WooCommerce vs Magento: Which One is the Best eCommerce Platform?
WooCommerce or Magento?
Which platform is the best?
What will be the right option for my upcoming website?
You must have asked yourself these questions many times when planning to launch an online store. Well, you are not alone. Most retailers and startups get confused when it comes to choosing the best eCommerce platform.
With a large number of shopping carts available in the online market, Magento and WooCommerce have emerged as the best platforms due to their ease of use and high functionality. However, you need to consider several important things when making a final decision. Here, we will explain some differences and similarities between WooCommerce & Magento. After reading this blog, you will have a clear picture of which option will be the best for your business requirements.
WooCommerce vs Magento
Both WooCommerce and Magento are open source eCommerce platforms allows you to customize the website as per your needs and preferences. Both allow uploading and managing an unlimited number of products. Let’s understand these platforms in detail:
- WooCommerce
Basically, WooCommerce is a plugin which is used to turn any WordPress website into an online store. Introduced in 2008, today it comes with all the toolkits required to develop an e-commerce website. It is widely preferred by small size businesses and startups due to its simplicity. The basic version of WooCommerce is available for free. If you have already worked on WordPress before, you likely will have no problems developing and managing your e-store through WooCommerce. It also provides a lot of flexibility making content management easier for non-technical users.
- Magento
Unlikely WooCommerce, Magento is an open source eCommerce platform which is written in PHP. Magento has been adopted by some of the most popular brands such as Coca-Cola, Ford, Nike. etc. With multiple store management and high scalability, Magento is known as the most powerful shopping cart. It comes with three editions; Community Edition (open source), Enterprise Edition, and Magento Go (hosted solution). Founded in 2008, Magento development is widely preferred by large-size businesses who need to manage a large number of products.
WooCommerce vs Magento: Comparative Guide
Let’s find out more about WooCommerce & Magento that will help you make a final decision without any confusion:
- Usability
It is easy to handle WooCommerce if you are familiar with WordPress. A great WordPress community can help you sort out several issues regarding eCommerce website development. Besides, you will find several forums and video tutorials on the subject. If you are already using WordPress and would like to build your online store using it, it is apparent that you would choose plugin – WooCommerce.
The basics of Magento can also be learned quite easily. As a beginner, you can take first steps after seeing several documentations, video tutorials, and dedicated Wiki site to avoid mistakes. The admin panel is quite user-friendly, but Magento development becomes relatively complicated when you start adding extensions to boost the functionality of your online store.
- Costs
WooCommerce will allow you to come up with a well-developed website without spending a huge amount of money. Being an aspiring entrepreneur, you want an eCommerce platform which completely satisfies your business needs while supporting your budget; this idea is particularly true. Though both platforms are completely free (except Magento’s Community Edition). You need to spend money on a web development only when you want to add new functionality. In order to boost functionality, you can install either free or paid extensions. If you want to hire a developer, you will probably find a WooCommerce programmer more easily because it is based on WordPress.
Developing a Magento website is more likely to cost more since the platform is more robust. If you are wondering to install custom developments, it is highly recommended to hire a Magento development company which implements multiple testing processes and strict quality control. Extensive infrastructure, seamless work processes and dedicated project coordinators are expected under one roof for Magento website development. Recently, Magento has come up with it’s latest version – Magento 2.0 which provide enhanced performance while making content management easier for a non-technical person.
- Themes
WooCommerce comes with beautifully-designed themes and unlimited customization capabilities. There are thousands of free and paid mobile-friendly templates to choose from. Several free WordPress themescan also help you build a fully-functional online store.
Magento also comes with a large number of free and paid templates that can help you develop high-end e-commerce websites as per your needs. No matter which one you’ll pick, they all look engaging and highly professional. However, WooCommerce has several advantages over Magento in terms of design possibilities. Apart from specific WooCommerce templates, you can choose any of WordPress theme available in the online market.
- Hosting
WooCommerce websites can be run flawlessly with an average hosting service (when it comes to heavy traffic and managing thousands of products, it can be a pretty challenge).
The Magento-based online store requires relatively better and faster server; it is highly recommended to use a cloud-based system or dedicated server. Magento can handle multiple online stores simultaneously but consequently demands a dedicated hosting service.
- Content Management
When it comes to content management, WooCommerce is an excellent choice. WordPress was designed for showcasing content, presenting portfolios, creating new and corporate websites in the best way possible.
Content management is a little more complicated in Magento though it allows you to update content and blog page with ease. Magento is designed for e-commerce purposes, so it performs far better than WooCommerce if some complex requirements have to be satisfied.
WooCommerce vs Magento: Final choice
There isn’t proven answer what is the best shopping cart to run your online store; WooCommerce or Magento. We discussed two absolute leaders in the online marketplace. Your final decision should depend on your business size, budget, and purposes. In general, both eCommerce platforms are capable of building a profitable online store. Each of them is ideal for different retailers.
WooCommerce is an ideal option for startups, non-technical users, small and midsize businesses. It is also an excellent choice for merchants who already run WordPress powered sites.
