Which eCommerce Website Should Be Preferred: Magento or Shopify?
If you are an entrepreneur and looking for building an eCommerce website then it is of utmost importance to select the right platform. There are two well-known platforms named Magento and Shopify. Since it is the cornerstone of your online shop, it needs to be fully featured and high performing.
This script will highlight the significant aspects of both frameworks providing a clear picture to choose the superlative one.
Let’s take a look at it.
1. Utilization
Magento is a free framework and facilitates the users in terms of customization and scalability of eCommerce websites. Talking about Shopify, you have to pay to utilize it. So far, Magento has held the position of being the most renowned framework for e-business. No doubt, Shopify also has amazing features, but the people who are new to web development use this. Business professionals and expert developers go for Magento. Ask your IT outsourcing company which platform they are using.
2. Coding
In the previous section, we discussed that Magento is an open-source platform and you could do possible alterations in the code. In the case of Shopify, there is a coding language called Liquid. Moreover, it is not a free forum so you are not entitled to make changes in codes the way you want. Hence, Shopify is not an appropriate framework for complicated and advanced digital stores wherein the code modification is required.
3. Budget
When you intend to go for an online store development, look for security and maintenance price as well besides initial pricing plan. It is much better to be clear about the total budget of the project with your hired web development company. For Magento, there is no downloading fee, but you will have to bear the hosting plan cost. As per your needs, decide carefully which hosting plan is suitable for you. Shopify also has various plans with different prices and features. You could choose the plan depending on the features you need.
4. Themes
You have to select such a theme which creates a satisfying user experience. In Shopify, you could find many attractive themes which you can also customize. But the downside is that only a few of them are free and the remaining is paid. On the other side, Magento doesn’t offer many themes and have free and paid choices like Shopify. An advantage it offers you is that it allows you to use your own theme with optimal customization options. You could easily include animations or newsletter functions on your website.
5. Security
It is of utmost importance to keep a security check of your online store. Never take risk about customer data since it could break their trust once and for all. If we talk about Shopify, it is a SaaS program and has an SSL certificate. On the other hand, Magento gives a free hand to developers to work on the website’s security aspect. It is up to developers to make the website secure up to the level they want.
6. Hosting
When it comes to hosting services, Magento gives you the leverage of hosting the website on your own. This eminent framework has thousands of users and is the source of hosting a number of eCommerce stores. But Shopify is preferred by those who are either not aware or don’t want to deal with technical issues. Further, you have to bear fees monthly to avail the services.
7. Payment Gateways
Payment gateway refers to a procedure of dealing with cash management. It facilitates the business owners to receive the payments online. You have to ensure your customers that they are making a smooth and safe online transaction. There are payment gateway methods in both Magento and Shopify. Magento provides you leverage to integrate more than 150 payment options in various languages and countries as well. While Shopify is also a considerable option because of its hosting and simplified payment services.
8. SEO
Your eCommerce site should be SEO optimized for better ranking in search engines. For this purpose, you have to choose the platform which provides an SEO powered solution Magento enables you to conduct on-page optimization and alterations in metadata. Shopify doesn’t allow you to get hold of the many SEO features. Comparing the two, Magento is leading. You should opt it to improve your website visibility in search engines.
Wrapping Up :
After a comprehensive debate of the well-known eCommerce platforms, i.e., Magento and Shopify, many arguments are in favor of the former framework. When you intend to receive web development services, prefer Magento platform. However, if there is any budget constraint you can opt for Shopify – it all depends on your personal preference.