You have a number of options when it comes to choosing a platform for your e-commerce website. For example, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Zen Cart all offer strong platforms upon which you can build your online store. However, many businesses are choosing Magento as their e-commerce platform, and with good reason. Following is an overview of this platform, as well as a look into how to choose the right e-commerce website platform for your business.
What is Magento?
Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform. As such, it allows businesses to build e-commerce websites using a code that is free and can be modified at will. Founded in 2008 by Varien, Inc., it has rapidly become one of the most popular and respected e-commerce platforms on the market. Today, it possesses more than a quarter of the e-commerce website market share. Built for businesses of all sizes, Magento can handle up to 80,000 orders an hour and can house 500,000 products on one site. At the same time, the platform is designed to offer e-commerce solutions to small and medium-sized businesses as well. The Magento platform is now used by a quarter of businesses and has been enjoying steady growth in popularity.
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What are some of the strengths of Magento web development?
Magento web development has a number of strengths that have contributed to the platform’s rising popularity. While the particular features that appeal to a business will depend upon that business’ individual circumstances, there are a few things that make Magento web development appealing to businesses of all kinds.
Open Source Code
Magento’s open-source code is appealing because it can be modified. A large community of Magento website developers and users is continually modifying and improving the code in order to create new or better functionality. Using this code, an experienced Magento website developer can help you craft a platform that perfectly suits your e-commerce website.
Scalability
Magento is very scalable because it can be configured to serve small, medium, and large businesses. In addition, it grows with your business, allowing you to increase your site traffic, sales, and product offerings without needing to switch to a different platform.
Extensive Integration Capabilities
Magento integrates easily with many third parties, from payment gateways to shipping providers. For example, it works with up to 50 payment gateways alone.
Intuitive Interface
Magento is very easy to use. While you should hire a Magento website developer to help you integrate full functionality into your site, back-end management of the site and management of payment options, shopping carts, and product catalogs is very easy. The platform also allows you to manage multiple e-commerce stores from a single back-end setup.
Customizable
In part, because it is open-source, Magento allows you to customize your e-commerce website at will. A skilled Magento website developer can use the open-source code and Magento’s many extensions to implement whatever functionality you need. For example, you can add review capabilities, the ability to accept international currency, certain shopping cart features, and more into your site, depending upon what your business’s specific needs are.
SEO-Friendly
Finally, Magento is a very SEO-friendly platform. For instance, its open-source code allows you to integrate search engine optimization throughout your entire website, including your meta tags, page titles, site maps, and navigation. Its search engine optimization capabilities include the ability to quickly and simply add new, SEO-optimized content regularly (i.e. in the form of product pages, blogs, etc.).
What are the options for Magento web development?
Magento is available in two different forms: A community edition and an enterprise edition. The free community edition is intended for small or start-up businesses and allows many small businesses to create and run a customized website for free. The community edition comes with Magento’s full range of payment options, extensions, customization options, order fulfillment and management capabilities, search engine optimization features, and more. Plus, it is mobile-friendly so you can make your site beautiful and responsive no matter where your customers access it. It also has other appealing features, such as the ability to save shopping carts for your customers, access the full range of Magento extensions, and integrate and manage multiple stores. The annual-fee enterprise edition, on the other hand, is intended to be used by larger businesses looking for more extensive features. This edition comes with full Magento development support (instead of just access to the Magento community of developers and users). In addition to having all of the functionality and features of the community edition, it boasts advanced features. These advanced features include the ability to segment and target customers, more easily manage returns through your e-commerce website, and utilize call center software. In addition, the enterprise edition is designed to handle larger product catalogs than the community edition, promises easier scalability and faster load times, and generally provides greater security to reflect the greater investments of larger e-commerce websites.
How do you know if Magento (and which version of Magento) is right for your e-commerce website?
For e-commerce websites, there are a number of platforms available for building your site. Choosing the right option can seem overwhelming. And, even if you settle on Magento as your preferred e-commerce website platform, you need to choose between the community edition and the enterprise edition. The choice of which is right for you will depend very much upon your business, your preferences, and your individual needs. As a result, you may want to consider consulting with a professional web development company before you choose a platform for your e-commerce website. They can help you to sift through your personal preferences and needs to find the platform that will work best for your company. In addition, before you begin Magento web development, you should consult with a Magento website developer who can guide you toward the right version of Magento for your needs and help you to use the Magento platform to create a customized website for your business. Magento offers many advantages for e-commerce websites looking for customization and functionality. From small businesses to very large ones, Magento is equipped to provide extensive scalability, functionality, and features. Whether you use the community or enterprise editions, a skilled Magento website developer can help you to get the website you need.