A crowded and ever growing platform, when it comes to the ever developing world of eCommerce, it can often feel an unsure and daunting place.
Whether you are looking to upgrade and revamp your current site, or take that leap and faith and set up your first online store, choosing which platform can be a hard task.
With a range of sites available, for many the biggest challenge is choosing between magento vs woocommerce.
Offering close to the same function, but with a range of differences, in this blog we will discuss the differences between these ecommerce website and help you to discover which platform is best suited to your needs.
Magento vs WooCommerce, the differences?
Before we start to evaluate both these online platforms and help you to decipher which is best suited to your needs, let us look at the facts and discover what each platform offers its users.
Whether you are technically savvy working on your bespoke workstations, or a novice to the world of ecommerce working on your laptop, first discover the differences between Magento vs Woocommerce with these key facts.
Magento
One of the most popular open-source CMS eCommerce systems used across the world, Magento is fairly new to the game with its initial launch back in 2008. A premium service, unlike other ecommerce platforms, to host on Magento costs an annual subscription to use their services. Not the cheapest subscription on the market, Magento is a product of Adobe, with its second version Magento2 released back in 2015, this platform offers quicker caching and built-in rich snippets.
WooCommerce
Unlike Magento, WooCommerce is not a platform, but a plugin installed onto a WordPress site. Launched in 2011, this plugin allows businesses to turn their site into an eCommerce platform. Designed to be used both by small and large businesses alike, this simple plugin has become a popular choice thanks to its ability to be customised and edited to the users requirements. One of the biggest attractive features and why it has led to WooCommerce becoming a leading figure for those wanting to create an online store, and that is the fact that to install this plugin, is free on charge!
Deciding which platform is right for you
With a number of differences between the two different platforms, when deciding which out of Magento vs Woocommerce is best for your needs, there are a number of criterias that you should look for. We take a look at the key functions and questions that you should be answering before taking the plunge and creating a site that allows you to show, sell and accept payments for your service and products of choice.
Budget
When starting and creating a new business from scratch, finding the budget to purchase the required tools, hire staff and develop products can be a challenge. One of the biggest questions that should be asked before any decision is made and that is the budget available for the project.
For startups with little to no budget, WooCommerce available as a plugin for WordPress would be the ideal option. Free to download, when using WooCommerce, you will still require to pay for a domain, SSL certificate and hosting account.
Magento, unlike WooCommerce is considerably more expensive to use. Although free to download, when using Magento, the purchase of a VPN hosting fee and the payment for your chosen support levels will be required. For those businesses wanting to invest and purchase Magento, there are different cloud hosting options, support levels for your requirements.
User Friendly
Magento out of the two platforms is harder to use, with the requirement of different extensions for the user to fully use and appreciate the power that is Magento. One of the biggest challenges when using Magento, and that is the setup. With no pre-configured installers available for using Magento, the requirement of a developer is advised.
When it comes to using WooCommerce, this platform is the easier of the two sites to use, with this plugin often automatically installed. With a setup wizard included, this walkthrough can show you in simple steps, how to set up a payment process, create payments while setting up shipping and tax options, essential for businesses. The addition of extra plugins are equally simple to install and can be added at a time required by the user.
Payment Options
Another key deciding factor when it comes to Magento vs Woocommerce and that is by reviewing the payment options available for your platform of choice. With many different payment options available, some payment gateways are not available in certain countries and territories. Taking the time to look at what options are available for your chosen platform and which provider is most favoured by your audience of choice, should also be considered when choosing which platform is best suited for your site.
With both platforms equally good in offering a range of different sites, both Magento and WooCommerce offer the setup for multiple payment options. Magento comes with PayPal included, however, has the option to add a large range of additional extensions. WooCommerce, comes with Stripe and PayPal automatically installed.
Scalability
As a startup business taking their first steps in their latest endeavours, the future of your project is still unknown and unsure. The key to choosing the best platform for you, is to consider a site that allows you to expand and shrink depending on the circumstances and success of the site. Not just to be considered with the addition of added extensions, but also within the role of the server that you are stored on.
For those wanting to scale and expand their WooCommerce site, you will be pleased to note that costs will be kept to a minimum, while technical challenges will rocket.
With a number of easy caching options available, this can improve performance downtime while keeping your resources on the server to a low. When it comes to moving to a WordPress hosting provider, this is a fairly straightforward and simple task to complete.
If using Magento, when it comes to scaling and developing your eCommerce store, this can become an expensive and technical challenge.
For those that choose to host their site on a VPS hosting, upgrading and moving the server will be required either to a cloud hosting provider, such as Amazon Web Services.
You will also be required when expanding your site, needing to conduct the required caching, manage backups all by yourself.
For the less technical savvy users, the hiring of a specialist may also be required, a costly experience particularly for small- medium sized businesses.
Extensions
Another top area that should be considered before you as the consumer are able to make your final decision on which eCommerce platform is best suited to your needs, evaluating the extensions and technology they offer is key. Over time, your business will change and develop and making sure that you are using a platform that allows you to evolve throughout the years is important in your overall success.
With each platform having a limit to the amount of add-ons that can be added, review the range of available external add-ons.
When using Magento, this software offers a large range of third party extensions and add-ons, with new features for you to streamline your online store. When it comes to which of the two platforms offers the largest majority of free add-ons, WooCommerce offers users close to 60,000 free add ons to improve and ease the user experience.
The more you wish to develop and expand your online presence, the more the range of extensions available can play a crucial role and help contribute to your final decision made.
Available Support
The final of the points to be considered before you make your mind up on whether to choose between Magento vs WooCommerce and that is the available support that is on offer. By reading the reviews of current and past customers to the platforms, you can discover how helpful the customer service experience is when an issue or fault is to occur.
If times when the site crashes or a glitch occurs within the platform, knowing that you have a friendly and knowledgeable team to support and fix the issue is important.
There you have it, the key differences between both Magento and WooCommerce, helping you to make your mind up on which of the two platforms are right for you and your business. From your available budget, useability to the available support that the platform provides, making sure that your platform of choice ticks all the right boxes in paramount in running a successful business that stands the test of time.
Let us know your thoughts and your experience of working one either Magento or WooCommerce.
