Which is the best platform for your eCommerce store?

 Magento, Shopify and Woocommerce are three of the most popular eCommerce solutions on the market today. Each one has their own unique pros and cons, but deciding which one best suits your needs can be quite difficult. If you’re trying to decide which platform to launch your store on, this guide will walk you through some of the main differences between each of these platforms so that you can choose the best one for your specific situation.

Choosing a platform can be a complicated task, especially if you’re new to web development and don’t have a deep understanding of every available option. As a first-time website builder, you want to make sure that your decision will be future-proof and allow you to grow as much as possible. Luckily, there are many platforms available that provide excellent, full-featured platforms at all levels of complexity.

In order to help guide our readers through what can sometimes be an overwhelming landscape of options, we put together an infographic about some of today’s top eCommerce trends along with our thoughts on what those trends mean for those who are launching their first online store(s).

1) Shopify

The Ease of a Do-It-Yourself Website: Shopify is one of a few do-it-yourself website builders. That means you can set up a customized online shop in about five minutes—no technical skills required. Shopify makes it easy to edit templates, choose colors and fonts, and upload images—all without having to learn HTML or CSS. If you’re planning on selling physical products, though, Shopify has some limitations. For example, there are no options for adding things like Google Analytics tracking code. There are many Shopify development companies out there.

Shopify Advantages

Shopify’s interface looks great, but it also has plenty of intuitive features that allow you to run an efficient business. Additionally, Shopify comes with tons of apps, so if you do find yourself struggling, there are solutions out there for you. Shopify users also enjoy free two-day shipping on all orders over $49 through their partnership with FedEx. While their monthly costs are slightly higher than other platforms (like Bigcommerce), they make up for it in terms of functionality and customer service.

Shopify Disadvantages

Shopify might be a great solution for you and it may not, depending on what you want to do with your online store. If you’re just looking to sell a handful of products and ship them out yourself, then Shopify will probably do just fine. For those who want to customize their shop, however, Shopify might not be as useful. It doesn’t offer all of the customization options that other platforms do. And though it’s easy to set up a shop from scratch on Shopify, there are other things that can make customizing difficult – particularly if you don’t have much experience with coding or HTML.

2) Magento

Magento's ability to customize every part of their template gives you ultimate control over your site, but at a cost. Because it's so customizable, Magento can take up to 30 days to set up. They can help out with migrating data, which you'll need if you're switching from another platform like Shopify or Woocommerce. For people who want complete control and are willing to do some light coding in order to achieve it, Magento might be worth considering; however, beginners may want something simpler. You can get started with them for free or pay anywhere from $35-$1,000 per month based on features that suit your needs. You need eCommerce in Magento, you should contact Magento development companies.

Advantages of Magento

The biggest advantage to using a shopping cart solution like Magento is that it can expand as you grow. In some cases, developers have been able to combine tens of thousands of products into one central database without a hitch. This means new staff won’t have to worry about maintaining multiple systems, which streamlines your operations and saves on costs. With so many potential items on sale at any given time, a custom CMS solution can help you find exactly what your customers want—and keep them coming back for more. It also comes with e-commerce specific features such as payment gateways, allowing you to accept online payments from anywhere in the world with relative ease.

Disadvantages of Magento

• Cost - The out-of-the-box software is free but getting all of your needs met will cost money. 

• Customization Limitations - Similar to Shopify, it's hard to customize your store without hiring a developer or designer. 

• Security - An old database leak made headlines last year, raising red flags about customer data security that remain unaddressed to date. 

• No Offers/Promotions Panel - There's no easy way to run seasonal sales, coupons or other promotions on an ongoing basis without investing time in building out functionality yourself or paying for another app altogether (like UberOffers).

3) WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress. This means it’s free to download, use, and even modify—as long as you’re not charging your customers for access to it. In fact, over 1 million people have downloaded WooCommerce in recent years, making it one of WordPress’ most popular plugins. Why? It offers a variety of features that let you build a sleek online store that sells everything from T-shirts to books with just a few clicks. It also lets you easily add in custom features so you can build an ecommerce site with your own unique style. And because it’s open source, you can rest assured knowing that your data is secure with its third-party security extensions. WooCommerce development companies can help you in feature packed online store development.

Advantages of WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an e-commerce plugin for WordPress that allows you to sell products. After years of development, it’s now become one of (if not) the most popular e-commerce platforms for WordPress sites. Some highlights include multiple payment gateways; extensive shipping options; customization; extensions; mobile app; internationalization; ability to create gift cards, coupons, discount codes, etc.; integration with MailChimp (and other email marketing services); multilingual capabilities. The list goes on. If you’re interested in using an e-commerce platform but don’t want to pay extra costs associated with a proprietary platform like Shopify or BigCommerce—WooCommerce is probably your best bet.

Disadvantages of WooCommerce

There are a number of factors that make WooCommerce a bit more challenging to get going with. For starters, while it’s a free product, you will need to host your own store on your own domain—so there’s some initial cost in time or money. You’ll also need to rely on WordPress for your hosting needs if you don’t already have a website up and running elsewhere. If you already have one, then moving from another e-commerce platform can be difficult. In addition, many advanced features available through other e-commerce platforms aren’t offered by WooCommerce out of the box—you may not get access to stock management or payment processing if you opt for their free version, for example.