One is a hard-core eCommerce platform and the other is no longer just a mere blogging platform, which one will you pick? The competition between eCommerce development platforms such as Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce, WordPress is no longer cold or hidden. It turns out to be an open battle where one always tries its best to surpass the other. To be precise, each one of the above-mentioned ecommerce platforms is of a kind but still, it is very important to pick the right option for your business to succeed or else survival can be possible by using any of these. The following post focuses on a detailed comparison between the two platforms Magento and WordPress.
Both Magento and WordPress are the two most powerful platforms when it comes to creating an online store. Although both of them are open-source and robust platforms, there are several differences between them. Therefore, We have taken the expertise of Magento developers and WordPress developers to draft this whole comparison guide.
Magento vs WordPress - Let the Battle Begin!
Magento is a pretty powerful and full-featured eCommerce platform that is highly considered for developing amazing, alluring and intimidating eCommerce stores across the globe. Magento is in vogue due to its high-end flexibility, scalability, and robustness. I must say the eCommerce platform has been labeled as a one-step solution right after its release or should I say inception.
Whereas WordPress on the other hand was conceived as another interesting blogging platform. This one is an open-source content management system that was written in PHP and now is called one of the leading eCommerce platforms across the globe.
Magento is a bit complex and complicated, especially for those who are non-techies but WordPress is pretty easy to use and it also comprises a plethora of themes, plugins and integrations to develop what exactly you wish to create for your business. In fact, in WordPress, you can use several plugins such as Shopify, PayPal, Square, Stripe, Amazon Payments, UPS, Shipstation and a lot more.
Moving on, let’s try to spot the crucial difference between the two.
Magento vs WordPress
1. Easy to Use
One of the primary factors or aspects that must be taken into consideration before choosing any eCommerce platform is the ease of use. You see, not all businesses are tech-savvy geeks, there are non-techies who have a track record of maintaining an eCommerce store seamlessly yet effectively. Now both Magento and WordPress are open sources still WordPress tends to be easier to use in comparison to Magento. You see if we look back, WordPress was basically developed to be highly accessible for both non-techies as well as software developers. Magento seems to have a more professional touch or is a bit more complicated.
WordPress can be installed within a pretty short span of time, let’s say just five minutes. So you don’t have to take much effort especially when it comes to getting started with WordPress for your eCommerce store.
2. Themes, Plugins and Templates
Another significant factor to keep in mind while choosing the right eCommerce platform is to see what and how many types of themes, plugins and templates are offered by these eCommerce platforms. Well, here WordPress consists of, in fact, it seems to be made up of a wide range of editable pages and posts but if you are running an enterprise then Magento turns out to be the best possible bet to consider. You see, though both the ecommerce platforms tend to boast a large set of libraries, themes, plugins and templates featuring strong design and development capabilities, Magento seems to have quite an upper hand here. Here you will come across options that are quite ready-to-go and highly customized. In fact, if we are talking specifically about the eCommerce themes then Magento offers amazing options. Of course, not all themes offered by Magento are free but even paid ones can offer you great value and grab the attention of more and more visitors. This might come with a cost but that cost is worth the risk.
3. eCommerce
The next aspect or factor to keep in mind when choosing an eCommerce platform in particular is what is the ultimate purpose of conducting the development project. I mean if you have decided that you want to create an eCommerce platform then simply stick to that. And when we talk about eCommerce as the main purpose, Magento turns out to be a winning concept in comparison to any other options be it WordPress, Shopify or Bigcommerce. You see here in Magento you will find a variety of features and functionalities such as mobile commerce, multi-store management, sales reporting, analytics, etc that tend to be out of the box. Not just this, several other aspects such as shopping carts, product bundles, catalog management, newsletter, customer groups can be well taken care of.
As for WordPress, you might have to make a lot of effort by adding different plugins, themes and tools to run a successful eCommerce project.
4. SEO-friendly
The next important factor that must be taken into account before commencing any eCommerce development project is SEO-friendliness. After all, you are not just creating an eCommerce store just because your competitor is doing so. You do need to make it rank high on Google so that more and more visitors come and assist you by increasing sales as well as the return on investment.
Now what happens is generally businesses end up creating a website and then they have to look for a reliable digital marketing agency. Fortunately, this is not the case anymore! Today eCommerce platforms are pretty much SEO-friendly. So if you develop your eCommerce store either on WordPress or Magento, you are more likely to create a website that can rank high easily on the famous search engine. Yes, when it comes to SEO-friendliness both Magento and WordPress are worth considering.
Both the ecommerce platforms support sitemaps, metadata, and SEO-friendly permalink structure but WordPress seems to have a slight upper hand here since here you get a Yoast SEO tool where you can create keyword-rich content in no time.
5. Blogging
The next aspect to consider is blogging. Now, who says eCommerce stores do not need to do blogging. No matter whether you develop an eCommerce website or not blogging is something that must be considered. Now as we all know that WordPress was created as a blogging platform so here if you have blogging among your priorities then yes WordPress definitely has an upper hand. The undisputed king can assist you well in offering regular content for newsletters, enhancing brand awareness and attracting organic traffic via high ranking.
6. Web Hosting
Although both Magento and WordPress can be downloaded as well as installed free of cost. However, if you are a B2B or B2C merchant then Magento might come with a price from $22000 to $125000. In addition, you need a secured domain name which might range around $15.
Siteground is one of the finest WordPress hosting providers that turns out to be ideal for small businesses especially the ones which have recently commenced. In case, if you are looking for more advanced hosting then $40 a month can be taken into account. As per Magento, web hosting for small businesses begins at $6.99.
So basically it depends on your site whether to consider WordPress or Magento.
7. Security
There are times when customers often enter their card information on eCommerce websites but what happens when that information is stolen. Well, WordPress and Magento, Magento offers tighter security in comparison to others. With security breaches happening day in day out, it becomes pretty imperative for companies to consider high-end security measures and that comes when you end up choosing a highly secured eCommerce platform.
Bluehost and Siteground tend to offer free SSL certificates where encrypted information is sent over the internet so that data can be sent and received safely.
8. Large and Active Community
Last but certainly not least is the large and active community. Well, in that case, both WordPress and Magento comprise a large community featuring different types of developers who are beginners, mid-level experts and veterans. So even if the developer gets stuck in between then the large and active community is right here to assist and that too in a pretty short span of time.
Final Verdict
There is no cookie-cutter solution or answer, it simply depends on your needs or requirements. For example, if you want to create a shop that comprises more than 1000 products, if you want to develop a marketplace, incorporate POS, if you want heavy traffic at your store then look no further than Magento whereas if you have a small budget or wish to launch the store in a quick span, need minimum customization, are willing to add more and more blogs, then WordPress is your sure-shot answer here.
The differences between WordPress, Magento, Shopify and several other platforms will grow slowly and steadily. All you have to do is pick the right eCommerce platform for your project. In case, if you still find all this confusing, then you must get in touch with a reputable eCommerce development company around. Good luck with your upcoming eCommerce venture!
