Magento and WordPress are two of the most popular and best online store software platforms. Anyone who wants to start a webshop and is in doubt between Magento and WordPress should bear in mind that both webshop systems have their own characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages.
In this article, we will go into more detail about this. We will also explain why and how you can integrate WordPress into Magento (and vice versa).
Magento vs WordPressChoosing Magento as webshop software
Magento software is pre-eminently the most suitable webshop system for large and professional webshops. Magento is really developed as an e-commerce platform and has an incredible amount of options in the core by default.
Think of categorizing, product comparisons, and various ways to work with discounts. A Magento shop is more scalable than WordPress and adjusting the software for revenue growth is simple(er). Moreover, Magento is also more suitable for multi-store management, so to manage multiple webshops from one environment.
Due to the complexity and a large number of options, managing a Magento webshop is a bit more difficult. The web development level will be really too high for non-it experts. Because web development is more specialized, Magento developers are more expensive than WordPress developers.
In any case, a Magento store will be much more expensive than a WordPress store. This applies to both the initial costs and periodic costs such as hosting (shared hosting is not an option with Magento).
Introduction WordPress / WooCommerce as a webshop system
WordPress is the world’s largest content management system (CMS) used to build websites. With plugins, you can add webshop functionality to your site, by far the best and most popular plugin is WooCommerce. Compared to Magento, having a WooCommerce shop created is a lot easier. Since WordPress is a much lighter system, the hosting also costs less.
Keep in mind that WordPress, like Magento, is not built as an e-commerce system. WordPress is more content-driven and made for easy content publishing. As a result, WooCommerce is also less complete in terms of functionalities than Magento, so that you need plugins or custom solutions faster.
Similarities and Differences between Magento and WordPress
Are you considering choosing Magento or WordPress as your webshop software? Then it is good to consider various factors. For the main factors, we will discuss the differences between Magento and WordPress.
Size of the webshop
One of the main differences between Magento and WordPress lies in their suitability for large and complex webshops. Magento is therefore made as an e-commerce platform, while WordPress is a CMS with any additional webshop functionalities.
If you want to make a WooCommerce environment as extensive as a Magento environment, the whole will eventually start to falter. You then build too much on top of a foundation that was not originally designed for this.
If you want a large and professional webshop (now or in the future), it is, therefore, better not to choose WordPress.
Cost Magento and WordPress webshops
The costs of Magento and WordPress webshops differ greatly. Of course, they depend on a lot of factors, such as the size of the store and the degree of customization. WordPress webshops are usually several times cheaper.
Complexity
Magento is more complex webshop software than WooCommerce, whereby Magento 2 is even more complex than Magento 1. This has implications for development and further development, as well as maintenance. You will have to outsource this to web developers (and that entails costs).
Maintenance and safety
Regular maintenance is necessary to keep WordPress and Magento webshops safe. Both software systems are open source. Because the source code is public, it is easier for attackers to exploit any security vulnerabilities. For a WordPress webshop, you may be able to do the maintenance ( update WordPress, the theme, and plugins) yourself with little customization.
At Magento, this is such a specialized job that you will have to outsource it to a web developer. In practice, WordPress websites also appear to contain such a degree of customization that a maintenance contract is often necessary for this as well. However, the costs for maintenance are much lower with WordPress.
Links
You can link your webshop CMS to other software systems, such as accounting software, a payment system, or a CRM system. With both Magento and WordPress, there are sufficient webshop links available for the most common software systems.
It can happen that a link is missing for WordPress or Magento, so you will have to have it made yourself. Roughly speaking, the number of couplings is the same for both systems.
Plugins and extensions
Magento is built as an e-commerce platform. As a result, you need fewer extensions (pieces of software that add functionalities) than with WooCommerce webshops (which are called ‘plugins’ there). It is true that entrepreneurs who choose Magento often have very different requirements than people who take WooCommerce.
As a result, Magento shops often have more extensions than WooCommerce shops plugins. If you want to achieve the same in WooCommerce as in Magento, then you need many more plugins.
Hosting
Magento is a much heavier system than WordPress. This has an impact on the hosting. (Cheaper) shared hosting will often work fine for WooCommerce webshops. If you have a Magento webshop, then VPS, dedicated, or hypernode hosting is necessary. As a result, your monthly costs are also a lot higher.
Some more features of WordPress
- Easy to set up. Installing WordPress and a plugin to supplement the functionalities of a webshop is very easy. Still difficult? There are a lot of WordPress web developers (including Web Whales) who can help you with this.
- Many users. If you can’t figure something out yourself, you can always ask questions to the community or the developer of a specific template or plugin.
- Content-driven. The value of content on the internet is increasing! With WordPress, you have a system where the focus is on the easy creation and distribution of content.
- Easy SEO Setup with WordPress SEO. With the plugins of the Yoast team, you can easily optimize the basis of your webshop for search engines. Web Whales also uses a few extra plugins to dot the i’s and to deliver a fully SEO-optimized webshop.
Some more features of Magento
- Extensions are complicated. It can be difficult to install certain extensions and get the settings correct. You will most likely need to hire a developer for this.
- There are not very many Magento developers. It can be a challenge to find a good Magento developer.
Should I choose Magento or WordPress as a webshop system?
Whether you should choose Magento or WordPress as your webshop system depends on several factors. The most important factor is the (current and future) size of your webshop. For a small webshop, WordPress will be nicer, because it is a bit easier and a lot cheaper. Does your business exist because of your webshop and do you have a turnover of at least €500,000 per year? Then Magento is the better choice. Even if you want to run multiple webshops from one environment, Magento is the best option.
