For those currently leveraging the hefty weight of the Magento e-commerce software, there are a slew of reasons you may no longer want to bear the bank-breaking burden. With so many e-commerce options, we’re seeing an exodus from the old-school software to lighter, less expensive substitutes. But first, what happened to Magento, anyway?

In the recent past, eBay bought out Magento as a competitor, with the assumed intention of letting it become obsolete to eliminate contest. Since then, however, Magento fought back, convincing the e-commerce giant to foster Magento Go in its infancy to work with eBay. That’s where we are now, with Magento Go seemingly stepping into its parent’s boots in a new-school fashion.

Now is the time for businesses to secure and ramp up e-commerce efforts, because in the coming years, more customers will be shopping online and buying more, at that. Our recommendation is to migrate to a suitable Magento alternative, be it cloud-based or CMS-based.

Magento

Most popular, as it used to be the only option
Often lives with IT department
Server-based, requiring dedicated server
Expensive resource hog
Really slow

Cloud-based software (e.g. Shopify, Magento Go)

Pros

Small learning curve: easy to use and to get started
Customizable front-end and themes
Commercially supported, with faster turnaround time
Has basic API so you can pull product info
Back-end easy to use
Not expensive: monthly and/or transaction fee

Cons

Not super extensible: reach a cap of your abilities
Adaptive and responsive design and mobile-first mentality are difficult
No in-depth form capabilities (but you can mash it up with another CMS)
Not good for huge, in-depth web stores
Proprietary license

CMS Commerce (e.g. Drupal Commerce, WP e-Commerce)

Pros

Open source e-commerce framework
For stores needing flexible or advanced functionality
Customizable on the front-end, including for adding features
Extended through the use of community supported modules or plugins
Clean, comprehensive solution that plays well with other platforms
Mobile first mentality: Responsive and adaptive design is much more feasible

Cons

Longer development time
Supported by the community (slower support)
Huge learning curve
Must be updated by someone familiar with the CMS (developer)

All in all, a business’ selection of e-commerce platform primarily depends on available budget and necessary degree of extensibility. For those without HTML under their belts or advanced design skills, cloud-based solutions like Shopify and Magento Go will help create and maintain a unique, profitable store. But hey, if you’ve got a big vision and the resources to support it, go for a CMS solution, like Drupal Commerce or WP Commerce, for a more tailored product. We’re always here to help.

Magento Alternatives

Weekly Digital Roundup (8.12.13)