eCommerce Business – Choose the Best Platform

The platform you choose will decide how fast, reliable, and safe your entire operation will be.

Choosing the best platform to host your eCommerce business is complicated, but it’s definitely important. 

Seemingly minor differences can actually matter for your specific business model – that’s why you have to get clear on what you need in your business.

In this blog post, you’ll discover three of the most popular eCommerce platforms and a comparison of their characteristics, so you can make the best decision for you.

3 Best Platforms to Consider When Starting Your eCommerce Business

1. Shopify 

Shopify is a big name in this industry. Used by many huge brands, and over 1.7 million businesses around the world, this amazing platform may just be what you’re looking for… with some downsides.

2. WooCommerce for WordPress

If you have a WordPress site, this amazing plugin can help. Famous for its accessibility and SEO power, WooCommerce is a strong competitor.

3. Magento 2

This platform has a great potential for turning visitors into customers. As an open-source platform (the free version), the community is one of Magento’s greatest strengths. 

The paid option is expensive, but for a good reason: it’s one of the best options for bigger companies that want to use a secure and reliable platform.

Key factors for comparison

Performance 

Shopify wins at this because its advanced features can keep up with any growth level. 

WooCommerce comes in a close second if the hosting provider you choose fits the characteristics of your website. 

Magento is a safe and powerful platform.  It excels in performance, and it’s incredibly smart functionalities offer personalized experiences to your customers. This platform is fast, flexible, and truly one of the best options for your eCommerce business.

Shopify is a hosted platform, while both WooCommerce and Magento are self-hosted. 

On Shopify, you can work in HTML and CSS, but the basic programming will be in their hands. However, it’s a dedicated platform for online sellers, which means it’s designed to cover all your needs. You get 24/7 customer support as well.

On WooCommerce and Magento, you have the power, but also all the responsibilities. You have to deal with everything from product management, to CRM, to security… It’s not the best option for start-ups or business owners that aren’t tech-savvy.

Hosted vs. Self-hosted

Shopify is a hosted platform, while both WooCommerce and Magento are self-hosted. 

On Shopify, you can work in HTML and CSS, but the basic programming will be in their hands. However, it’s a dedicated platform for online sellers, which means it’s designed to cover all your needs. You get 24/7 customer support as well.

On WooCommerce and Magento, you have the power, but also all the responsibilities. You have to deal with everything from product management, to CRM, to security… It’s not the best option for start-ups or business owners that aren’t tech-savvy.

SEO power

Shopify loses the game here. Unfortunately, this platform is known as poorly rated in SEO. 

WooCommerce has fantastic SEO tools. According to ecommerceCEO, this is the best platform for SEO. 
Magento has great SEO capabilities. But if you advance with the platform’s paid features, you will need an SEO specialist to take care of it.

Design

Shopify has some of the most beautiful themes on the market, but few of them are free. You can customize them and they fit the products nicely.

The WooCommerce design depends on your WordPress website. If you don’t have an eCommerce business yet, build one using a dedicated WooCommerce theme. You have free options and it’ll save you a lot of time and effort. 

CodeinWP informs that Magento doesn’t offer themes, so you have to use a third party to get one. You should invest in a team to help you, and it must include a designer. The results will be worthwhile because you’ll have a fantastic platform that works well AND looks just the way you want. 

Ease of use 

Shopify is the easiest to use as a beginner. It’s very accessible, and it provides a lot of functionalities that make the process smoother. 

The WooCommerce plugin depends, again, on your WordPress website. If you do it alone, you’ll have to understand WordPress first. Then, you install the WooCommerce plugin which takes you through every step you need to know. 

Magento requires coding knowledge, which makes it difficult to use for new business owners.

Prices

Shopify has a fixed rate.  The basic package starts at $29/month, but the price will increase depending on which package you choose, as well as the specific add-ons that you may need. Moreover, if you need their services to help you on a particular matter, their hourly rate is $55/hour.

WooCommerce is a plugin, and it’s technically free, but the overall price depends on your hosting and domain. 

Magento also needs hosting and has two options: 

– Open Source, which is free, 

– Enterprise, which can start even at $15,000 per year.

Conclusion

All 3 of these amazing platforms can serve you right if you are clear about your business needs. 

Building an eCommerce business doesn’t have to be difficult, but it’s definitely time-consuming and requires effort, especially from a business owner that has other responsibilities to handle. 

If you’d like help with your eCommerce business, Mejix is the right team to take care of it for you.