The successful functioning of an online store depends to a large extent on the software it uses. It is worth considering this issue from the very beginning of your adventure with business. Beginners often don’t know which functionalities will be important to them in the future, and moving the shop afterwards involves high costs. In order to avoid them, it is worth analysing the advantages and disadvantages of individual platforms at the outset. We compare: WooCommerce and Magento.
WooCommerce and Magento – similarities
WooCommerce and Magento are currently one of the most popular e-commerce platforms used by large online shops as well as startups and family businesses. The use of both platforms in the basic version is possible for free, however, for access to more advanced functionalities we will have to pay. If we run only a small online shop, we will manage it calmly using the free software version. Before choosing one of the platforms, however, it is worth getting familiar with the price list, so as not to be surprised when, along with the development of the business, we need additional functionalities.
Both WooCommerce and Magento platforms operate on an open source basis. This means that the program code is widely available to all users and everyone can freely transform it and adapt it to their own purposes.
WooCommerce and Magento – differences
However, there are some significant differences between the WooCommerce and Magento platforms. First of all, Magento is a stand-alone platform, while WooCommerce is a de facto extension of WordPressa. If you are already using WordPress, you should opt for a compatible WooCommerce platform. However, the Magento platform is also quite easy to use and user-friendly.
As already mentioned, using both platforms entails some costs if we want to use also more advanced functionalities. When considering the choice of platform, we should also remember about hosting costs. In the case of WooCommerce our online shop can simply use WordPress hosting, in the case of Magento it will be necessary to choose dedicated servers.
What should I choose?
Both platforms are user-friendly, but there is no single good answer to the question that is worth choosing. Remember, however, that if you want to adapt the platform very strongly to your needs, you will not be able to do without the help of specialists. You will probably need to use the services of php software development. Everything depends on our experience and functionality, which we plan to use. If we change our mind, it will be possible to move the shop, but it will be a cost.