Magento is among the most renowned open-source eCommerce platforms, utilized to create tailored, world-class, and robust eCommerce solutions with a vast support community. Magento enables users to update eCommerce sites automatically. It is straightforward, fast, and adaptable to use. It was initially launched on March 31, 2008, after being developed by Varien’s CEO and Co-founder Roy Rubin. A decade later, Magento was ultimately acquired by Adobe Inc.
Let’s explore some of the fundamental advantages of Magento in depth. While the benefits are numerous, I have aimed to clarify the primary ones in this article for those considering building a fully customized online store.
Key Advantages & Capabilities of Building an Online Store with Magento
Open-source and Self-hosted
Self-hosted eCommerce platforms are those you download and operate yourself. Typically, these are open-source platforms, meaning you have access to the source code. Examples include Magento, WooCommerce, OsCommerce, etc. When you rely on a self-hosted and open-source platform like Magento 2, the responsibility is entirely yours.
Conversely, with a hosted eCommerce platform, the provider supplies both the software and the hosting. However, you won’t have access to the underlying source code; hence, it’s commonly referred to as SaaS (Software-as-a-Service). Examples of SaaS-based eCommerce platforms are Shopify, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, etc.
There are various perspectives on these two types of open-source eCommerce platforms. However, understanding the strengths and limitations of both can help you make an informed choice.
Advantages of Magento as an Open-source and Self-hosted Platform
- Full control and ownership of your store.
- Custom online store development tailored to your business requirements.
- Capability to enhance the user experience of your store and win over your customers.
- Magento enables the integration of advanced technologies like AI & ML to implement innovative features into your online retail store or marketplace.
Some Standout Features
Magento 2 is equipped with a variety of impressive features that allow you to start operating your business immediately. Even its open-source version includes everything needed to launch a webshop. Some remarkable features the Magento eCommerce Store can instantly provide are:
- Product catalog management features
- SEO tools
- Marketing and promotions suite
- Order processing (invoicing, etc.)
- Site administration (CMS tools, etc.)
This list is still not exhaustive.
Default Theme Access such as LUMA
Yes, the LUMA theme is included with Magento 2 by default. This theme provides an optimal user interface, allowing you to launch your webshop and start generating sales without any initial customization.
On other platforms, you need to add various features to your store via plugins and add-ons. These platforms do not come with default packaging like Magento. It also accelerates the custom eCommerce store development process.
Advanced Testing Capabilities
Magento offers a robust testing suite that can significantly reduce pre-release defects. This adds value to your online retail objectives while ensuring a seamless customer experience.
Additionally, Magento provides a developer-focused testing framework based on PHPUnit called the Functional Testing Framework (FTF). QA engineers will appreciate using this framework for its stable performance.
Notable Benefits of FTF
- It comes pre-packaged with all the standard test scenarios that cover most of the essential functional processes of your e-store.
- When you run these tests, either collectively or individually, all failures are properly logged and accompanied by screenshots.
- This cross-platform framework operates across all available operating systems, so your Magento developers need not worry about compatibility.
There are many other valuable features in FTF that help Magento partially automate the eCommerce application testing cycle.
SEO-friendly Features
With so many businesses competing for the same keywords, it is a challenge to get your e-store noticed. That’s why search engine optimization is a crucial part of successful online businesses. Inbound leads found via organic search generally have lower acquisition costs and higher conversion rates.
With Magento, you can be confident in your online visibility, thanks to its comprehensive suite of SEO customization features. You can manage the links passed to search engines via index management. There are plenty of other features in Magento that your SEO specialists can use to optimize your webshop for search engines.
It’s not just Magento’s standard functionality that makes it stand out; it’s also the excellent ecosystem of SEO extensions from various vendors that allow you to elevate your Magento site’s SEO.
You can consult with our Magento certified solution experts regarding which SEO extension would best suit your website optimization needs.
Supports Integration of Leading Payment Gateways
Magento 2 enables you to integrate many leading payment gateways such as PayPal, Braintree, Cybersource, WorldPay, etc. This ensures your e-store offers a superior checkout experience.
Advantages of Multiple Payment Methods
- Expand your audience reach as multi-payment features in the online store allow you to handle multiple currencies and appeal to a global customer base.
- Boost customer retention by preventing cart abandonment when customers don’t find their preferred payment options.
- Enhance your e-store’s credibility and foster trust among visitors.
Magento Benefits Recap
- Magento is highly customizable and user-friendly, even for those without technical expertise.
- Magento is a fully scalable and feature-rich eCommerce platform.
- Compared to SaaS, Magento gives you ownership of the software and hosting rights.
- Magento supports numerous extensions in its marketplace.
- Magento can operate multiple stores for different countries, targeting markets and brands with unique pricing, content, and payment systems from a single Magento installation.
- Magento Community Edition is free for small and medium-sized businesses.
- Magento is more SEO-friendly compared to other platforms.
- Magento can easily integrate with email marketing platforms, helping you stay connected with your customers.
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