With the advancement in technology, there has been a complete shift in content generation today due to the increased demand for online shopping. Businesses today can build a fully functional eCommerce shop without coding, and ecommerce web development services now offer tools with multipurpose usage.
Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform that allows users to build scalable eCommerce stores. At the same time, WordPress is a content management system used for multiple purposes, including creating and managing your website. When extended with plugins like WooCommerce, a WordPress development company like Enterprise Monkey can create an amazing ecommerce website, best suited to small-medium business
WordPress and Magento are both robust open-source platforms that enable website building (to) .There are many standard functionalities, but for an additional cost you can add on some fantastic features like a drag-and-drop site builder, SEO tools, integrated payment options, shopping cart and checkout functionalities, etc.
The Australian eCommerce market witnessed revenue of 58 billion AUD in 2021 (approximately). With the constant rise in eCommerce sales, it is vital to understand the website development process and how it can impact the products and services sold. When you ensure your business has an online presence and a functional website, the chances of sales increase.
Dedicated eCommerce content management systems can be too expensive sometimes, especially for small online stores. With the availability of these two open-source, free platforms, managing online stores, customers, and orders has become more straightforward.
Here is a comparison between the two robust platforms based on their strengths and weaknesses.
Magento and WordPress Compared
1. eCommerce
Magento comes with built-in features and functionalities that are essential for eCommerce websites. Discounts, multi-store management, product tiers, sales reporting tools, etc., are some crucial aspects. Magento developers enable thispowerful platform to make online selling easier. You can access over 3000 add-ons and extensions available at the Magento marketplace. The resources offered by Magento can be utilised to build a better eCommerce market, which already has about two billion digital buyers worldwide.
Comparatively, one must understand that WordPress is not entirely committed to eCommerce. Therefore, you will need to use plugins like WooCommerce to set up your online store. However, the process is simple when in the hands of an expert WordPress Development company.
Magento reduces the amount of work that users need to put in by providing built-in functions. WordPress heavily relies on plugins like WooCommerce to make the most of the platform, which can incur additional ongoing expenses and more ongoing website maintenance.
2. Pricing
While Magento and WordPress are free to download, you must pay for hosting, domain, and several premium features. If you don’t have experience working with these platforms, then you will need to hire a skilled website developer and the costs will vary depending on the platform and the functionality you require. While both platforms’ hosting and domain prices do not differ significantly, premium themes, extensions, and developer costs vary significantly.
Magento Development Services will require you to pay more than WordPress regarding apps and themes. While you can find simple themes from Magento for free, the premium ones cost between $ 17 and $ 499. Over 1000 Magento apps are available for free, among a total of 4000. Others fall between $ 25 and $ 15000, with the majority being $ 30 to $ 300. Since Magento requires technical skills to set up an online store, hiring a developer might seem essential. Magento Developers usually charge from $ 120 to $ 200 per hour.
Coming back to WordPress, you will usually to pay a lower price for themes and apps than Magento. You can integrate unique themes from WordPress, with around 4000 being free. Premium options like Elegant Themes and Forest Themes will cost between $ 60 and $ 200 for WordPress. You can extend your online store’s functionality with free 55000 plugins. However, you will also require to pay for premium themes to incorporate the missing ones. The premium costs can stretch anywhere between $ 29 and $ 299.
If you want to hire a WordPress developer, the costs will be much less than hiring a Magento developer. The rates charged by WordPress Development Services fall around $ 80 to $160 per hour.
As per reports, starting a Magento store can cost you $15000. At the same time, you can expect to pay up to $3000 per year to manage a WordPress site. WordPress is more affordable, while the premium features of Magento come with premium prices.
3. SEO
Instead of solely paying for social media ads to drive traffic, you can optimise your web store to attract organic traffic. Let’s see how the Magento and WordPress SEO features can help your online store.
Some best practices for Magento users include adding meta descriptions to all product pages, adding a responsive theme, incorporating alt text to all product images, etc. Experts suggest removing any duplicate content and turning my account, cart, checkout pages, etc., to “no follow”. People who are well-versed in SEO practices will find these tasks more manageable.
Like Magento, you can add customised alt-tags, URLs, headings, meta descriptions, etc., to your WordPress store. WordPress is distinct because you can integrate SEO plugins to optimise your site. Advanced users can take this as an advantage and eliminate things that slow the site. There is a scope, from removing unnecessary codes to preventing search engine bots to crawling and indexing. On the other hand, non-technical users can take help from plugins like WP Rocket or Yoast SEO to automate several optimisation parts.
While WordPress and Magento SEO features generate traffic, WordPress has more comprehensive solutions. The ease of using SEO plugins makes WordPress more robust and user-friendly. WordPress makes it smoother to add keyword-rich content to optimise your online store. You can quickly bring your website into the limelight by using the incredible SEO features offered by WordPress.
4. Security
Security is undoubtedly one of the most significant features when deciding on content management systems. Both Magento and WordPress have developed over time. However, site owners must manage and update the sites to secure them. Here is a closer look at Magento and WordPress site security.
