With the growth of the e-commerce industry, finding the right kind of platform to be able to perform your business is incredibly vital. It sets up the course that your business is going to take and plays a significant role in the success that a company experiences. Overall, the platform that a company chooses can make or break the goal that they are trying to accomplish.
For businesses that are looking to invest in a good platform, there are abundant options available online. Two of the more prominent platforms that e-commerce companies are currently using all over the world is Magento and Shopify. These two platforms are considered to be some of the very best within their sector and are supposed to be highly efficient and viable for companies of all sizes. If you are on the lookout for a new e-commerce platform, going in for one of these two options is generally considered the best. However, people are often left wondering which out of these two is suited to their particular kind of business. Here are some of the critical differences between the two platforms.
Customer Base
One of the first things that one must take into consideration when trying to determin which platform to go in for is the number of company's or users that are implementing this platform. When it comes to these two, in particular, the numbers are relatively drastic. Magento for one has a significantly larger user base. A study showcased that Magento is used in over 16% of sites worldwide, while Shopify is used in a mere 6%. This means that Magento is used more than twice as much as Shopify, making it the clear winner in the popularity category.
It is also important to take into consideration the kind of customer base that these two platforms attract. Magento is the platform that is currently being used by some of the biggest brands in the world, while Shopify is the preferred option for smaller and medium-sized businesses.
Structure
The code behind these two platforms is something that can play an incredibly significant role in their implementation and the efficiency that one gets along with it. When it comes to Magento, their ability to customize an edit is far more since the platform functions as an open source. This means that the code of this platform can be edited to suit better the company and the site that they are implementing the platform on.
Shopify, on the other hand, is far less customizable when it comes to the code. The platform uses a coding language called Liquid and cannot be edited by the user in any way. For customers who are looking for a platform that is highly customizable, Magento is the better option, while for those who want something simple, Shopify is the better choice.
Pricing
The pricing of a platform can play a significant role in the choice that the brand or company decides to go in for. Both Magento and Shopify run on subscription bases, and users are required to pay a certain amount every month to continue using this software onto their site.
Magento uses a more simplified payment model that ensures that their customers can try out their software before implementing it. The community edition of Magento is completely free and has abundant features to enable easy modifications and implementations. The hosting for this starts at $4 and can go up depending on the kind of site and the manner in which the platform is being used.
Shopify has a slightly more complex payment model for its software and has different tiers that customers can pay for. All users who want to try out the software can easily do so by using the free trial, after which they can make their decision on whether they want to go ahead with it or not. The more features that one wants with this software, the more they have to pay. Prices start at $29 and can go up to $179 depending on the plan that one goes in for.
Design
The designs and templates that both platforms offer are incredibly important to take into consideration because they are the main factors that affect the look and feel of the site. For those who are looking for abundant design options, both software options offer an ample amount of choices that can suffice when trying to build a good website. Because Magento is open source, it allows for more options when it comes to customizability within the themes. Users can freely edit them to look the way they want it to, which can make a big difference in the overall appearance that they get.
Shopify is not open source, which means that one cannot edit the themes and templates that are offered. Because of this, working with Shopify can seem somewhat limited, and something that is less customizable than the other option.
User Experience
The final factor that one must pay attention to when trying to choose a platform is the user experience that one gets. Both software options are designed to be efficient, but they function differently from each other in several regards. Because Magento has so many customizable options, navigating around the platform and implementing it can seem harder for some. Because of this, it is generally advised that the platform should be implemented with the help of an experienced web developer.
Shopify, on the other hand, is more suited to those who aren’t as familiar with web development and want something simple that they can implement. The user interface in this is a lot cleaner, making it better for those who don’t want to change up too much of the templates that are offered.
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