The eCommerce industry is ever flourishing and credit goes to pandemic -induced era. The volume of sales has increased rapidly since the pandemic. People expect to be able to shop anywhere, anytime, and for anything. This expectation can only be met if manufacturers and retailers are able to reach them from wherever they are and whenever they want.
The Statista report shows that retail eCommerce was worth a total of nearly four trillion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2021. This amounted to a record-breaking 27.1 percent increase over the previous year. The meteoric rise in eCommerce sales has been driven by the pandemic’s ubiquitous nature and its impact on consumer behavior. As the virus has continued to spread, people have become accustomed to purchasing goods online, even when they are not at home. A Magento Development Company can help you build your next eCommerce platform. The pandemic has also led to a new emphasis on e-commerce as an alternative approach to the traditional way of doing business. Consequently, entrepreneurs are inclined towards eCommerce website platforms to earn profit and gain users’ interest.
To build an eCommerce website, businesses must first have a marketable product or service that has been decided upon. Next, they must decide how much they are willing to invest in building their website. There are many options available, and some of the most valuable are mentioned above. This decision determines the quality of the eCommerce website that will be built. Some businesses use the cheapest option and build their websites on Shopify, Magento, or Prestashop.
This blog will be your guide to comparing and picking the right platform.
Prestashop
PrestaShop is an open-source eCommerce platform that’s free to download and use. It provides a powerful online platform for managing your store and growing your business, with features such as product catalogs, online invoicing, shipping and order management, e-commerce, SEO, social media, and more.
Pros
- It offers access to already built-in 600+ features and over 5000 themes and modules.
- Available in 75 languages to encourage quick product sales regardless of customers’ country or currency.
- It has various add-on features and functionalities to make the eCommerce store more attractive and user-friendly.
Cons
- Requires more technical knowledge to configure the platform.
- Tech service is only available on a payment plan.
Shopify
Shopify is the world’s leading e-commerce platform for small- and medium-sized businesses. Small businesses use Shopify to sell to other small businesses, attract new customers, and improve the customer experience in their stores. Shopify Development Services have helped thousands of companies worldwide improve their sales and increase their revenues. It continues to be the top e-commerce platform for small – and medium-sized businesses-with over 70,000 paying customers.
Must Read: 9 Benefits of Shopify for eCommerce Development
Pros
- It doesn’t require third-party hosting services.
- Ready-to-use infrastructure based on the cloud
- Robust security and regular updates.
- Merchants get a strong foothold to sell on social channels to connect with their targeted audience base.
- SSL security certificate
- 24/7 performance monitoring of your online store
- Automatic updates and maintenance
- Customizable payment process
- An App for managing your online store from your mobile phone
- 24/7 customer service by chat and phone.
Cons
- The scope for customization is limited
- The official template store consists of little more than 70 designs.
Magento
Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform that empowers millions of online stores worldwide. It’s a feature-rich eCommerce solution that offers merchants the flexibility of having total control over the content planning of their online store. Magento provides merchants with the tools and technologies they need to build a successful online business and scale it as their business grows. You can Hire Magento Developers to experience productivity and performance while scaling the project development.
Pros
- Inclusion of ERP and other relevantsoftware systems.
- Integration with social networks and marketplaces
- 24/7 customer support (though not including a live chat option)
- Relationships between products are based on dynamic rules.
- Automatic email-marketing features
- Opportunities for marketing, special offers, discount codes, and gift cards relevant to online shopping
- Magento integration includes a reward points system and wishlists
Cons
- It needs a well-trained technical team to customize
- The self-implementation process for templates takes time and can be tricky.
Final Verdict: Shopify, Prestashop, or Magento?
Now that you have figured out the pros and cons of each, it is time to narrow down the options. You’ll first need to determine which eCommerce platform is best for your business. You can shortlist the most appropriate solution for your needs, such as one that is open source, has support for your specific requirements, or is easy to learn. There are many questions to be answered when choosing from these platforms, and it can be challenging to determine which is the most appropriate choice without in-depth research. However, packaging all of these questions into one list can make the decision more accessible and can be used as a checklist for your decision.
PrestaShop, Shopify, and Magento are three of the most popular eCommerce platforms available. Each solution has its own set of unique strengths and weaknesses and is suited for different businesses.
PrestaShop – is the best solution for mid-size projects. You’ll get all of the functionality you need to build your online store with ease. Features include a world-class eCommerce framework, responsive design, a drag-and-drop site builder, and unlimited data storage.
Shopify- is a good option if you have a small or medium-sized business that’s just getting started or if you want to sell your products on a platform with more than one million active small businesses.
Magento is a suitable platform for building a modern website, managing your inventory and orders, creating a robust sales and marketing automation platform, etc. Best of all, you get all this without investing in expensive software licenses or paying high fees.
Conclusion
When deciding which eCommerce platform to use, you need to consider your business goals. Do you want to create a simple online store for selling products and collecting payments, or do you want to build a complex platform that supports complex commerce functionality, including shipping and returns? Do you have the resources available to build a complex eCommerce platform, or are you starting small and want to develop a platform that can be expanded upon later? Which eCommerce platform is best for you depends on your objectives, which platform features are most important to you, and your team’s available technical and financial resources.
Still unsure about making the right decision?
Get in touch with CMARIX- eCommerce Development Company and take the plunge and purchase an eCommerce platform that will be advantageous for your business.
Give us a call today!!
