Magento is the most popular e-commerce solution in the internet today. While it is closely contested by Woocommerce, Magento’s custom features suited for E-commerce gives it an edge over its competitors. According to Alexa ratings, Magento is used by over 26% of e-commerce websites. There are many features that make Magento the popular solution for the largest percentage of e-commerce websites.
If you are a retailer who is looking to take your business online and tap into the potential of e-commerce, then you should consider the pros and cons of all the existing options. Magento being the most popular among the lot, has several advantages and disadvantages which you as a retailer should consider before you use it for your website. Here are some of the major advantages and disadvantages of Magento you should consider.
Advantages
1. Better than WordPress
WordPress is the most popular website platform on the internet and it has several advantages. Combined with its user friendliness WordPress has become highly popular. In e-commerce, it offers several extensions and plug-ins which enable you to incorporate an online store within the website. However, WordPress was intended to be a blogging website platform and does not have the unique e-commerce features that Magento offers. Magento being a complete e-commerce solution offers unique features and advantages that make it much better than WordPress for e-commerce websites.
2. Extensive range of features
While Magento is an open-source software, it offers unique and exclusive features that makes it stand out from the competitors. Some of the important features include Multi-store functionality, Multi-currency, Multi-language, design compatibility, and SEO friendliness. Many of the features are available in the free open source version. However, for few specific features and flexibility, Magento offers two different paid yearly subscriptions. The enterprise version is priced at $14.420 and the premium enterprise version is priced at $49,990, both annually. While the subscription rate may seem high especially on an annual basis, for large enterprises it is cost effective compared to other options where you should purchase numerous plug-ins and extensions.
3. Open Source
As an e-commerce platform, Magento is free open source and has the advantages of free open-source software. It is incredibly cost effective, and there’s a huge community to offer support. Many updates could also be free depending on the developer. There are paid options for enterprises, but for small businesses, the Magento community version is more than adequate.
4. Flexibility and Scalability
Magento offers a user friendly admin dashboard where all the functionalities of the website could be edited and managed with ease. It also offers intuitive navigation which helps entrepreneurs to directly control their online store. Magento is fully customizable and offers great flexibility to create unique and distinctive websites. Magento has the scalability to host thousands of products on your website. Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, with Magento you will never have scalability issues to host any number of products.
5. Get to the market in quick time
Designing your website custom to your imagination and requirements may take time as it requires designing and programming to make the customizations. However, if you would like to take your business online fast, Magento offers incredible themes through which you can get your business online much faster than other options. Some Magento experts claim that with just a few minor tweaks, a Magento website could be up and running within an hour’s time.
Disadvantages
Like all products, Magento also has a number of drawbacks or disadvantages. Before you purchase or choose to use Magento, you should consider these disadvantages as well. While some of these disadvantages could be minor, it could greatly influence the ROI of your business, so it is always advisable to consider all the pros and cons before choosing the platform to build your e-commerce website.
1. Demanding Hosting
As Magento is incredibly scalable, it requires good hosting. Magento demands a good paid hosting service to be reliable and fast loading. Magento is heavy and without good hosting, it could take serious loading time which adversely affects your user experience leading to reduced conversions, sales, and trust ratings.
2. Expensive hiring
Even as Magento been around for quite a long time, there are very few developers with the expertise to manage Magento. The platform also requires complex coding knowledge which could not be managed by non-technical personnel. This has made Magento experts highly sought after and they demand costly hiring rates. Magento has tried to counter this with a certification program. Yet, there is still a demand for good Magento programmers which makes it expensive.
3. Costly Enterprise version
As discussed earlier, the Enterprise and the Premium Enterprise versions are expensive annual subscriptions. Even though rich in features, there are several complaints online about the support Magento provides. Some online reviews even claim Magento’s community version has better support compared to the subscribed versions.
4. Time Consuming Development and Customization
Once again the complexity of developing websites using Magento comes as a drawback. Even as Magento is flexible, scalable, and easy to customize, it requires a lot of time and technical know-how to make the customizations and added features to make the website attractive and effective. Compared to other options, making customizations on the Magento platform is relatively difficult.
Conclusion
Considering all the advantages and disadvantages, it is quite clear why Magento is a preferred e-commerce solution for numerous businesses. If you are a small business, you may consider other e-commerce options which would be more affordable for your business. If you are a primary online retailer, or a medium to large enterprise with the requirement to host thousands of products on your online store, Magento should be your ideal option.
InteractiveUX specializes with Magento E-Commerce website development. With Magento certified professionals with the experience of working with plenty of popular e-commerce websites, InteractiveUX could be your ideal Magento Website Developer. With faster time to market and cost effective services, InteractiveUX has the unique advantage to help you leverage the advantages of Magento to the max.
If you have decided to choose Magento for your e-commerce website, or require more information about Magento E-Commerce Web Development Services, contact InteractiveUX right now.
Bhavani Suri ( Content Writer)
Our in-house content writer, who develops and creates content marketing strategies. She writes about the latest trends and advances related to IT in particular, and Technology in general.
