When the pandemic hit us last year, every business was forced to shift online. Even businesses that remained open reported that the bulk of their sales came from online channels. As the pandemic is on its way out, the online buying trend is here to stay. Why? It provides the businesses and customers several benefits, which we will discuss later. Online shopping has grown exponentially over the years. The zenith of online shopping came at the height of the coronavirus, i.e. when lockdowns were in force throughout the world.
A report says that online shopping crossed the $4 trillion mark worldwide in 2020. So, if you are planning to establish a robust online presence, you have two notable options – Magento and Shopify. The Shopify experts will select Shopify. But which is the best for better sales? It is the question which we will answer in today's blog post.
Magento & Shopify – Brief Overview
There is intense competition between these platforms. There are some similarities and differences. Let us briefly discuss these platforms before proceeding further.Magento is a fully hosted eCommerce platform that offers numerous features, including cloud storage, unlimited bandwidth, and top-quality web hosting. Interestingly, all are available in a single plan. One can easily build their eCommerce website on this platform without any coding or programming skills. You can use the theme editor to customise the eCommerce store according to your preferences.
Magento is an open-source platform that allows you to set up amazing websites. However, you need to be well-versed in PHP. So, the primary difference is that Shopify is a one-stop solution for all your eCommerce website needs. In the case of Magento, you will need to buy separate hosting and be well versed in PHP. Otherwise, you will need to hire a Magento web development company to set up everything on your behalf. Web Development in Dubai will favour Magento as the go to platform for e-Commerce websites.
Magento vs Shopify – Comparison
Earlier, we briefly discussed the two platforms. Now, it is time to compare them across various factors:Ease of Use
What good is an Adobe Commerce platform if it is not easy to use? When it comes to Shopify, the whole idea is to create ease for the end-user. Even if a person does not possess any programming knowledge, they can easily create a website through the drag & drop feature. Shopify’s 14-day trial period allows businesses to experiment with their website by giving them full access to a wide variety of features. The admin panel is nicely arranged, allowing people to find the features easily. If you want to add or remove a box, you can do it easily with the drag & drop editor.It feels as if the developers have not grasped the concept of ease of use when it comes to Magento. As said earlier, if you wish to set up a website in Magento, you need to have an expert-level programming language. The other option is to hire a Magento website development company. Even though numerous companies are operating in this domain, you will still end up paying a considerable amount for their services.
In short, Shopify is easier to use. How does it relate to sales? Shopify makes A/B testing easier. It allows you to experiment with different versions of a web page to determine which one is best. In Magento, you will need to write the code before checking a new version. It can be extremely frustrating and is likely to impact your sales.
Payment Processors
An e-commerce platform without a payment processor is like a car without wheels. You need to be cautious while choosing a payment processor as there are many factors to consider. Shopify & Magento have onboarded numerous payment processors, allowing businesses to take online payments from customers in a breeze. Shopify has its payment processor called 'Shopify Payments', which is increasing in popularity. There is no transaction fee. Businesses can even integrate with other well-established processors like PayPal and Amazon Pay.Magento also offers multiple payment processors. Unfortunately, it does not have an integrated payment processor. It means that customers must pay a transaction fee. Secondly, integrating a payment processor in a Magento website is challenging as it requires professional expertise. Again, you will need to hire a Magento web development company to integrate it.
As Shopify offers transaction fee free shopping, we feel that it is ahead of Magento. After all, customers want to save money. If they must pay an additional fee, they are likely to switch to a competitor, which helps them save money. Please keep in mind that no matter which payment processor you select, you need to have HTTPS enabled. Otherwise, customers will not shop on your platform.
Marketing
If you wish to reach the customer to increase sales, you need to market your product/service.Unfortunately, Magento is a little less advanced than Shopify when it comes to marketing. It does not mean that you cannot market your products on Magento. Instead, you will need to install apps/extensions and then integrate them with your website. Again, it requires expert knowledge. When it comes to Shopify, there are several built-in tools that you can use to market your product/service. For instance, you can use the built-in email to share updates and market the product/service. A business can easily integrate other tools to sell on social media channels. One thing that is common to both platforms is that they can be integrated with amazing SEO tools.
Overall, the winner is Shopify.
However, if you have expert programming knowledge or can hire a Magento web development company, we recommend Magento. The reason is that Magento tools are much more powerful than any Shopify alternatives. They allow you to target customers easily, efficiently, and effectively.
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