How to Know Magento is Right for my Business?

Choosing the right e-commerce platform can be essential to your business’s success. One of them is Magento, a dedicated e-commerce platform that offers many features and outstanding designs to help you find the right solution for your website. Magento is a great online store-building tool for everyone. From bloggers with small e-commerce businesses to giant companies like Coca-Cola and Adidas to HP Inc. (Hewlett Packard).

You might already hear and know about Magento. And you have started considering it for your business but are still undecided about it. Read this article to answer your question: Is Magento suitable for my business?

6 Questions to Ask Yourself 

Before you decide to get an e-commerce platform, you better ask yourself these six questions to help you understand and determine if Magento is the right platform for your business. 

1. Do I need an e-commerce website?

This kind of question should be clear enough that if e-commerce isn’t your business need, you’re not going to be using Magento. So if you are a blogger, you probably don’t need an e-commerce website. Unless you run a blog with a small e-commerce shop connected, Magento could be a good fit: it’s full of features and functionality. But, on that note, the costs can be high. You might choose a simpler and cheaper platform to fulfill your e-commerce needs if e-commerce isn’t your primary focus.

2. What is my product? And what do I need my website to do?

When you decide whether to use Magento or not, these kinds of questions are required. Once you’ve established that you’re after a top-of-the-line e-commerce platform, it’s time to think through exactly what product you sell. Taking stock of what you want your website to do, your goals, and what product you’re selling will help you narrow things down. 

Magento is packed with features and add-ons. Key features include:

• Business Analytics
• API integrations
• Multiple themes
• Integrated social commerce add-ons
• An easy integration with Facebook and other social media platforms
• Customer segmentation to support personalization add-ons
• A simple account registration with shipping partners like UPS and FedEx
• The ability to integrate with PayPal, Salesforce, MailChimp, and various other third parties for e-commerce
• Automated order fulfillment and logistics add-ons

Try to think about these features concerning your needs: do they meet your needs? Exceed them? Is anything missing? Answering these questions will help you decide whether Magento is the right solution for you or if it doesn’t match your specific needs.

With these kinds of features also mean that Magento can suit a wide range of e-commerce pursuits. That being said, Magento has certain core competencies within e-commerce. And these core competencies include: 

• B2B Commerce
• Fashion Industry
• Automotive Industry
• Food and Beverage Industry
• Health and Beauty Industry

So, if your business falls into any of those categories, Magento can be an excellent suit for you.

3. How much budget do I want to spend on my website?

Even though Magento provides the open-source version, it does not mean free. And this is undoubtedly true for Magento, which can come with a hefty price tag. Magento offers two basic tiers of the product, each with different price points:

a. Magento Open Source: Free to download and use for license cost

• The open-source software that is well-suited to small-medium sized businesses and developers
• Without access to technical support or built-in security

b. Magento Commerce: Licensing fees start from $22,000 per year

• Enterprise-class software that’s well-suited to large businesses
• Provides technical support and built-in security
• Additional features such as advanced customer segmentation and targeting, gifting options, and reward point systems

These are basic starting prices where you are only buying the licensing fee. And it doesn’t reflect the total cost of e-commerce ownership. Add-ons, extensions, customization, and actual site-building expenses must be factored in, and they can dramatically inflate the price. To comprehensively understand the costs of setting up a Magento e-commerce, you can refer to the table below as quoted from Magestore.com.

 

 

So, if you are cost-sensitive and prefer lower upfront costs, then it might be worth looking into other e-commerce platform options that require a less initial investment.

4. How much tech support do I need?

Since Magento is an open-source platform, technical support is a bit unusual, especially regarding basic Magento open-source. But with Magento Commerce, you can get full support from the Magento team via phone and email. 

However, for Magento open-source users, Magento has developed a “Partnership Program” that includes “Solution Partners” and “Technology Partners” that offer a variety of services (for a fee, of course). Solution partners are companies with experience implementing and customizing the Magento website. They provide support to users who need help modifying or building their websites. Some solution partners offer complete website development. Some offer 24/7 support. Others provide advice on specific issues such as security. Technology partners can help users improve their websites quickly. 

If you rely heavily on technical support but focus on price, this model may not be a fit.

5. Do I need flexibility and customizable capabilities for my site?

One of Magento`s huge promoting factors is its flexibility, which even claims to be “100% Flexible”. It prides itself on being smooth to change and adaptable for your transferring needs. Plus, it`s open-source, so it`s inherently customizable and presents get right of entry to an entire stock of accessories and plugins that assist you in customizing your site.

This flexibility and customization come, as usual, at a price. Magento`s accessories don`t come cheap, and versatility glaringly calls for work. But if you need a domain, Magento presents one of the leading adaptable platforms on the market.

6. Is security important for my business?

If the retail data breaches that have been the focus of attention over the last few years have shown us something, prioritizing security in e-commerce should be a top priority. Of course, a system that processes sensitive financial information requires a first-class security system. It is one of the areas where Magento can potentially be weakened, especially if you are using a cheap Magento open-source with no built-in security. 

You must upgrade your security if you purchase the Magento Open Source. And, of course, it can incur high costs. Magento has also encountered some security issues in the past. In 2015 and 2017, thousands of web stores running on Magento were against cross-site scripting and remote code execution attacks that could allow an attacker to steal a website for credit card information. There was a report that it was vulnerable. You’ll unlikely run into serious security issues with Magento, but it’s okay to notice them when considering options.

Quick Recap & Summary of the Questions

Here’s a quick recap of a 6-point checklist of things to consider when evaluating whether Magento is the best choice for your e-commerce platform. 

• Magento is an excellent choice if e-commerce is your essential focus. Still, if e-commerce is a secondary pursuit in your commercial enterprise or a nice-to-have feature, there are inexpensive and more accessible alternatives you can choose from freely.
• Magento is filled with capabilities, so before signing onto the product, acquaint yourself with these to see if they perfectly fit your business needs. Besides, Magento has core competencies, and in case your commercial enterprise is in one of these areas, the Magento software program may fit you exceptionally well.
• Although the open-source versions let you download and use Magento for free, there are hefty prices when setting up an online store with Magento, specifically in case you need to benefit from all the features and add-ons available. If you don`t need to make a significant up-the-front investment, other e-commerce platforms may fit your needs better.
• Tech support with Magento is a bit unorthodox, requiring connecting with external partners. If you need a streamlined and straightforward support system but can`t pay the US$22,000 to go along with Magento Commerce, you could struggle with these aspects of the Magento system.
• Flexibility and customizability are key promoting factors for Magento. If you’re after something that may be modified speedy and painlessly and tailored to your ever-shifting needs, Magento will preserve a variety of appeals.
• Security may make you’re pausing while thinking about Magento, especially the open-source version, which does not include built-in security. Going this route, you’ll have to beef up and spend some money on security because top-notch security is essential for an e-commerce site. 

And that’s all explanations about how to know Magento is suitable for your business. Choosing an e-commerce site could be tricky, especially if you are a newbie or a first-timer. Magento is one of the most prominent and also a leader in e-commerce sites could be your choice since it offers enormous benefits and key features. And we hope this article can help you decide whether Magento is your e-commerce platform or not. 

Still not sure which platform is the best for you? You can contact us; our business development will gladly assist you and help you answer your questions or doubts. We are Limecommerce, a Magento development service that provides whatever e-commerce platform you need with eight years of experience. It has helped many businesses build a strong foundation for their success in online sales.