ECommerce is not a one-size-fits-all, there are myriad platforms to choose from, and finding the right one for you can seem overwhelming. The ideal features online merchants should look for in an open platform are flexibility, functionality, customization opportunities, and first-rate management tools. In all business endeavors, it’s important to weigh the positives and negatives before making any permanent decisions.
If you’re looking to use the e-commerce program Magento for your online store, there are many benefits this platform can offer, along with disadvantages. This article goes over the pros and cons of using Magento for your e-commerce store.
The Pros of Magento
Versatile
Magento is an e-commerce free-range platform that allows business owners the ability to extend and configure their sites as they please. Magento is the leading choice for retailers nation-wide and is highly-regarded due to its scalability and user-friendly features. It offers retailers an assortment of accessible tools to produce a fully optimized store rich in features, and development extensions. There are two versions of Magento available; Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce. Magento open source is 100% free to install for users and comes with the basic e-commerce features anyone can use to start their store. Magento Commerce is a more advanced edition without any limit to the amount of specialization a merchant can pour into their store. Features like page-builder, self-support, drag-and-drop merchandising, and increased scalability are all advantages Magento Commerce holds over Open Source
Expandability
Magento comes with a variety of extensions and options for customization and store personalization for your consumers. The ability to create a personal experience for shoppers like offering rewards for purchases and VIP memberships increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. With Magento, you can manage multiple applications like locations, price and currency variability, languages, and more. Unlike other limited platforms, Magento’s expandability offers more freedom and control over business operations, making it a strong competitor.
Customizable Features
Magento offers customization to your liking without the need to understand web designing programs like Html or Javascript. If you are a skilled developer and understand the basics you can use Magento to alter these programs overall enhancing your website and your consumer’s experience. There are many extensions available such as email notifications, social media integration, gift registry, customer credit limit, and more.
The Cons of Magento
Pricing
Magento Open Source is a free platform with the basic features, while the more developed versions of Magento like Commerce is a platform that could cost you thousands of dollars monthly. The starting plans for Magento range from $2000-$3000, which may be steep for beginning retailers. Prices like these are aimed at larger stores or corporations. Even the free version of Magento comes with costly add-ons depending on how large you wish to scale your business. Once your store is making the monthly capital to invest in these features it’s a great idea to switch over from the free version to the monthly subscription to upgrade your business and customer personalization.
Not Beginner-Friendly
Magento can be very time-consuming for new users. Besides the amount of time, it takes to customize and load new applications, switching to other platforms, and working out the system to its max efficiency is not as simple and straight-forward compared to other e-commerce platforms.
Proper Hosting
Magento requires proper hosting and development. With shared hosting or a subpar server, your website could endure complications like frequent crashing or technical difficulties. Hosting can run from a few dollars to a few hundred. Depending on your type of business and how you wish to expand it in the future, investing finances, time, and mental space into a properly hosted e-commerce set-up will benefit your business and its scalability in the long-run.
Scandiweb works with its clients to implement Magento and maximize performance for their eCommerce stores. Businesses will benefit from learning about Magento software development, which can lead to increased revenue. Learn more about the leading Magento development company.