Both platforms have been around for quite some time and have undergone several security tests to provide customers with a safe experience. They are both secured in general and in terms of eCommerce usage. There are a wide number of plugins that can be used separately with both platforms for added security.
Unlike Magento Commerce, the open-source option does not come with built-in security measures. You will need to use extensions for enhanced security. There are over 750 apps available for enhancing Magento security, and they are free and paid. The premium ones can cost between $ 25 and $ 8000.
If you are not using an extension for security purposes, you must keep up with the latest security updates by Magento to keep the hackers at bay. Updating the security functionalities will ensure your site is protected. However, several owners do realise the importance of it, and there had been a decrease in infection rates in 2018.
Like Magento, WordPress security also comes down to the steps taken by the site owner. In addition to updating the themes and plugins, it is suggested to add security plugins. You can get some of the best ones without having to pay. Since WordPress is very popular, hackers target it more often. To combat this, a dedicated team constantly updates the secure code to keep the platform secure. The WordPress upgradation process isn’t manual and comes with auto-update features.
It is essential to the security of your website that you regularly update all your plugins, and it is recommended that you pay the experts to take care of this for you. A security breach could cost your business significantly, and you don’t want to take any risks.
5. Blogging
Any ecommerce web development company would say WordPress emerged first as a blogging platform in 2003. While today it offers multipurpose functionalities for CMS, it has built-in blogging features. The new block editor offered by WordPress makes it even more straightforward to draft content for your blogs. It enables you to add CTAs and provides drag-and-drop features and several other elements.
WordPress also offers a vast number of themes and plugins for effective blogging. You can easily customise the appearance of your blog section on the eCommerce store.
You will need to use the custom extension on the Magento store to use the blogging functionality. AheadWorks is a popular extension that will let you add a blog section to your Magento store.
WordPress is the undisputed king when it comes to blogging. At the same time, Magento lacks the in-built functionality for blogging and requires extensions.
6. Ease of Use
WordPress is easier to use because it was built to be used by both beginners and experts. In contrast, Magento functionalities better suit professional developers and enterprise businesses.
Magento has been tailored to advanced levels of functionalities. It can be challenging to customise your Magento store if you are a beginner, however, once the site is set up, it is simpler than it seems and becomes manageable.
You will only need a few minutes to figure out how a WordPress site works. The clean-cut interface and the user-friendly dashboard, drag-and-drop features, and blogging advantages make WordPress a go-to option for many.
7. Customer Support
Magento and WordPress are open-source platforms that do not provide features like live chat, email, or phone, however, WordPress has an active community that will provide insightful responses to every query you have. For Magento, you will get enormous resources like blogs to seek guidance.
You will get community-based support for both platforms. You can hear from thousands of users around the globe and learn about different skill levels. You will find quality information on forums like Quora and Reddit to get your queries solved. So, if you are worried about adequate user support, there is plenty on the internet.
An Overview of Key Differences
- Software – Magento is explicitly built for eCommerce purposes, whereas WordPress offers a multipurpose Content Management System.
- eCommerce – Magento is dedicated to eCommerce solutions and has several built-in functionalities. At the same time, you will need plugins like WooCommerce to open an online store via WordPress.
- Price – While the domain and registration costs for both open-source platforms are the same, Magento has a higher cost of running an online store. Higher costs of Magento result from the price paid for premium themes, apps, and developers.
- SEO – WordPress allows you to edit the source code to build an SEO-friendly site. The SEO settings provided by Magento are mostly manual while. WordPress makes it further simplistic to create keyword-rich content.
- Security – While WordPress offers auto-update security options, the upgradation process for Magento is manual and challenging.
- Blogging – Blogging isn’t a built-in functionality for Magento stores. While WordPress is considered to be the king of blogging. The new WordPress block editor has made it even easier to create blogs.
- Ease of Use – WordPress offers a more straightforward UI/UX than Magento. The advanced level of Magento functionalities is ideal for professional developers than beginners.
- Customer support – You can expect a larger community of WordPress than Magento. The community forums for both platforms offer ample information for user guidance.
Which is Better for You?
It is challenging to determine the winner between Magento and WordPress precisely. They are exceptional platforms that have developed over time. Regarding eCommerce features and security, Magento has to be given the upper hand.
However, WordPress tops when discussing simplicity, plugins, themes, ease of use, etc. Also, it is hard to determine the winner in areas like SEO, pricing, and community forums. Each has its strengths and weaknesses and are still developing.
Therefore, you need to identify that the chosen platform fulfils your requirements. Magento has been an ideal option for fast and large-scale operations. If you want an eCommerce-focused platform that is secure and functional, Magento is the answer.
On the other hand, if you are entering the eCommerce world and prioritise ease of use, WordPress with a WooCommerce plugin would be the platform of choice.
With this, we have reached the final lines of the discussion on Magento Vs WordPress. Now, you must decide on a suitable option based on your specific requirements and needs.
If you are looking for an ecommerce website development partner for your project, Enterprise Monkey can assist you define your requirements and make a recommendation to the platform that best suits your business needs.
