What is Magento? In a nutshell, this is a software for creating and managing online stores. The longer answer is that e-commerce software can be based on two different philosophies or principles: this can be a downloadable version or a SaaS version, when the provider places all the necessary elements for you — a store, tools and a database.
Magento belongs to the group of downloadable products. There are many other options in this group: you may have heard about PrestaShop, OpenCart, VirtueMart – there are a lot of them. However, in general, Magento is significantly different.
In 2007, it was developed by Varien, well-known in professional and user circles. Since then, according to statistics, more than 100 thousand sites have appeared on the Network that feel great on Magento. They have a couple of thousand extensions at their service. The system can handle a daily visit of 350 million visitors and half a million orders per day in one store. Completely spherical extensions can be found on Magento Connect, and you will need to pay money for those presented on Envato Market.
Advantages of Magento
This system works perfectly for the field of e-commerce, that is, it is more designed for creating online stores. Such business titans as Lenovo, Nestle, Nokia, Olympus, Samsung, Skype preferred Magento.
Those who use this CMS are attracted by convenient administration: several resources are made on one platform under a single management. Over the years of practice, we have already fine-tuned the catalogs. Now you can compare products, add various promotions, give certificates, sort purchases based on your own considerations.
Those planning to master Magento should also take into account the well-thought-out SEO potential. If necessary and there are appropriate talents and skills, you can manage the code, put meta tags, endings for products in the URL.
It is possible to convert money from different countries, a feedback system with customers who can evaluate products and make reviews about them. The admin panel is very multifunctional, which greatly complicates working with it. The interface is exclusively English-speaking, which is not particularly convenient for our person.
Disadvantages of Magento
In addition to the interface in English, there are a number of other nuances that do not really appeal to the owners of online stores. So, Magento does not integrate with our beloved 1C, which dominates the domestic segment of online commerce. The documents explaining how, in fact, one should build one’s relations with this system are also in English.
Mass complaints are caused by a complex and not everyone understands the interface, which is far from friendly. Therefore, the costs of specialist services are inevitable. In addition, there is a high probability that you will have to spend money on a real server. And who likes extra spending?
Therefore, experts with one voice advise resorting to Magento in the case when an online store is planned to be powerful, with tens of thousands of items of goods, and even focused on the international market. Otherwise, the sheepskin is not worth making and it makes sense to master another system.
What makes Magento so special?
First of all, Magento is quite customizable, which makes it an ideal option for large stores or for stores with special sales experience or special customer needs. However, it can also be used for small stores. Magento is special in its requirements, so you will need to invest money in hosting and in paying for developers ‘ work time. This makes Magento the right choice only if you have a large-scale business. The next advantage is that it has many features, and even after several years of using this software, you will find something new or something that you have not seen before.
If you have a large store – Magento is a great choice for you!
What is all this leading to? I can say that Magento is absolutely perfect for large stores and is well suited for medium-sized stores. This is also a good option for stores with non-traditional sales experience, such as, for example, markets. As well as for any other types of specialty stores whose experience differs from the usual sales experience.
Another important thing is that you should be ready to spend money on the maintenance of the store. In addition, you must be a professional yourself. Or you need to hire a person who can help you maintain your store and integrate the necessary functions.