Magento vs WordPress — Which is best for eCommerce?

Both Magento and WordPress (WP) are open source software applications that can be used and improved or contributed by anyone in the world. Based on PHP and MySQL frameworks, these programs can be used to launch an online platform. Also utilized as a programming language for general purposes, PHP is actually a server-side scripting language created for building websites. MySQL, on the other hand, is the world’s most famous open source relational database management system. Turing back to Magento and WordPress, both the apps support extensions and plugins for the enhancement of their functioning. Regarding their mode of working and utilization, you will find one to be much different from the other. For example, Magento has exclusively been designed for eCommerce or shopping websites while WordPress is an advanced and easy-to-use platform for blogging.

Magento versus WordPress—Which is better for Online Store?

Though Magento has been created especially for eCommerce or online buying/selling websites and WordPress is simply a blogging platform, yet the latter is a better option even for shopping sites! Wondering how? Let’s go ahead only to get convinced with the logical arguments. By taking some unconventional leaps, WP has left its peers far behind in the realm of web development. No doubt, WordPress, as it is, cannot be used for eCommerce sites, you can quickly transform it into the one by the use of WooCommerce or other such plugins. For this purpose, you don’t have to spend even a penny as WooCommerce—one of the best eCommerce tools—is totally free to use!

Here are the features that make WordPress enjoy significant superiority over Magento for building an advanced shopping website.

  • Level of Difficulty in Usage: By Magento vs WordPress comparison, WordPress is much easier to use than that of Magento. While working with the former, you don’t have to be professionally skilled or have adequate background knowledge of programming or coding. Handling Magento, on the other hand, requires sufficient background knowledge of web development.
  • Utility as eCommerce Platform: Magento is already meant for launching a shopping website, but WP can easily be converted into such a tool by the installation of a free extension, called WooCommerce. If properly integrated into the site, this additional tool renders almost equal level of efficiency. At the same time, you can enjoy all the amazing potential of this advanced content management system.
  • Setup Time: The setup time of a software app matters a lot for the busy fellows who have got calculated time for every task. That is why, while deciding among different options, they always go for the one that can save their time without compromising for quality and efficiency. Talking of an equipment to build a website, WordPress CMS is relatively easy and quick to setup as compared with Magento.
  • Popularity Status: WP as a content management system has earned great popularity among the public associated with online business or blogging over the past decade. Though Magento is very useful for eCommerce platforms, it is not that much famous. Moreover, it is five years junior to WordPress in age. In any case, the favorite choice for online businesses is still Magento.
  • Receptivity to Plugins: Both the content management systems are receptive to third party plugins and allow for the quick installation of additional tools. However, one has to realize that WP supports greater variety of such supplementary equipment. Consequently, it can be easily modified and used for creating almost any kind of website.
  • Relative Economy: As you might have known, hosting a site on WP is less expensive when compared with hosting a website based on Magento. The individuals, desirous of saving some money, choose the former as their web building tool.
  • Customizations: While personalizing an eCommerce store, the users have to do a lot of necessary customizations. For example, they may feel the need to add, delete, change or rearrange different sections and elements on the given page. It already requires sufficient amount of time. If you are troubled by the complexity of the background framework, you would definitely like to quit it. The use of WordPress can eliminate many such complexities.
  • Maintenance: Your responsibilities continue even after the successful creation of an outclass website. After making it ‘live’ over the web, it will require maintenance. As compared with WordPress-based websites, a Magento-powered site needs more attention and efforts for maintenance.
  • Two-in-One Support: The integration of WooCommerce or other such plugin into the WP blogging CMS will enable it serve as both as an advanced blog and efficient online store. Magento, on the other hand, lacks in such a dual advantage. There is still a solution which involves the integration of both these tools. It again testifies the superiority of WP over its counterpart.
  • Sequencing and Nomenclature: On the basis of enhanced naming conventions and proper sequencing of PHP scripts in WordPress, the handling becomes much easier. All the template files can be contained in a single theme directory. Magento, on the other hand, is object-oriented and its scripts can be contained in a great number of files and folders. Here, the sharing of same name by several files and folders also creates a problem for the developers.
  • Theme Support: An important advantage of WordPress over Magento is that the former offers support for multiple themes at the same time where the functioning of one theme remains independent of other installed themes. This is, however, not the case with the latter. It is based on the fall-back logic and can work with default theme only.

Inference:

From the above detailed logical arguments, it can be easily inferred that WP, as an advanced blogging CMS, enjoys much superiority over its eCommerce counterpart—Magento. You can use the former even for the best shopping website simply by the single-click installation of an eCommerce plugin, such as WooCommerce. Its use can easily be extended for building all kinds of websites, while the utility of its counterpart is limited only to online stores. Quick setup, convenient customizations, well-defined nomenclature, hassle-free maintenance and receptivity to a huge collection of WP plugins are some of the other benefits of using WordPress as a web building tool. Here you can install multiple themes at the same time and switch to anyone of these whenever you like. The greatest benefit, however, lies in the fact that you are not required to have any professional expertise to create a blog or any other kind of website—even novice users can launch a fully accomplished project without the assistance of any external agency. This is what makes WP the best content management system ever created.