“Is Magento for small business?” This is a big question that small-scale companies are trying to answer.
To begin with, Magento is a robust platform that allows developers to conduct e-commerce websites.
Since online shopping is becoming more and more popular in recent years, businesses, especially small ones, are looking for ways to operate powerful online stores. So, should they use the Magento solution? If you’re also looking for an answer, read on to find out.
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Characteristics Of Small E-commerce Businesses
Small business definition
The definition of a small business may vary from country to country. But the basic explanation is that a small business is a business that operates on a small scale, including small financial resources, a small number of laborers, small acreage, a small factory area, fewer machines, and produces fewer products and services.
As a result, small businesses usually have less revenue than mid and large companies.
Examples of small businesses include food services, clothes stores, gift shops, etc.
Characteristics of small businesses
Limited financial resources
The majority of small business is privately owned. This simply means small businesses usually have limited financial resources.
To increase their budget, the owner of a small business can either get a bank loan or raise a fund. Even in this case, they’ll need to save as much as possible and avoid unnecessary expenses to operate their business.
Because their financial resources are limited, external risks and changes such as the COVID-19 pandemic tend to have more impact on them than medium and large-sized companies.
Fewer & more simple requirements
Small businesses are often local shops. They tend to focus on specific kinds of products. They target a small number of customers.
Due to these factors, small e-commerce businesses usually have simple website requirements. They need a website that is firstly functions well to sell and then is attractive enough to keep customers interested. Some factors such as speedy loading or optimization for search engines may not be their priority.
In short, most small businesses just need simple websites with basic features to sell their products online.
Magento Open-source And Magento Commerce
Magento is among the most favored e-commerce platforms in the market. This platform provides two versions, including Magento Open-source and Magento Commerce. Each version is suitable for specific kinds of companies.
Let’s dive into each type to discover if it fits your business.
Is Magento Open-Source For Small Business?
Magento Open-source relevant costs
Magento Open-source itself is free of charge
Magento Open-source is a free version of Magento that targets small and medium businesses. Developers can download it free and use it to build your e-commerce website.
You do not need to make a purchase at the beginning or pay an annual fee for this option. This can save much money, while Magento Commerce charges users at least $22,000 per year.
Magento themes are diverse and not expensive
If you do not like the default theme or do not fit your business well, you can find one in theme stores on the Internet.
There are diverse themes belonging to different categories such as fashion, technology, or cosmetics. You can also choose the style of the theme, such as modern themes, fashion themes, or clean themes. This depends on your preferences and needs.
You can make a purchase easily, and they aren’t too costly, usually from $60.
Magento extensions are various and affordable
Magento extensions are always available to help you add specific features to your e-commerce website. Tell your developers which features you want, and they will help you find suitable choices.
These extensions can be blended into the website quite easily and work effectively.
For example, there are extensions for adding payment services, sales, marketing, customer support, site optimization, etc. Some are free, some are quite cheap, starting from $25.
No need to pay third-party integration for extra fees
There are some useful free extensions for Magento, which you can take advantage of. For example, PayPal, Braintree for payment gateways; USPS, UPS, DHL, FedEx for shipment; and Mailchimp for email marketing.
Small businesses can download and install these free extensions easily. Since small businesses usually have fewer requirements for features, these extensions may be more than enough.
The price of development services is reasonable
Although some solutions are available to help you build your e-commerce website yourself, a web development agency could bring you more than just a web. Hence, you have to pay some money.
However, a great web at the beginning could help minimalize the costs and time you have to spend in the future.
On the other hand, the price they offer is reasonable. Especially if the agency is located in Asia. The price of such a company is much lower than the ones in the USA or Europe (due to currency difference), while the quality of their services can be the same.
Magento for small businesses: about the requirements
Magento Open-source platform delivers all basic features
Feature-rich is one of the most prominent advantages of Magento. Although Magento Open-source is free, it brings you all the essential attributes of an e-commerce website.
Magento Open-source has all you need to start an online store. It offers a fully functional platform for your website, including product management, catalog management, SEO, marketing and promotions, checkout, payment, shipping, and so on.
Magento provides small businesses with all the basic features of an e-commerce website. You can use their default settings, add products, add information, add a payment gateway, and then your site is ready to run.
You can buy themes or extensions to add to the site if you want specific features.
Is Magento Commerce For Small Businesses?
Is Magento Commerce for small business? No, Magento Commerce is definitely not an option for small businesses.
Magento Commerce charges a large amount of money (from $22,000 a year). It comes with plenty of advanced features for wholesale businesses or business-to-business (B2B) merchants. This is because Magento Commerce aims at large companies which require more complex functionality and premium support.
However, it’s unlikely that small businesses are much benefitted from these attributes that Magento Commerce provides because the majority of small businesses would focus on retail sales.
Summing up
Now you already have your answer to the question: “Is Magento for small business?”. Magento Open-source can help you build the best e-commerce website at an affordable cost.
To get all the benefits of Magento, choosing a professional Magento development company like Tigren is a wise choice. We guarantee you a high-quality online store at the most competitive price in the shortest time possible.
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