As with nearly everything on the internet, there are limitless options for setting up an eCommerce store using an existing platform. Two of the most commonly used include Magento, which is free and has two bundles, and Shopify which does have a monthly premium, but typically offers more benefits than its free counterpart. Each service has its own benefits, which can make choosing one a difficult decision for new eCommerce entrepreneurs, however upon breaking down the two platforms it becomes obvious that Shopify is the better option when compared to other eCommerce platforms on the web.
There are a number of things to look out for when looking for an e-commerce platform to integrate into your website. These include:
- Customer service
- Ease of construction
- Available templates
- User experience
If any of these key areas are lacking or missing entirely in a platform, it will not prove to be useful over time, particularly if it comes with a monthly fee. Shopify and Magento have become so popular because they embody these four core areas better than their competitors, however Shopify outdoes Magenta in most categories.
When it comes to customer service, there is no doubt that Shopify is the reigning king of eCommerce platforms. Magento is a free service, and as a result there is no customer service to be found if mistakes are made. With Shopify, this is not the case, as the service has client backups each and every day, and customer support can be reached nearly any hour of any day. Shopify has experts ready to discuss options on the phone and are always willing to help fix any issues that may arise during the construction of your online store.
Speaking of construction, the platform being used to host an eCommerce store should be easy to set up. While some companies may have large teams of programmers and designers ready to tackle each and every issues that may come their way, new entrepreneurs will find that Shopify is much easier to use than Magento because Shopify stores are hosted on the company’s own servers, and there is no need for an external hosting plan. Magento is far more adaptable than Shopify due to its extensive collection of expansions because of its open source in nature, however these will not likely be utilized by those without experts on hand to properly implement them into the final design. Because of this, Shopify is considered to be better than Magento because it is easier to build the store itself, and hosting is made trouble free by Shopify’s in-house servers.
Another feature most newcomers will want to see in an eCommerce platform are templates. Without a team of designers to create the perfect store, it can sometimes be necessary to rely on templates to get a clean and professional look. Both Magento and Shopify offer templates, however Magento’s are considered to be less professional than Shopify;s. Users will pay more for Shopify premium templates, but in many cases they require little tweaking, yet remain attractive enough on their own that they are worth the investment.
Finally, any eCommerce store platform should deliver an exemplary user experience. Both Magento and Shopify offer ease-of-use and have many tools available to make them more friendly to newcomers, however Shopify’s layout is typically preferred by those who are new to the eCommerce field. Magento has many options and applications that make it very versatile, however this makes it difficult for beginners to learn the platform, and overall gives it a less friendly user interface than Shopify.
