Online marketing has spread like wildfire over the years. With more and more e-commerce platforms coming regularly, people are not short on options. You will be amazed by the number of people taking their businesses online. Well, it has several perks, alright. Investing in the right e-commerce platform can help your business reach its true potential. However, it can be a hassle to choose the right platform with so many options in front of you. So, how do you decide which platform is best for you? Today, we will discuss some of the most popular platforms, and what do they have to offer? Also, if you have been running a Magento 1 store or want to try Magento for yourself then we pieced together every key detail you need to know. Furthermore, we will compare Magento 1 vs Magento 2 Vs Other e-commerce platforms so that you can make an informed decision.
Magento
Magento is one of the best e-commerce platforms on the internet. Thousands of brands and shop owners have been using Magento to successfully run their online stores. Magento is developed and maintained by Adobe, which is a giant in the information technology industry. It is very much capable of handling a huge number of customers and orders with ease. Furthermore, Magento offers limitless customizations, extendibility, and a great experience for both you and your customers. It gives Magento an edge over other e-commerce platforms in the race. Adobe has recently stopped the support for Magento 1; hence it is best if all Magento 1 users migrate to Magento 2. Let us learn why you should migrate?
Magento 1 vs Magento 2: Differences
Before looking at Magento 1 vs Magento 2 vs other e-commerce platforms, let us first look at Magento 1 vs Magento 2. There have been several noticeable changes in Magento 2 from its previous version. We will look at each of these changes one by one down below:-
Magento 1 vs Magento 2: Architectural Changes
The architecture has significantly improved from the previous version. With the addition of several new technologies such as NGNIX, composer, varnish, Redis, and many more, the new version has much more extendibility and functionality. Overall it is a completely new platform from the previous one. Magento 2 utilizes php7 and also has support for HTML5. That makes it easy to be optimized and has several customization options as well.
Magento 1 vs Magento 2: Responsiveness
Magento 2 is much more responsive then Magento 1, especially in terms of mobile-friendliness. Several survey data and statistics show that people have been using there mobile devices more and more to visit e-commerce platforms. So, it becomes essential for your website to provide good mobile-friendliness to its users. It also supports PWA(progressive web apps). You will be increasing your businesses’ reach towards your customers.
Magento 1 vs Magento 2: Performance Improvements
The performance has significantly improved as well in the newer version as well as load time has also decreased by great margins. With the addition of new technologies, the response time is even better. We know that better load time is great from an SEO point of view.
Magento 1 vs Magento 2: New Admin Panel
Magento 2 also comes with a newly designed admin panel that has a beautifully structured user interface. Navigating around in admin panel is much more simple than the Magento 1’s admin panel. Having a good backend means it is easy for you to manage your store. You will still need to learn a lot before you can fully utilize the new admin panel.
Security
Security is a major concern wherever an upgrade to an application comes out. In the case of Magento, security has improved for the better. Data security is always an issue from a customer’s point of view, no one wants their privacy compromised. Magento 2 gets regular updates and patches to fix any security issues that surface. On top of that, you can implement your own security features to further secure the store.
New Payment Gateways
Previously you had to integrate payment gateways using plugins or extensions that required significant development work. It did not come out of the box with Magento. People had to spend money on developers to integrate these payment methods. However, Magento 2 supports some of the most popular payment gateways out of the box. So you don’t have to do much work.
Improved Checkout
The checkout process has also been improved tremendously to provide the best user experience. In Magento 1 the checkout method was quite lengthy and it was also difficult to skip or separate pages. With Magento 2 you can complete checkout in as less than two steps.
Should You Migrate From Magento 1 to Magento 2?
The right question is, why shouldn’t you migrate? After all, it has all the more improved features as well as several new functionalities that make it far better than its predecessor. In terms of both extendibility and features, it is far superior to Magento 1. In addition to that, Adobe has stopped the support for Magento 1 in July so it will be officially removed. You can still use it if you like, but it won’t be getting any updates or bug fixes in the future. The latest version has several drawbacks and bugs removed from the previous version. It is all the more reason to migrate to Magento 2.
Well, it is just a matter of investment whether you want to migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2. If you choose to invest, then it will be a long term investment, and you will have a lot more options. It can be difficult to decide whether you should migrate or not? But if you are ready to invest a considerable amount in your business, then your online presence will be many times better than before. If you ask, what is the best time to migrate? Then you should do it as soon as possible because it will only bring you benefits. So, think long and hard before making your decision.
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Other e-commerce Platforms
If you are not a fan of Magento, then you can go with any of the other e-commerce platforms. There are several popular e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, OpenCart, etc. Let us look at them in further detail:-
Shopify
Shopify is one best choice when it comes to e-commerce platforms. It is a software as a service-based platform that offers you several similar functionalities as Magento. The platform has a pretty straightforward learning curve and an extremely simple setup. It has several attractive features that allow you to develop your website quickly. Furthermore, you do not need any IT experience to use the platform. You can even integrate your store with other third party websites such as Facebook, and Amazon.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is another emerging leader in the e-commerce industry. It is an open-source platform so you don’t need to spend money initially. If you are using WordPress, you can install the WooCommerce plugin to convert your website into an e-commerce site. It is quite helpful for first-time users who want to easily and quickly set up their stores. You can further customize it with plugins. However, it has aa major drawback. It can only be used with WordPress. At some point in time, you will have to hire a developer to further develop your website.
OpenCart
OpenCart is another opensource e-commerce platform trending worldwide. It is also a Php based e-commerce platform that enables you to set up your store quickly. There are several themes and plugins available as well that you can use to do further customizations. It is truly one of the best free e-commerce platforms out there.
Magento Vs Other e-commerce Platforms
All the other e-commerce platforms have one major advantage over Magento. It is that they are extremely cost-efficient but you will have to do away with a ton of features that comes with Magento. None of these platforms are as customizable or as diverse. Magento is jam-packed with attractive features and it also provides a great user experience to both you and your customer. If you compare that with other e-commerce platforms then Magento is a clear winner.
However, Magento requires a significant amount of money to start and operate. If you are just starting your business or looking forward to opening an e-commerce store then this platform is most probably not idle for you. You can choose to start with any of the other e-commerce platforms and slowly scale your business further. Once your business has seen some growth then you can invest your money into Magento and launch an incredible store with the best features available.
Magento 1 vs Magento 2 vs Other e-commerce Platforms: Which is The Right Choice For You?
Magento requires a considerable sum of money to get it up and running. It is pretty expensive to get started with Magento or to even Migrate from the previous version. Even though with all of its great features, if you do not have the money then there is no point in choosing a cost-heavy platform is there? If you are low on funds, then you should go with some other e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Woocommerce, etc. which requires far fewer funds than Magento. And as you grow your business, you can later shift to Magento when you have good financial investments. we hope you have gained some insight into Magento 1 vs Magento 2 vs other e-commerce platforms.
