What Every Small Business Should Know About Building Their Website On Magento

If you are looking for an eCommerce platform, and own a small business, Magento is worth taking a closer look at. It is a platform that is used by businesses and companies of all sizes and can help to push yours into the future. In this article, we will explore Magento and review the many benefits this eCommerce platform provides and how it is an effective tool for small business owners thinking of setting up a digital store.

The Different Versions of Magento

In the thirteen years since Magento was originally released, there have been dozens of updates. These different versions have been categorized under two main groups: Magento 1 and Magento 2. What makes this eCommerce solution so interesting is that each version contains two different editions. There is Community (CE) and Enterprise (EE), which have been commonly referred to as Open Source and Commerce respectively. One version, Magento CE, is a free download and contains all the basic features that work well for businesses that are small to mid-size. Magento EE is a paid version that costs upwards of $22,000 annually. While that price tag sounds a bit intimidating, the businesses that have implemented that version recognize the value they receive. Plus, Magento EE has a huge library of advanced features and includes 24/7 premium support.

The Benefits of Using Magento For Your Small Business eCommerce Solution

Analytics and Reporting

To build effective business strategies that will help your small business to grow and remain competitive, you need data. With Magento, the analytics and performance reports that can be easily accessed provide the information required to make informed decisions related to the products being marketed in your digital store. They will also reveal to you what products are popular and which ones are not. This is valuable data to have available at all times.

Catalog Browsing

One of the best features offered by Magento is something called Catalog. Think of it as an organizational tool where visitors to your digital store can find what they are looking for faster and easier. The catalog gives you the means to categorize the products you are selling with easy-to-use tools that save visitors time and help you to organize your store so that shopping in it makes sense rather than a confusing trip through pages and products.

Customer Accounts

When you implement Magento, customers to your site will be able to create an account. With their customer account, they can manage their activity on your site. This includes their transactions, orders, and a wishlist of favorite items. The feature gives your customers complete control of what they do in your digital store and creates convenience for regular customers. Plus, with a customer account, there is a secure payment gateway for purchasing peace of mind.

Customer Service

One of the most important elements required in successful eCommerce ventures is customer service. Magento understands the significance of this and has many tools to assist you with creating a strong relationship with your customers. They include a customer contact form, follow-up emails, order emails, and many other ways to make that connection and earn the trust and respect of those who visit and use your eCommerce website.

Flexibility

The flexibility of Magento is the key component that sets it apart from all other digital store platforms. Depending on your specific needs and the budget you have to work with, Magento can be customized to fit your requirements and grow as your business grows. For developers, the default functionality can be personalized to provide the exact business-suitable features that fit seamlessly into your plans and work without little difficulty.

Product Browsing

This is a lot different to catalog browsing as product browsing allows you to feature certain products as part of your small business. By showcasing them with several images and a carousel function, customers get a real feel for what they are interested in purchasing that closely resembles an actual physical in-store experience. Rather than having a single flat photo of a product, this feature provides a much better way to display and highlight items for your customers.

Security

Security is always an issue with websites. Magento has had issues with this in the past but keeps addressing this with regular updates. But that’s not all. According to Liventus, Magento releases security patches to combat any type of security threat or spam activity. To be sure, upgrading when a new update is available will help along with ongoing security patch installation to protect all sensitive data. Magento is actively making these improvements to keep its platform safe and secure.

SEO Friendly

Search Engine Optimization requires many things. Magento has implemented several components to ensure that your small business eCommerce site has the exposure it should. This includes search engine-friendly URLs, sitemaps, keywords, meta descriptions, layered navigation, mobile compatibility, product titles, and meta tags. All of these work to attract the attention of search engines so that your site can be indexed and ranked properly and efficiently.

Site Management

To assist you in reaching a wider customer base, the site management tools built into Magento are impressive. Several websites can be operated through the CMS and different versions of your eCommerce site can be created with different languages. There are also different templates to permit customization of the overall look of your site. There is very little that Magento cannot do to help you reach your digital store goals.

Final Thoughts

There are many different eCommerce solutions available. However, not all of them are designed to meet the needs of small businesses. This is where Magento excels. Not only are there two different versions (free and paid) but there are also two different editions of each (Community and Enterprise). Depending on the size of your business and budget, you are sure to find the right version of Magento to fit your needs. There are several advantages to using this eCommerce platform ranging from flexibility to security and the many features that come as part of the package. For a digital store platform that is promoted to be suitable for businesses of all sizes with an emphasis on small businesses, Magento is a logical choice to get your eStore online and competing with the big boys.