E-commerce is now a reality, a revenue channel that no matter how large or small a business is, can’t afford to ignore. With billions of users spending trillions of dollars annually for buying various products and services on the internet, the only limit to what you can achieve on this platform is your imagination. But before you get started, there is one specific detail that requires a detailed analysis and in a sense, can be decided only after you have your business strategy ready- the choice of your eCommerce platform.
Contrary to a popular perception, the choice of eCommerce platform isn’t just about how your virtual store will look, but it comes with a whole array of technologies that will eventually provide strength and scalability to your business, thereby influencing user satisfaction and even monetary dynamics. And while there are dozens of such platforms in the market, Shopify and Magento are the two leading the gang. But as you would expect, the choice between the two isn’t that simple because they belong to two entirely different domains.
So, before we start to get into particulars, here are the two fundamental differences between Shopify and Magento Community that have far-reaching consequences:
While these two differences may lend the notion of cost vs. convenience dynamics, save your opinion for now because there is a lot more to the picture. Let’s see how they fare against each other on various common criteria:
While both of these platforms are more than capable of handling all the basic features that you would want in your virtual store, there are a few marked aspects that we would like to discuss:
Inventory– Technically, both Magento and Shopify offer unlimited inventory management, which the former does for free while the latter asks for a premium price. But there is also a flip side- as you scale up, you would also have to invest considerably in hosting solutions, which you do not have to worry about when you subscribe to Shopify.
Themes– Magento and Shopify offer a large collection of both free and paid themes. And while Magento has a much larger quantity, Shopify offers a highly refined collection. As you move to the paid section, Shopify themes start at $80 while those of Magento can cost as less as $1.
Customization– These E-commerce platforms offer a moderate level of customization by simply tweaking the HTML and CSS code. If you wish to take it to the extreme level, Magento Community has a clear upper hand that allows for even the smallest of components to be customized. To handle the technicalities of the platform, you will need to hire expert Magento developers.
Multilingual– Shopify, by default, doesn’t have the ability to create a multilingual store. But the same can be achieved by the use of third-party apps. Magento, on the other hand, has such capabilities built in its platform.
Winner– Magento Community
While both these platforms come a with fairly simple interface that you can easily use, Shopify is a clear winner due to its Wizard mode that makes it extremely simple to set up and manage stores even for the novice users.
Additionally, Magento doesn’t have hosting capabilities built-in and requires further efforts for their setup and management, something that Shopify users don’t have to worry about.
Winner– Shopify
Also read: How Much Does a Magento Website Development Cost?
As mentioned in the beginning, Magento Community is a free product while Shopify is a paid service. The service itself has three categories that offer varying functionalities depending upon the price you choose to pay. From $29/month to all the way up to $299/month, pick what you believe will better suit your purpose.
The cost associated with Magento is, however, a bit indirect. You don’t have to pay for the software or any monthly changes. Instead, you will have to bear the one-time cost of hiring certified Magento developers and pay for periodic hosting charges.
When you do the cost analysis, you will realize that for small businesses with short-term objectives, Shopify turns out to be a feasible solution. Conversely, if you expect your business to grow in the future and stay for the long-term, Magento is the one to trust.
Winner– \Though it’s a bit tricky, we declare Magento for its long-term vision.
So, after all the facts we have put forward, one thing becomes essentially clear- the two platforms at their core are built to serve two entirely different audiences. If someone wants to exploit the shopping rush during holiday seasons through their own website, Shopify is undoubtedly the best choice for them. It helps them quickly build the site and handles all the traffic that they can possibly get. Magento, on the contrary, is aimed at those entrepreneurs and enterprises that are looking to build a high quality, scalable store for a long-term business growth.
If you belong to the second category, top Magento development company is what you need to get your strategies turned into reality. And fortunately, since you are already here, you don’t have to look any further. Get in touch with our Magento experts now to get the best shopping platform built for your business.
Mrityunjay is a content developer at Konstant Infosolutions- a leading mobile app development firm that caters to enterprises of all scales and industries with cutting-edge tech solutions. Being an engineer by education, a reader by passion, and a writer by profession, he finds no topic truly boring, yet nothing seems to content his craving as well- an essence he leaves in everything he writes.
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