Why Use Magento?

Why Use Magento?

by Tom Holen

Magento is a powerful open-source content management system that provides e-commerce solutions. It comes with a shopping cart system which is flexible and gives online merchants control over the look, content and the functionality of their store. Online merchants choose Magento because it offers them a powerful marketing tool, search engine optimization and tools for catalog management with which the merchants can create unique sites that are tailored to their individual needs.

Magento provides three platforms; the Community Edition, Enterprise Edition and Magento Go. The Community Edition is free and is targeted at small businesses. The Enterprise Edition comes at a subscription fee, it has more advanced features and provides more options for customization. The Magento Go is a cloud based solution that integrates web hosting, it does not require any installation. It is targeted at small businesses and has the lease options for customization.

The use of Magento can rage from small businesses to large multinationals, the platform offers flexibility because of the ability to customize and control. The platforms robustness allows users to easily introduce new products. Magento is a platform that was specifically designed for e-commerce, it has numerous features that are very functional for online merchants. Some of the key features include website management features, payment, shipping and check out features, marketing and promotion tools, order management, customer accounts, customer service, analytic and reporting, search engine optimization, product browsing, catalog browsing features among others. The features can be customized to fit the needs of the user. Magento is easy to install and provides merchants and their shoppers convenience by having more than 50 payment options. The security features on the platform make it very ideal for e-commerce solutions, it supports growth and is an ideal choice for a growing business.

One of Magento's strongholds is its community, if a user is using the platform and they are not developers, they will always find people who are willing to support them. The platform enjoys the reputation of being reliable and having a very scalable design. Magento platform has very user friendly features and comes with the advantage of allowing the user to automatically update your e-commerce website, a feature which is not available in other platforms. It enhances the customer experience by giving a very interactive shopping experience. Magento supports multiple websites and gives support to online stores by enabling them to promote their inventory in different domains. Magento is an obvious choice for online merchants because it creates a dynamic interface and an enjoyable shopping experience for customers.