A few years ago, the market of the e-commerce platforms was mainly called Magento. But recently, a different way of setting up an online store is attracting both sellers and clients. It is called Shopify.
If you own a business, you may have an existing e-commerce store or are looking to expand into this area, you’re probably wondering what the best e-Commerce platform to use in 2019? According to Google Trends, while comparing, Shopify vs Magento, Shopify looks more popular compared to Magento.
Actually, Shopify and Magento are two of the most popular e-commerce platforms on the market. They differ a lot from each other. In the end of this guide, you’ll have a much clear idea to choose, which is the right e-commerce platform for your online store.
The main differences
Shopify is commercial, a software-as-a-service (SAAS), so users pay a monthly fee to get its services. Magento is free and open source software. Shopify is hosted by its own host, which makes easier the setup and configurations. Magento is hosted by your hosting. The installation and configuration need web programming skills. At the end of the setup, you can start building the online store.
The easy platform
Starting a new business is not easy. At least, the platform of the web store should be easy and helpful. If you choose a platform that adds stress in your work, then you should not focus on your own products and sales, but in the store itself. You better build your store in a platform you soon master and in which you are comfortable with.
Shopify gives you the interactive way to build the website just by drag and drop the elements in the interface. You can set up the store just by moving the components in the way you like to arrange them, so you can quickly start selling. The process of adding new images to the store makes it unique and personalized. Also, the process of setting up the payment method is so easy so you can soon start making money, without worrying about the procedures. Beginners will find Shopify easy to use.
Although very flexible Magento is more complex to use than Shopify. You should learn some technical terms and some code before start selling at a Magento store. Magento platform is less user-friendly and the process of setting up the store requires to navigate is some blocks before becoming a seller. Magento is powerful for experienced users, but a bit difficult for the beginners. This means you need some professional tricks to manage the full functionality it offers.
More Apps means more functions
Both Shopify and Magento have a huge number of main functions, which cover important tasks like marketing, inventory, finance, etc. But for any specific tool, you need to install a new app or an extension of your store. Such software helps you in adding extra functionality and to speed any procedure so you can focus on sales and not on the online store itself.
Shopify App Store offers more than 2 300 applications, free and paid. You can install them by just clicking on it, and personalize it. Some useful apps are those who integrate your store with social media, or with your email. Such connections will increase dramatically the sales of your online store.
Magento Marketplace has over 3 000 extensions, free or paid. Some of them require few coding skills to insert them in the online store and to personalize them. But to us, Magento seems powerful in the wide range of extra functions and in the extensions it offers. Practically, you can do quite everything with Magento extensions, and all you need is to choose the right one and to know how to use it properly.
Your budget, a key factor
The budget is crucial aspect to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform. Shopify and Magento differ in their fees and in their operating costs. Shopify comes with a monthly fee, but it includes the host fee and maintenance service fee. Each premium application has an extra monthly fee.
Magento is a free and open source software but it does not include the cost of hosting. Many Magento apps have fees and in an overall overview, you will need to consult to a web developer to integrate and to configure the Magento apps.
The size of the store will make you decide
Shopify and Magento both are powerful eCommerce platforms, you can make the choice between Shopify vs Magento, based on the size of your business. Shopify offers the Shopify Lite which allow you to sell via Facebook. It also offers three packages: Basic Shopify, Advanced Shopify, and Shopify Plus. Shopify it’s easy to use with a great customer service.
You can choose them depending on your needs and your budget. If you own a small business, Shopify is a promising eCommerce platform.
Magento, on the other hand, is built on an open-source framework, it’s offers the Community package as the right platform for small online shops and the Enterprise package for larger online brands. It has a large extensions marketplace that enables more features for your site and is a platform that prides on its extraordinary scalability for complex and long-term operations.
Hosting the online store
The process of setting up the host in a Shopify store is easy because the whole process can last few minutes, and Shopify provides you the complete solution for hosting your online store. Meanwhile, Magento gives you the responsibility of hosting, downloading, installing and setting up the platform for the new store.
The everyday Store Management
As soon as you set up your online store, you should add or update product details and manage the inventory. Both Shopify and Magento have a product section which enables the seller to manage to products. If you are not an IT or Web specialist, Shopify is the easiest platform to manage your online store, because of its user-friendly interface.
Best for SEO
According to statistics, 93% of all website visits start with an online search. Ranking your page high on the list of relevance for a particular search term can be more important and useful than any form of advertising. The best shop is those who have customers shopping there. Both platforms offer good deliver traffic, which is translated as good SEO (search engine optimization) to deliver traffic.
Themes for a stylish shop
When your customers visit your website, the theme of your e-Commerce website will create the first impression.
In both platforms, Shopify and Magento, the look and feel of the store are created by themes.
In both platforms, Shopify and Magento, the look and feel of the store are created by themes. Some of their most basic themes are free. Themes with attractive features are in a symbolic price. If you want a classic image of your store, Magento has lots of such themes. If you want a different image of your store, Shopify themes are better from a design view.
From the technical point, Shopify themes are easier in installation and in modification than the Magento themes.
From the design and the UX aspect, Shopify offers the best-looking themes, without any doubt.
Point Of Sale
It is an important key solution the web platform offers to the point of sale. Shopify offers a Point of Sale app that runs on any mobile or desktop device and accepts credit card payment. Magento also offers Point of Sales options which are extensions in the marketplace.
So which one should you choose?
Both Shopify and Magento are powerful e-commerce platforms. Shopify is far easier and fully managed system. Meanwhile, Magento is costless and more complex regarding the installations and customizations.