Have you’ve finally decided to start on that eCommerce store. You might be researching Magento vs Shopify if you’re looking at platforms.
You’ve had the idea for quite some time; you’ve worked out a business model and identified your target audience.
Now its time to actually build your store but you don’t know where to begin.
Don’t worry. There are a number of online shopping platforms that you can use to start your store. Some of them such as Epi Server and Netsuite are oriented towards large business organisations but for this write up we’ll stick to the two popular platforms geared towards the needs of start-ups and large Organizations alike. Magento vs Shopify
Check out the Magento to Shopify Plus Migration we did for Forty Five Ten.
Ease of Use
Shopify Plus is widely regarded as an easy to use, instant solution for store building which is easily operable for even those with rudimentary understanding of eCommerce. It offers all the basic tools needed to upload and mange products and inventory as well as SEO tools needed to promote the store. It is a quick and easy cloud based platform, reputed to be faster than Magento.
Magento vs Shopify is a much more comprehensive platform with a much broader variety of marketing and promotional tools. In general Magento is a heavier, installable software based platform that certainly possesses more features than Shopify Plus.
Despite that it is not the most popular option amongst many start ups for one simple reason – Complexity. The wide variety of features makes it a heavy platform that is too complex for the average entrepreneur to operate.
It takes time for a user with very limited or no coding experience, to understand how Magento is operated. For many users Magento was impenetrable and many of the extra features were not required for a new business.
In short Magento vs Shopify is a heavy, feature rich platform that is very difficult to operate for most users but would serve well for those looking for unlimited customizations. Shopify Plus is a lighter, cloud based platform that is not as feature rich but is extremely easy to use and is therefore a favourite amongst many new entrepreneurs.
Cost
Magento community edition although free costs a good amount when it comes to hire a developer, host a powerful server and customize the site. Shopify is a much more affordable plaatform to get a business out of the door.
See our Shopify and Shopify Plus projects here