Magento or WooCommerce? Which eCommerce platform is better ?

Choosing the right eCommerce platform for a website has never been an easy question. If you are looking for a platform that fits your business,  Magento eCommerce and WooCommerce should come to the top of your mind.

Magento eCommerce and WooCommerce are the two most popular eCommerce platforms nowadays. Each platform has its own supporters that claim the option to be the best. We will run you through some helpful information about these platforms. Therefore, you can make the right decision all by yourself.

Overview

Before digging deeper in detail of each platform, here are some brief overviews of Magento eCommerce and WooCommerce.

Magento eCommerce is the software that offers you both a free and open-source version. And an enterprise version that you choose to self-host your website or use the cloud version that Magento eCommerce provides. In 2020, Magento is the most powerful eCommerce platform provider on the market for Small-to-Medium businesses.

WooCommerce is a wonderful plugin that lets you turn WordPress into a fully functional eCommerce website. Therefore, you can take the benefit that WordPress provides and the additional eCommerce function that comes with WooCommerce.

Now, let’s take a closer look at both platforms.

Magento eCommerce and WooCommerce comparison

1.    Pricing

WooCommerce platform is a great choice as it is a free plugin that turns your WordPress into an eCommerce site. Then all you have to pay for is WordPress hosting and a domain. But nothing comes for free 100%. When using WooCommerce, you will eventually realize it is limited by its capabilities, and also getting your hand on the paid plugins or themes would actually cost you some.

In contrast, you can download the free edition of Magento eCommerce which provides a decent number of basic features. Being an open-source platform, Magento offers you lots of customization for your website. You also have to pay for hosting and domain, but in the end, you will be more satisfied with the fees because of all of the advantages it offers. 

2.    Newcomer friendly

One of the most crucial parts is choosing a convenient platform. When starting with Magento eCommerce, you might feel it a bit complicated as it requires. There is a huge range of good features and plugins available in Magento, but it does require some skills in coding and technology. On the other hand, being a WordPress plugin, WooCommerce is easy to install and manage. It has a very beginner-friendly setup wizard that makes the installation easier and friendlier.

3.    Features

4.    Performance

Performance is yet another important factor of any website. If your website’s loading speed is slow and sloppy, no one would want to buy from it. WooCommerce provides a slightly slower speed than Magento eCommerce because it is a plugin that you add to your WordPress. However, the performance of your website depends on different factors, such as which hosting service you use or your images are too heavy (not to mention the number of extensions you have on your website). Hence, there is a tie in this category.

5.    Add-ons and Extensions

Regardless of how wonder eCommerce is, it is still imperfect, leading to the developer of the platform allowing third-parties to create add-ons and extensions for their platform. Both platforms own a large number of free and paid add-ons extensions, which business owners can install onto their website by themselves.

With Magento, if you don’t know anything about coding, you would need some help from Magento developers in installing your desired extension properly. Installing add-ons and extensions with WooCommerce is much easier. When it comes to paid extensions, Magento eCommerce slightly costs more, but in the end, it would prove that by costing more, Magento’s extensions simply work better than WooCommerce’s once.

In this case, Magento eCommerce gets a bit more ahead than WooCommerce.

6.    Security

According to Forbes, on average 30.000 websites are hacked every day. That's why it is very important to keep your eCommerce website secure. Magento eCommerce and WooCommerce let you apply several different security methods.

WooCommerce as always is a better choice for newcomers but after a short time of using it, you will realize there is some limited functionality. So does their security system, you might end up paying more than you expect to get what you desired. In contrast, Magento eCommerce constantly releases patches and updates that help you on track to keep your website secure.

Conclusion

Both Magento eCommerce and WooCommerce are innovating eCommerce platforms. WooCommerce is a perfect fit for small business owners with a tight budget and doesn’t have much knowledge about coding and technology. Whilst Magento eCommerce suits the best for Small-to-Medium businesses that have a bit more budget to spare.

It is better to choose the right platform for your website base on your business. If you need help choosing the right option for your online store, drop us a line — We'd be happy to hear about your business and suggest a good fit.