While building an eCommerce store, one must need clarification in choosing the right eCommerce development platform as there are a variety of platforms available for building websites. Magento and WordPress are the two most widely used and popular platforms for eCommerce development these days. Both these platforms are powerful and offer free versions and increased functionality if you are willing to pay.
If you’re planning to launch an eCommerce store, you might face a thorny difficulty: Magento vs WordPress, which is better? On the surface, both eCommerce platforms offer everything that one can expect from a full-featured content management system:
- Integrated payment options
- Large ecosystem
- Drag-and-drop site builder
- SEO tools
- Shopping cart, and checkout functionality
- Powerful plugins
- Excellent community support
As CMSs, both Magento and WordPress allow you to effectively manage your store inventory and empower you to perform other administrative tasks without developer expertise. These eCommerce platforms are great in their own way and offer a variety of benefits if implemented correctly. But before you start your development journey, make sure to take a closer look at both platforms as there are several key differences that you might need to take into consideration.
So, in this post, we’re going to discuss the main differences between Magento vs eCommerce so that it becomes easier for you to choose the right platform for your eCommerce store without investing a lot of time and effort in it. So without any further delay, let’s get started!
What is Magento?
Magento is a highly extensible and open-source enterprise-level eCommerce platform released in 2008. It was previously acquired by eBay and then sold to Adobe. Magento was specially designed to help users to develop amazing eCommerce stores using its excellent features which can be extended easily with plugins like WooCommerce. It allows users to expand their online stores and appeals to them with varying levels of technical knowledge.
You’ll be surprised to know that Magento handles more than $100 billion in gross merchandise volume annually. But remember that it is less user-friendly as compared to WordPress. As we mentioned earlier, it is an enterprise-level platform, which means that it is perfectly suitable for large websites having complex requirements that need advanced features and functionalities. In short, we can say that Magento is a great choice if you aim to focus on improving your eCommerce sales.
What is WordPress?
WordPress was created in 2003 to build out-of-the-box websites without having any technical knowledge. It is a blogging platform that you can use by downloading a plugin to set up an online store. Currently, it has 35 million plus websites on the Internet.
If you are a newbie in the eCommerce development field, then WordPress can be your best companion as it does not require advanced technical knowledge. But make sure, it is not a dedicated platform but provides you with unique and excellent features which also support integrations for eCommerce.
The main differences between Magento vs. WordPress
1. Ease of use
Magento
If you are new in this field then it might be hard to get started with Magento as it is mostly tailored for advanced levels of web development. This means you need advanced technical knowledge when you choose to work with Magento. It is less user-friendly as compared to WordPress, but offers excellent features and functionalities that an eCommerce developer can expect. It is likely that you might face some challenges while setting up and customizing your Magento site. If you are a professional with a few years of experience, then you can choose Magento for building large-scale apps.
WordPress
On the other hand, WordPress can be a better option as compared to Magento if you are a beginner. WordPress doesn’t require advanced technical knowledge, if you’re clear with the basics then you can easily get started with it. Also, Bluehost allows you to install WordPress in just one click, so it doesn’t require any extra effort on your part.
2. Security
Magento
Magento offers high-end security features as compared to WordPress. Both provide security patches but if your project is complex then it needs more security so, for such cases, Magento can be a perfect fit. As an open-source eCommerce platform, it is worth acknowledging if you use Magento for source storefront and configure your site security plugins.
WordPress
Sites developed using WordPress are a target for hackers. Also, according to a survey conducted in 2019, WordPress accounts for more than 90% of successful cyberattacks against CMS-powered websites.
3. Search Engine Optimization
Magento
Magento is a master when it comes to search engine optimization as it comes with a wide range of SEO guides and helps you to get started easily. Developers working with Magento can easily make changes to meta keywords, descriptions, and image alt-tags. Also, using some additional features of Magento such as Google sitemap and no-follow links, it easily redirects search engines to crawl your site which can be a plus point.
WordPress
WordPress allows you to create tags for posts and set appropriate metadata for your pages. It empowers you to use amazing SEO plugins like WP Rocket and Yoast SEO that help you to bring your website into the limelight without any hassle.
4. Customer support
Magento
As we discussed earlier, Magento is a free and open-source eCommerce platform whose customer service is nonexistent. For merchants who want to control their support strategy, then it provides a variety of resources and excellent support where you can seek guidance from other users.
WordPress
WordPress does not support live phone, email, and chat. But it comes with a huge user base where users can ask for help from an active community of experts and developers. The community is quite knowledgeable so they can give you correct responses to almost every query.
5. Product management
Magento
If you have ever worked with Magento, you must have come across the excellent features and offerings for product management. It allows users to review product details, make a wish list, and even personalize products in just a few clicks.
WordPress
On the other hand, WordPress is one of the great choices for creating CMSs, and categorizing things with it becomes easy. It allows you to handle your eCommerce products using its plugin called WooCommerce.
Now, let’s have a quick look at the chart comparing some of the key factors of Magento vs. WordPress:
| Key Factors | Magento | WordPress |
| Performance | High level | High level |
| SEO | Moderate | Good |
| Ease of use | Difficult | Easy |
| Popularity | Less | More |
| Plugins | Around 15,000 | Around 50,000 |
| Pricing | Free (Charges applicable for high-level usage) | Free |
| Customization | Good | Poor |
| Support | Less support | Huge support |
Key Takeaway
So that’s it for the post. We hope you find this post helpful. After reading this post, it will be easy for you to choose the right eCommerce platform for your online store as we have mentioned all the main differences between Magento and WordPress that you need to know before you get started.
It would be great for us if you share this post on Facebook or Twitter to reach wider audiences. Also, we would be happy to know which eCommerce platform you’re going to choose for your upcoming project, just mention it in the comment box. Feel free to ask your queries and we will get back to you soon.
