly integrates with WordPress and provides extensive e-commerce functionality.

5. Ecwid: Ecwid is a cloud-based e-commerce platform that can be easily integrated into existing websites or social media platforms. It is known for its simplicity and supports multiple languages and currencies.

and:

1. Shopware: Shopware is a popular e-commerce platform that offers both an open-source version and a commercial version. It provides a wide range of features for product management, marketing, and customer engagement. Shopware also has a strong community and a marketplace for extensions and themes.

2. Volusion: Volusion is a cloud-based e-commerce platform that offers a user-friendly interface and a range of built-in features. It provides templates, inventory management tools, marketing features, and integration options to help you create and manage your online store easily.

3. 3dcart: 3dcart is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that offers a variety of features for building and managing online stores. It provides customizable templates, inventory management, marketing tools, and integration options with popular payment gateways and shipping providers.

4. Weebly: Weebly is a website builder that also offers e-commerce functionality. It provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, customizable templates, and features for product management, payment processing, and marketing.

5. Wix Stores: Wix Stores is another website builder with built-in e-commerce capabilities. It offers templates, product management tools, secure payment options, and various marketing features to help you create and run your online store.

When it comes to austerity in terms of website development, there is hardly a better choice than OctoberCMS + Shopaholic. OctoberCMS is known for its minimalist approach, lacking features such as user and menu management out of the box. These functionalities are instead provided through separate plugins, ensuring that the admin panel remains lightweight and free from unnecessary clutter.
Shopaholic, on the other hand, adheres to the same philosophy, offering a robust catalog as its default feature set. Additional functionalities like order management, filtering, and payment processing can be easily incorporated through plugins such as the Orders plugin, Filter plugin, and Omnipay respectively.

WordPress has the ability to create multisite installations, which allows you to have multiple websites running on a single installation. Additionally, WooCommerce can be integrated into WordPress to create an e-commerce platform. Another way to customize your website is by using a custom post type to create different types of products. With a little effort, you can become proficient in utilizing these features and make the most out of your hosting experience. This will enable you to create and manage hundreds of websites on a single database, making the process convenient and reliable.

There are various plugins available such as Advanced Custom Fields, Custom Post Types UI, and Pods that allow you to visually customize your website without the need for coding. These plugins provide a user-friendly interface for creating and managing custom fields and post types.

On the other hand, if you are comfortable with coding, mastering it will make it much easier to expand and duplicate your website. The code-level customization opens up more possibilities for advanced modifications and enables greater flexibility in terms of functionality and design.