Integrating WordPress into Magento
Do you want to integrate WordPress into Magento? This is possible with the FishPig extension. You can do this, for example, to make an existing WordPress blog part of a Magento webshop. Or because you prefer WordPress to create and publish content. You thus combine the best of the worlds of e-commerce (Magento) and content/SEO (WordPress).
What can you do with such an integration? You run your WordPress blog or site completely within your Magento environment. The WordPress content gets the same layout as your Magento webshop and visitors do not have to leave the Magento environment.
WordPress posts can easily be associated with Magento products, categories, and pages. If you have a multi-store Magento environment, you can immediately publish WordPress posts on all stores or in all languages. All your popular plugins (such as WordPress SEO by Yoast and Visual Composer) are supported.
Integrating Magento into WordPress
Integrating Magento into WordPress is also possible. This is possible with the WordPress Magento Integration plugin. This allows you to show Magento ‘blocks’ with your WordPress content. Those blocks are pieces of code with certain functionality, for example, a sale block or a seasonal banner.
However, it makes more sense to integrate WordPress into Magento, because your e-commerce platform is usually the foundation of your business.
Magento vs. WordPress WooCommerce
Magento vs WordPressIf you want to start a webshop and you are going to gather information on the internet, you will quickly come across two names: Magento and WooCommerce. Two software programs with which you can build a webshop, organize payments and manage your stock. Nevertheless, it is important to delve into the characteristics of these two providers to make the right choice.
Magento is an open-source program from Adobe, where you can use a free version, but also various paid versions that offer extra options. WooCommerce is also an open-source program, but it is linked to WordPress. In fact, it is a plugin with which you can easily build a webshop, handle payments and monitor the stock. Both programs have their pros and cons.
Index
- What is WooCommerce?
- WooCommerce Webshop
- What are the pros and cons of WooCommerce?
- What is Magento?
- Magento developers
- What are the pros and cons of Magento?
- Who is the winner?
- International webshop with a budget
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is the most popular program to build a webshop worldwide. It is a WordPress plugin and is completely open-source. The plugin is installed via the WordPress Content Management System (CMS). Installation is very simple. You will be guided through the program via a ‘wizard’.
Here you have to set several things such as the method of shipment, settings for payments, and, for example, the tax rates. If you have this installed, you can use the functionality that WooCommerce offers.
WooCommerce Webshop
If you opt for the basics, you can at least build a webshop with this plugin, handle payments and manage stock. If you want more than the basics, you can install additional plugins that give you more functionality.
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, therefore it is possible to connect other plugins to this webshop. So you can use other plugins with which you can strengthen your webshop. Think of plugins in the field of security and privacy legislation.
What are the pros and cons of WooCommerce?
Having a WooCommerce Webshop has its pros and cons.
Advantages of WooCommerce
– Easy to install
– Choose from many plugins to extend the functionality
- Easy to use
– No mandatory licenses
– Useful for small and start-up companies
- Relatively cheap
Disadvantages of WooCommerce
– For every piece of functionality you need a new plugin
– No possibility to run multiple stores next to each other
– Running invoices and packing slips is not a standard functionality
– Processing large volumes can be difficult
– Growing quickly with companies in terms of functionality can be difficult
What is Magento?
Magento is a modern program with which you can build a powerful webshop as a company. Suitable for serving both the consumer market and the business market (B2B).
It is an integral program with which you can manage a webshop, handle payments, but also send e-mails, print packing slips, and send invoices. It is also easy to connect mobile devices.
The program can easily grow with companies if desired. Building specific customization is no problem at all.
Magento developers
Developers of Magento can quickly make adjustments for customers, making it also suitable for adjustments that need to be implemented very quickly. This occurs if, for example, it appears that a specific product on the webshop must be offered/processed in a different way. If this adjustment takes too long, customers may purchase this product elsewhere. In this case, Magento can act quickly and make the adjustment.
What are the pros and cons of Magento?
As with WooCommerce, there are pros and cons to Magento.
Benefits Magento
– Can be used for both B2C and B2B
– Extensive reports possible
– Easy to scale
– Customization is easy and quick to implement
– Multiple languages and multiple currencies by default
– Integration with Google Analytics
Disadvantages Magento
– Limited CMS functionalities
– Hosting a Magento shop is expensive
– Customization is easy and quick to implement
– Maintenance requires technical knowledge
Who is the winner?
Who is the winner between WooCommerce and Magento depends on the need of the company. If you want to go for a webshop as a starting entrepreneur, you would do well to choose WooCommerce. This keeps costs low, you opt for a user-friendly solution and you can always get extra functionality with plugins from WooCommerce to continue growing with your webshop. The additional advantage of WooCommerce is that you can combine it with other WordPress plugins. For example, plugins for the security of your WordPress website. As WPOnderhoud.nl, we are happy to advise you on how best to integrate WooCommerce into your WordPress environment.
International webshop with a budget
The moment you have chosen to build a webshop with which you want to become the market leader in the Netherlands, for example, this requires different software. Then you are probably willing to invest a lot and you want to keep everything in your own hands in terms of software. You don’t want to be dependent on the limits of the software if this hinders the growth of the webshop. In this case, you also have to be prepared to bring in people and knowledge who can handle the Magento software well.
The moment you start with your webshop and something needs to be adjusted, this will not be a problem for Magento. Also handling large volumes and processing many payments is no problem for Magento. It is multilingual and payments can be handled in multiple currencies. Magento is clearly there for companies with big ambitions that like to act quickly. But they are also willing to pay for it.
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