Originally founded in 2008, Magento was considered the go-to e-commerce platform for the better part of a decade. It offered flexible templates, advanced features and a mobile-friendly interface. However, times have slightly changed. There are many relatively new products on the market and one which has been turning the heads of large and small business owners alike is Shopify. The main question is why these professionals are migrating away from the traditional Magento framework in favour of Shopify Plus. If you hope to remain at the forefront of the online retail market in 2019, the associated answers are very important. Let us take a closer look.
Cost, Complication and Consumption
These “three C’s” have often been quoted as the most problematic areas of Magento. Cost of the obvious concern, as many small business owners simply do not possess the finances required to support this system. As a result, other areas such as sales or marketing could suffer.
It has always been known that Magento is somewhat difficult to work with. Making any substantial changes requires a significant amount of knowledge and the average business professional lacks such skills. So, they are forced to turn to open-source Magento developers. Unfortunately, the development community is notably lacking due to the complexity of the software itself. This leaves entrepreneurs at a frustrating impasse.
A final issue is that Magento is known for its notoriously slow loading times. Not only are modifications challenging to implement, but transitioning from an existing e-commerce platform to Magento is laborious. This also translates to hosting. Most businesses will need to employ an entirely separate network server in order to accommodate for bloated programming. Once again, this costs money as well as time.
While Magento could represent a powerful tool for some businesses, the undeniable fact of the matter is that there are worthwhile alternatives to examine.
The Inexorable Rise of Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is a more streamlined and user-friendly alternative that has been making waves over the past few years. There are several reasons for this nearly unrivalled success. The main point is that it is very easy to work with. So, businesses can return their focus towards other core in-house activities. Additional benefits which serve to set this e-commerce system apart from Magento include:
- No software upgrades or security patches are needed.
- It is very easy to transition from another platform to Shopify.
- This system is highly scalable and numerous themes are supported.
- The architecture itself is much more intuitive.
- 24/7 customer support is always available.
Above all, Shopify Plus is significantly more affordable and a number of pricing plans are available. It is therefore clear to appreciate why we have recently noted this Magento migration. Currently billed as the “future of e-commerce”, Shopify is expected to make digital waves in the coming year. It will be very interesting to see what additional upgrades and advancements are rolled out in the near future.
