Costs
Firstly, let’s talk about the cost of each platform. Though this shouldn’t be your only deciding factor when it comes to which platform to use, it is something you need to take into consideration.
Shopify is a SAAS software (software-as-a-service), which means users pay monthly fees to host their online store. There are three membership tiers, basic which is $29 a month, Shopify at $79 a month, and advanced Shopify at $179 a month. The downfall of Shopify is that the more you play, the more options you get, like abandoned cart recovery and gift cards.
Magento is a little different, as it costs nothing to use their software. They offer an enterprise solution, which does have a cost to use, though the cost solely depends on your needs.
User Experience
User experience is critical to customer retention and driving sales on your online store, which is why it’s essential to pick a platform that has the best user experience. So which platform has the best user experience?
Shopify is the easier of the two platforms and is the better option for companies that don’t have developers. However, Magento offers many extensions that don’t require any coding, making it just as easy to use as Shopify.
SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical for your website and online store. It’s how you end up on the front page of Google. If you want your business to increase sales and organic traffic, you need SEO. Both Shopify and Magento rank high for their SEO capabilities.
Though when it comes to SEO, Magento is in the first place. Magento SEO capabilities include headings, meta descriptions, and page URLs and titles. Unfortunately, Magento is not fully optimized for SEO. If you want to fully optimize your online store, you’ll need to hire an agency to help you.
Themes
Designing a beautifully branded website is critical to creating brand awareness and recognition. So it’s essential to find a platform that offers themes that can be easily edited and branded to your liking.
Both Shopify and Magento offer themes, with Shopify offering 69 different themes to choose from. In contrast, Magento offers thousands of themes to choose from. Both have responsive themes, ensuring whether a user is on their phone or desktop, your site will perform flawlessly.
The downfall of Shopify themes is that they don’t allow for many changes to be made to them, whereas Magento allows for more design options. Magento even has a drop and drag option to make design pages quicker and easier.
Conclusion
There are several differences between Shopify and Magento, so whatever you choose, make sure you choose wisely. You want to ensure you select the right platform for your business.
