Magento, created by Varien, is a very influential e-commerce script that is developing. Being an open-source platform, its databases are Zend PHP and MySQL. The great flexibility offered by Magneto through its modular architecture, is completely accessible and has an extended range of control options that is appreciated by its users. Read on to find out why you should choose magento e-commerce over other platforms.
Magento supplies three different platforms:
- Magento Community Edition
- Magento Enterprise Edition
- Magento Enterprise Cloud Edition
Magento Community Edition
This is a free open-source e-commerce platform where developers can setup the core files. The functionality of these core files can be extended. This is done by adding new plug-in modules released by other designers and developers. The current Magento Community Edition is an advanced version of the original public beta version which was released in 2007. This latest version has been customized and is a basic simple e-commerce platform.
Magento Enterprise Edition
Magento Enterprise Edition and the Magento Community Edition have the same core files as the former edition is basically derived from the latter. This is a paid edition and has more features and functionality. Enterprise Edition favors the larger businesses for their installation, using, configuring and troubleshooting.
Magento Go
Magento Go was a cloud-based e-commerce solution. Those small businesses who does not need software installation were the target of Magento Go when it was launched in February 2011. The built-in modules and Magento extensions enabled more functionality making the Magento Go the least customizable platform.
Features
There are multiple e-commerce scripts available in the market. Magento tops the record because:
- It is a powerful, intuitive platform to present your products.
- Creating the product catalog and managing it is very simple.
- The products are viewed by the viewers at a wide range as it enables to upload multiple pictures for the same product.
- The users can create wish list. This allows them to be notified to come back later when the product is available. It helps the user to shortlist the favorite items and choose later from their likes and preferences.
- It allows browsing of catalog, filtering and comparing of products; adding new ones, and updating the details of the product using a batch update.
- Your inventory, orders and shipment can be managed and different payment methods can be integrated.
- User friendly:
Magento is very user friendly with amazing options that helps the users to create accounts, make a wish list, track order history, status of the current shopping order, and participate in customer survey and discussion boards to raise service requests through forms. There is an option to choose the language and currency as per customer’s choice.
- Login features:
Magento can be easily integrated into your Google Analytics, Google Checkout and Google Base accounts. It helps the customers as well as the product support professionals in tracking, uploading content and dealing with orders placed by customers.
- Site Navigation Features:
The layered navigation in Magento helps the user to manage categories better. The advanced search, wish lists, preferences, multi store facility, product comparisons, grouped products and content management system for static pages as well as SEO performance are some of the other features that is available in Magento.
- SEO Edge:
‘Magento SEO’ facilitates better optimization of the e-commerce site. Page traffic, landing page, duplicate content, indexing and other various features are efficiently managed for a website developed on Magento.
- Developer friendly:
Any change in the website can be done effortlessly. The content can be updated in few simple steps. A new page can be introduced or the link to the sub or main page navigation has to be changed can be altered with very simple steps, saving ample amount of time. Hence, businesses can come up with better approaches to attract their target audience.
- Payment options:
Approximately fifty payment gateways are integrated with Magneto’s e-commerce websites thus increasing the options for online payment for the varied customers.
- Management:
Magento allows one platform for multiple stores. Earlier, multiple store management has been very tedious and time consuming. With the evolution of Magento, exclusive catalogue can be created for each store, making the multiple store management trouble-free.
- Website administration:
As Magento has the facility of reporting, website administration has become easier than other e-commerce platforms. Detailed report on every transaction being done on the website, has helped the business owners in strategizing and taking major decisions regarding their investments and future planning.
All e-commerce platforms have their own specific advantages and limitations. Magneto wins as it is all free. Since Magneto is being upgraded at regular intervals, it turns out to be flawless. All the issues are addressed and fixed at regular intervals, making Magento a preferred platform for small or large business.