The release of the popular store OpenCart v1.5.0 RC1

One of the most popular and dynamically developing OpenSource projects for e-commerce - OpenCart has released a new version v1.5.0 RC1 for final testing. I ran a quick glance through the settings menu and highlighted the changes from version 1.4.x.

• Added the ability to create arbitrary attributes on the product. Eliminated one of the major drawbacks of OpenCart.
• Added the ability to create arbitrary options for a product, for example? Selection by color in the form of a checkbox.
• For attributes and options, a sorting order is configured when displaying a product.
• Added accumulation of bonuses that can be used to purchase items.
• Added referral system.
• Gift certificates have been added, which are issued on behalf of user 1 for user 2 in honor of an event, for example, a birthday. Motives, of course, are customized.
• Added additional options for selecting groups when sending mailings.
• Added product banners. For example, on the main page you can display a big promo banner.
• Dramatically changed the design settings and templates. Now, instead of one customizable template for the main page, you can create arbitrary separate templates for any page, in which you can already conveniently assemble modules. The logic of creating the page was a little embarrassing - the modules are not connected to the template, and the binding to the template is configured in the modules. The new template system will probably become incompatible with previous templates. The final decision will be made before the release of version 1.5.1.
• And finally, pam-pam ! The checkout form is radically altered. New instant checkout made in the spirit of professional commercial decisions. The process is conducted on one page in the form of tabs that open in a consistently top-down manner. When filling in the fields, the control of actions takes place without reloading the page, and in case of an error, a clear hint is given directly at the required field. The authors did not achieve full implementation in the spirit of the best recommendations , but among the OpenSource solutions this is perhaps one of the best approximations.
  

And of course the standard design has been updated, which looks much more modern and interesting.

The release candidate caused a lot of laudatory comments : forum.opencart.com/viewtopic.php?t=31052 ,
as well as massive bug reports: forum.opencart.com/viewtopic.php?t=31055

The development team from the moment of release on April 26 round-the-clock eliminates bugs with fantastic speed: code.google.com/p/opencart/source/list
')
For those who want to see the release in practice, I recommend using svn, since the released distribution has not yet been updated.

svn checkout http://opencart.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/ opencart-read-only 

And of course, do not forget about the Russian community , which is already working to adapt the new version.

Update.
I watched the admin panel mostly, but there were also noticeable changes in the front. A wish-list, a product comparison module, has appeared.

It is also worth recalling that the SEO-url module appeared in the previous version and is being actively developed, and the store itself is written in the MVC paradigm, which greatly simplifies the process of studying and modifying code to fit your needs.