What is Magento? What All eCommerce Hopefuls Need To Know

Here’s a common question asked by many eCommerce newcomers: “What is Magento?”

In a previous article about Shopify, we talked about the massive growth of eCommerce in 2020-2021. Shopping online has been growing for years and this trend has only been accelerated by COVID-19. The boom stems from shoppers demanding the convenience and choice that comes with online shopping, as countries continue to move in and out of lockdown and restrictions.

If your brick-and-mortar business is struggling to get foot traffic, all is not lost! There’s always the opportunity to move your business online –  and it’s an exciting prospect. The eCommerce industry is worth a whopping $2.4 billion and its growth is projected to continue in the coming years.  

Australia is the 10th largest market for eCommerce with revenue totalling $27 billion in 2020. By the year 2040, experts predict that 95% of all global shopping will take place online. If you want to take your business online, now is the time!

But before we jump into the specifics of how to succeed in eCommerce, and the way Magento fits into the picture, let’s first answer the most fundamental question – “What is Magento?”

What is Magento?

Magento is a platform that hosts eCommerce sites for all types of businesses.

Magento is a well-known eCommerce veteran that’s been around since 2008. If you want to grow an online business or transfer your existing business to online retail, Magento is one of the best eCommerce platforms to choose. 

Magento hosts some of retail’s biggest names – from electronics and fashion to furniture and cosmetics. They have over 25,000 active users and power 12% of all existing eCommerce stores. That’s a lot of traffic given the amount of competition out there!

In terms of the overall industry, some of the biggest names in eCommerce platforms include:

• Magento
• Squarespace
• BigCommerce
• WooCommerce
• Shopify

Magento – Why Is It So Popular?

It’s important to compare all of the pros and cons of your eCommerce platform to make sure you’re making the best decision for your business.

Magento has so much to offer businesses of all sectors and sizes. Its top features include unlimited customisation, flexible headless architecture and third-party continuous integration.

Users have the ability to create their own unique, attractive shopping experience that’s best suited for target customers. 

Magento offers many core solutions, including: 

• 1. Magento Commerce
• 2. Magento Business Intelligence
• 3. Magento Order Management
• 4. Adobe Commerce Cloud

All of these highlighted features work together seamlessly to provide both users and customers with an effortless experience.

Now that we’ve covered what Magento is, let’s take a closer look at what this eCommerce platform is most well known for.

1. Seamless Catalogue Management

A huge benefit of Magento is that it allows you to import and export your product catalogue in batches

You can upload many images quickly and easily, saving you a lot of time. You can add other customer-focused features, like a wish list option, to make it easy for customers to come back and purchase an item they have their eye on. 

There’s the option to add plenty of user-friendly search filters, product comparisons, payment methods and shipping options. Magento even provides a great gift registry, making it ideal for wedding and baby shower registries. This allows your customers to shop in a way that works for them.

All of this flexibility and integration ensures that the user’s shopping experience and personal preferences are supported.

2. Efficient Order Management

Magento offers easy and efficient order management. The platform allows you to fulfil orders with a Point of Sale (POS) system, computer, or tablet. This means you can process large-volume orders with a click of a button. You can also quickly and easily create invoices and shipment notices that ship with every order.

3. SEO and Marketing Integration

As an eCommerce retailer, Search Engine Optimisation is your best friend!

Magento understands this need and therefore allows you to integrate your eCommerce business with third-party tools like Buffer and Hootsuite. These plugins help you to boost your Search Engine Results Page (SERP) rankings. Through this feature, you can seamlessly create and distribute offers and promo codes through email marketing and newsletters.

You can optimise your Magento store so that your SEO strategy improves the shopping experience. Creating SEO-friendly URLs and designing attractive landing pages that go with PPC campaigns are just some of the ways you can do this.

Learn more about the benefits of Magento SEO and how it can help you achieve your business goals.

4. Easy Checkout, Payment & Delivery Options

With so many choices available, the checkout process with Magento couldn’t be easier. Options include:

• Saved checkouts
• Shipment to different addresses 
• Personalized gift messages for recipients

Customers can conveniently purchase multiple products and check them out all at once through a variety of payment options that are compatible with Magento.

5. Built-in Analytics

The best way to accurately assess the progress of your online business is to look at the data and make adjustments accordingly. 

One of Magento’s key features is its built-in analytics and reporting suite. It allows you to view and track consumer trends, meaning you can continuously optimise your sales strategy. 

Magento analytics conveniently integrates with Google Analytics. This grants you access to a comprehensive suite of valuable data that helps you discover your website’s performance.

6. Get FREE eCommerce Packages

Magento’s paid platform offers free open-source eCommerce software. It can be used by enterprises of all sizes, from very small to very large. How do you determine which one is best for your business?

You’re classified as a small business if you operate in just one country and have less than 500,000 SKUs (stock-keeping units) with minimal attributes in your online store. If this is the case, Magento Open-Source is the best choice for you. There is no 24/7 support with this option, meaning it will only be suitable for smaller operations. 

For large online stores that are involved in wholesale, the best option is Magento Commerce. If your online business requires advanced marketing and analytics tools, and mainly engages with B2B (versus B2C), Magento Commerce is the right choice. 

With this option, you get 24/7 support and the opportunity to create a customised UX (user experience). This is the service for you if you’re selling internationally.

Why You Should Choose Magento

We now know what Magento is and the reasons why it’s such a popular choice for online businesses. But you still need to address a very important question: “is this the right platform for your business?”

As we’ve mentioned, there’s no shortage of eCommerce products and platforms. But not all can claim over a decade in business and so many success stories from such a wide variety of retailers. 

Among the pool of competitors, Magento clearly rises to the top. It’s a flexible, seamlessly integrated, multi-channel platform that works efficiently and effectively. The fact that Magento lets users choose any hosting provider they want is also a huge plus.

If moving online is your next business move, then you can’t go wrong with Magento by your side. To begin this exciting journey, choose to partner with a digital marketing agency in Melbourne Australia. We’re dedicated to offering the most effective digital marketing solutions and search engine optimisation tailored to eCommerce businesses.

Contact our team of account managers to learn more!