Developed in 2008 by Varien, a California-based application software company, Magento is a widely used open-source platform for e-commerce. Varien sold majority of its shares to eBay, which subsequently took over operations and added Magento to their e-commerce initiatives.
However, after the eBay break-up, Magento was spun off into an independent company. An enhanced software was released thereafter, spearheaded by its new owner, Permira.
Magento 2.0 was officially released in the latter part of 2015. The repackaged software is still written PHP but improved for maximum user engagement. This new version of Magento also facilitates smooth navigation. Users can take advantage of tools that allow them to easily manage and monitor their business.
Facts About Magento
Magento is regarded as one of the leading e-commerce platforms. Many popular brands use this platform to power their websites including Pepe Jeans, Burger King, soccer club Liverpool F.C. and Huawei.
More than 600,000 websites have used Magento and it currently powers nearly 200,000 live sites. This software is preferred by websites in the following industries (both B2B and B2C): shopping, business, vehicle manufacturing, health, technology and sports.
According to its website, Magento has “over $100 billion in gross merchandise volume.” Billions of products are showcased on different Magento platforms, but its most redeeming feature is its business-friendly system. This e-commerce software is designed to increase profit for business owners.
Reasons to Use Magento
Business owners have more reasons to use Magento. Though not the ultimate e-commerce platform, Magento presents numerous advantages that drive business growth.
Below is a list of defining traits that make this software worth using:
1. Configured for Smartphones and Tablets
There is no better way to get head of the pack than through a responsive website. As more and more people use mobile phones and tablets to browse websites or shop online, a responsive layout that loads fast on any device and changes its dimensions to fit user screens creates better user experience. That is why if you want to encourage users to browse deeper into your store, make sure it loads fast and accommodates any screen size
Magento pays attention to user experience with layouts specially designed for any type of device. One feature, the Magento Enterprise Edition, is capable of speeding up websites, thereby increasing conversions and attracting more customers.
2. Flexible Content Management System
Magento’s visual page editor lets site owners showcase their products on their own terms. They can customise based on their preferences. The content management interface is also easy to use and adjust. Even users without prior coding experience or knowledge would be able to use this platform thanks to its intuitive, what-you-see-is-what-you-get interface.
3. Spacious with Special Hosting Services
Businesses of any size will enjoy using Magento. Its platform can power up to 500,000 product listing under one website. The built-in shopping cart interface can also hold up 80,000 order every hour. This space is more than enough for small businesses with the potential for further growth.
However, users have to take note that this ability to accommodate a large space and thousands of orders at the same time comes with a price. Extra hosting expenses may be in order. If you are thinking about long-term growth, availing of special hosting services may work to your advantage.
4. SEO-Friendly Coding Structure and CMS
Many e-commerce stores – particularly those dependent on organic traffic and online customers – need search engine optimisation. Magento drives traffic as well as customers to your website with its SEO-friendly structure and CMS.
Users can also download SEO extensions or plugins, through which they can check whether keywords and texts placed on their web pages comply with current SEO standards. They can also add custom meta descriptions, alt tags, browser titles and a lot more to their product pages. Moreover, the platform’s mobile-responsiveness trait falls in line with Google’s new indexing rules, which rank mobile-friendly sites higher than non-optimised ones.
5. Cost-Efficient
35 countries use this e-commerce platform and there are over 800,000 Magento developers across the world. Thanks to their efforts, the platform has a large pool of custom extensions. This means, there is no need for you to build an e-commerce site from scratch. Just work on what they already built and add enhancements or make adjustments as you see fit.
In addition, you can launch Magento in any language using any currency. For business owners, particularly those catering to a global market, this saves time and resources. Furthermore, Magento facilitates conversion rate optimisation – a fine-tuning process that lets users maximise the use of their shopping cart and checkout page.
Ideal E-Commerce Platform
Time and time again, Magento has proven its worth as a leading e-commerce platform. While only five advantages have been listed above, should you choose to use this software for your online business, you will understand that this versatile software can actually benefit your business in more ways than just five.
The key takeaway here is that this platform is not for everyone. For one, it is not for free. So every business that chooses to use this platform must be willing to invest money. The returns are worth it, however, because this software’s creators designed it for business growth. Business owners can also choose packages commensurate to their available budget.
Building a website using this platform may entail costs, but the good news is that you do not have to spend beyond your budget. You only pay for what you can afford.
