Shopify and Magento are two very popular eCommerce platforms today. Both sides have their own advantages and disadvantages . Let’s see what they are!
Shopify is an easy-to-use interface, since for a monthly fee, both beginner and advanced online store can easily advertise themselves.
Magento is an open source platform, like WordPress, you can easily download it to your computer, although you have to pay for web hosting (about AED 375 per month), security and extra applications. It’s a well-functioning eCommerce platform, but it’s hard to achieve your dreams if you don’t have coding knowledge. The website builder can be much more useful for larger enterprises that have a dedicated team of web developer and network administrators.
Based on the above, you can rightly ask the question: Is Magento or Shopify suitable for eCommerce website development Dubai?
In a previous post , I have already compared Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce, but in this article, I will examine Magento vs Shopify in order to once again help you with the choice.
Magento vs Shopify Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
Shopify
- You can advertise on several channels (Facebook, Instagram, Google Shopping)
- It has more than 70 mobile- friendly templates (10 free and 64 premium options)
- You can choose from a lot of extra applications that you can use to enhance the appearance of your eCommerce business website
Magento
The Magento Forum has a lot of Magento users, so they can answer your questions immediately
Magento commerce is very flexible in terms of how you create the design of your Magento store – if you can get Magento web development than it is suitable for medium and large enterprises , where the online business has its own designers and web developer team.
Disadvantages
Shopify
- Shopify websites charges a transaction fee for every purchase
- You can easily get lost among expensive Shopify apps for basic functionality
Magento aka Adobe Commerce
- Magento commerce will not be a friend for beginners, the eCommerce solution uses hard coded developments that can also cause headaches, and this requires coding knowledge.
- It is not very easy to install and customize Magento responsive templates
- In any case, a private server, not a shared hosting provider is recommended for operation (high hosting costs)
- The extensions (apps) are very expensive
Use
If you choose an eCommerce platform that is difficult to use, it can be a lot of work to create an online store you want. This can even ruin the entire image of your eCommerce business.
In fact, Shopify is much easier to use than Magento. You can easily change the elements on Shopify themes and Shopify apps , so you can design your online store exactly the way you want it to be.
When compare Magento, the learning process is quite steep as comparing Shopify, because you have to learn the coding knowledge or hire a Shopify partner agency to create your online store.
Although it is much more flexible and you have more options , it is also much trickier to use.
Functions
Forgotten Basket
Both Shopify and Magento have this feature. Automatically send an email to customers who leave the site before paying.
Use multiple platforms
On Shopify development Dubai interface, you can advertise on Amazon, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook , while Magento allows you to do so on Facebook, Instagram only.
Order Shipping
Shopify has FedEx, DHL Express, and UPS among its partners , so it saves you time and energy, since you don’t have to search separately between shipping companies.
Shopify app store has many more tools for sales compared to Magento, many options are a basic part of Shopify plan, while Magento offers you only at the price of extra expensive Magento extensions downloads.
Prices
The main difference between the Magento and Shopify platform is that Shopify is a hosted platform, while Magento is a self-hosted platform . When compare Shopify, all hosting-related difficulties are handled by the Shopify package you choose, while compare Magento it can be downloaded for free – you have to pay separately for website hosting, security, your domain and various extras.
Shopify Payments:
Basic Shopify: $29/month
Shopify: $79/month
Advanced Shopify: $299/month
Shopify Plus: unique monthly fee
Magento Payments:
Although Magento is an open source eCommerce platform without any subscription that seems more cost-effective in terms of monthly fees, it still comes with a lot more extra expenses, you can pay up to thousands of dirhams – it depends on which eCommerce development company made the given extra application or theme.
Customer service
The easier it is to contact the customer service of a given platform, the sooner you can resume the usual course of the sale. Therefore, it is important that the platform can provide help quickly and efficiently .
Shopify supports 24 hours a day , they can provide help via social media, they can also be found on the community forum, and email, video guides and high-level professional help are also available if you need it.
Magento supports with number of guides for any questions you may have. They describe step by step what you should do if something does not work as planned but you require technical knowledge.
Summary – Magento vs Shopify?
Overall, Shopify is much more user-friendly compared to Magento. You can start your online store much faster and help is always available . Magento is much more of a eCommerce website development project . It will take a lot of time to perfect your technical expertise and you will be heavily dependent on the site’s forum and design agencies.
Use Shopify in that case
you want to start operating your online store quickly
you have previously used some other similar platform (Wix, Squarespace, Big Commerce) and want to switch you have just started your eCommerce business, but you want to build a larger customer base.
Use Magento in that case
- You have programming skills and want to build a medium or larger business in the online space
- You want a completely free hand for the creative presentation of your website
- You already have customers from before, even globally.
