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Magento Vs. Shopify Vs. WooCommerce: Which Platform to Choose?

by | Nov 18, 2020 | Articles, Web Design | 0 comments

An eCommerce website is the right way to go for every business looking for rapid growth in the digital world. Whether you sell coaxial cables or luxury watches, online marketing is your number 1 need.

The idea of running an online store sounds cool, but there is more to it. Making the right choice is crucial to your store’s success. The first big decision to make is to choose the right eCommerce platform from the top 3 rivals; Magento, Shopify, and WooCommerce.

These big 3 platforms have a total market share of 2.5 million online stores. These top rivals have some amazing features to offer. Although all the platforms work the same way, the small variations in the benefits, regular updates, and cost are the key deciding factors.

Magento

Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform that powers over 250,000 eCommerce websites. Ford, Landrover, and Jaguar are some of the leading brands using Magento.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a popular WordPress plugin with the largest market share of 2,000,000 websites. The Wall Street Journal, Men’s Health, Root Science, and Sodashi are the top

websites using the WooCommerce plugin.

Shopify

It is ranked as the second-best eCommerce platform by ecommerce ceo with a score of 4.2/5.

Today, 500,000 websites are using Shopify, and the top ones include Kylie Cosmetics, MVMT Watches, and Tesla.

Features

1.   Ease of Use

Every eCommerce platform’s goal is to offer maximum features at a low price. A user-friendly platform that gets the job done easily is the winner. It might be difficult for a new user to understand and get used to the platform. The users who are not familiar with coding and eCommerce should get step-by-step guidance from the platform to set up and modify their online store.

Magento

  • You are required to have coding knowledge if you are opting for Magento.
  • PHP and HTML should be on your skillset.
  • Hiring a coding expert will also solve the problem.

WooCommerce

  • As compared to Magento, WooCommerce does not require much coding.
  • You can use many free plugins and themes to customize your website.

Shopify

  • Without any coding knowledge, you will be able to change your website’s layout and themes using Shopify.
  • In-built themes and plugins are more than enough, so coding is not required to upgrade.

2.  SEO

Your store’s growth does not only depend on offering quality products and great deals. Your online store can only perform well if your customers are aware of your amazing deals. Good SEO practices have a crucial role in ranking your website in organic searches. Ecommerce platforms deliver a variety of SEO-related services to minimize your efforts.

Magento

  • Magento comes with a built-in SEO package best suited for big brands.
  • The most prominent SEO features include canonical tags, meta tags, Google site maps generation, and robots.txt file.
  • You can practice the best SEO practices on your websites using tips and tricks available on the internet.

WooCommerce

  • Yoast WooCommerce SEO is a free plugin supported by WooCommerce.
  • Yoast is best suited to boost traffic on a medium-scale eCommerce site.
  • Social media pages review, page linking, breadcrumb navigation, and page redirector are the most valuable features of Yoast.

Shopify

  • Although its unique selling point is its ease of use, Shopify is also an SEO friendly platform.
  • Image and URL optimization, meta tags, and product details are the best features offered by Shopify.
  • Shopify also supports plugins like SEO booster, which enhances your website’s speed and fixes errors.

3.  Cost

Due to budget constraints, new eCommerce stores choose the cheapest platform. Some eCommerce platforms are free to use, but they have limited features. Some platforms offer a premium version with plenty of additional themes, plugins, and other features.

Magento

  • Its target audience is big companies with high online marketing budgets.
  • Magento itself costs between $20,000 and $40,000 per annum, and hosting services can cost over $1000 per month.
  • A theme can cost around $400.
  • You will also need to hire a developer because Magento demands good coding skills.

Shopify

  • If you run a medium-scale business, Shopify will best suit your needs without breaking the bank.
  • The annual cost starts from $80, including hosting and domain expenses.
  • All the themes are free of cost.
  • By using Shopify, you will not need to spend money on coding your website.

WooCommerce

  • The plugin itself is free to install, but a moderate amount of $40 will be required for domain and hosting.
  • You will be required to spend around $140 for premium themes, extensions, and plugins.
  • Adequate knowledge of HTML and PHP will get the job done.
  • Hiring a developer is an option and not a necessity.

4.  Customer Support

Magento

  • 24-hour support is available over email and phone.
  • A large community of contributors also provide a lot of help.

Shopify

  • Help guides are available.
  • The community and the platform itself provide 24/7 support for any problem.
  • Scored a rating of 4.1/5.0 in the customer support category.

WooCommerce

  • BlueHost provides support to its users.
  • You can submit a question on the platform itself to get help.
  • WooCommerce has a perfect 5/5 score for online support.

Conclusion

There is no one best platform for all; platform suitability depends on your unique needs. Shopify beats its rivals when it comes to customer support, ease of use, template variety, and minimum coding literacy. On the other hand, Magento is far ahead in this game when we talk about SEO, security, and updates.

Similarly, WooCommerce is the #1 choice of every newcomer in the eCommerce industry as personalization, site control, and lower cost are some of its distinguishing features. You do not need to stress over this matter!

If, at any point, you realize that you have chosen the wrong platform, you can migrate your data to another one. When businesses grow, they often switch to a more scalable platform.

We have listed all the unique features of every platform for your ease. Hopefully, this information will answer all your queries and help you choose the right platform for your online store.

Nouman provides ghostwriting and copywriting services. His educational background in the technical field and business studies helps him in tackling topics ranging from career and business productivity to web development and digital marketing. He occasionally writes articles for Shireen inc.

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