Choosing a suitable ecommerce platform for an online store has never been an easy task for a business owner, especially the array of online selling platforms available in 2021. There is no definitive solution when it comes to e-commerce, but you can choose which ecommerce platform will best fit your unique needs, budget, and business.

If you're looking for an e-commerce platform that allows you to manage everything in the store site, WooCommerce and Magento are great choices for your business. The key to make the right decision between the two ecommerce solutions is to do your research about each platform, learn about their features and find their pros and cons based on your needs. A digital agency that offers ecommerce website development services can also give you insightful information about each and how they can benefit your online business.

To help you get started, our team of web experts wrote this article comparing both WooCommerce and Magento. You will find the pros and cons of each, their unique features, pricing, and much more.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms in the world. It is an open source plugin for WordPress, which is designed for both B2C and B2B companies who sell their products or services online.

It offers different features for e-commerce stores and is a highly customizable platform, allowing it to handle most technical requirements of a small to mid-size ecommerce store.  

The Pros of a WooCommerce Ecommerce Platform

• Setting up your store is free
• User friendly and very easy to manage
• Provides numerous third-party plugins and extensions
• Customizable to meet the needs of most companies
• Highly effective for search engine optimization (SEO)
• Supports an unlimited number of products
• Enables different payment processors by using extensions
• Offers various free and premium themes

The Cons of a WooCommerce Ecommerce Platform

• It's not the best platform when it comes to complex products with a large amount of variations
• Security and maintenance services are up to the business and store owner
• The cost of premium themes and extensions can add up quickly

WooCommerce Pricing

Although both WooCommerce and WordPress are free, there could be other costs involved when opening your online store, which include:

• Premium design themes: $20 to $100 per year
• Shipping extensions (advanced choices): $9 to $100 per month
• WooCommerce Developer: $5k-15k+
• Self-hosted, shared, or dedicated servers: $120 on average per year
• PCI compliance: $750+ yearly

Magento

Magento is one of the most significant ecommerce platforms in the world that's suitable for both B2B and B2C businesses. It comes with a wide range of features and functionalities that can achieve most technical requirements. The enterprise ecommerce platform offers highly customizable integrations and capabilities that are designed for small to large online stores.

According to Sergio Taddeo, Magento Ecommerce Director at Graphically Speaking, "Magento has helped small to large companies stay ahead of the competition with innovative and robust solutions. It also has a scalable and reliable environment, as any true eCommerce platform should."

There are two available editions of Magento:

1) Magento Open Source - a free platform that provides basic functionalities needed to run an e-commerce store.

2) Magento Commerce - A premium paid edition of Magento with unique and robust features. It provides enhanced security and additional integrated capabilities for your online store.

The Pros of a Magento Ecommerce Platform

• Extensive professional features allowing multiple stores, locations, languages, and product types
• Structured for productivity and high volumes
• Highly flexible and customizable to meet most B2B and B2C requirements
• Powerful integration capabilities with ERP, accounting, and CRM
• Provides built-in SEO features
• You can set up different stores with different languages and currencies
• Offers extensive B2B pricing levels

The Cons of a Magento Ecommerce Platform

• Implementation is more complex, which requires highly trained employees and a specialized ecommerce Magento web developer to assure the delivery of a high quality online store
• It involves a higher development cost due to its complexity
• Magento technical support is provided by your developer or the Magento Community and not by Magento (only Magento Enterprise offers support)

Magento Pricing

• Open Source License: free
• Commerce Starter License: $1600/month
• Enterprise License: USD $25K+ USD yearly
• Setup and creation of a Magento ecommerce store: 30K-200K
• Dedicated hosting and management required: USD $99-$800/month
• PCI Compliance: USD $750 yearly

Conclusion: Which Ecommerce Platform is Right for Your Business?

Deciding which ecommerce platform to choose can be a complex thing to do, but when comparing Magento and WooCommerce, it comes down to two things: budget and your unique business needs.

If you are on a budget with none or very little e-commerce experience, both the WooCommerce and Magento free version would be a good choice for your business. However, if you are looking for a more robust and geared platform, Magento Commerce would be a better option. Either way, you will be well equipped with both platforms.

Contacting an ecommerce development agency will not only help you decide, but they will also build a well-rounded ecommerce store to help escalate your online business and stay ahead of your competitors.

Talk To An Ecommerce Specialist Today

Our experienced team of ecommerce specialists can help you achieve your online goals with custom ecommerce solutions. We will help you find the ecommerce platform and package that’s right for you and your business. We will also provide the tools, training, and support to take your online store to the next level.

Contact us today for more information.