Magento - The e-commerce package of choice

If you have read one of our recent blogs entitled “The rise of Ecommerce through the recent economic climate”, you will have already heard that at CTI, Magento as our platform of choice.  This was a conscious effort, we knew that to be at the forefront of eCommerce platforms, we would need to be experts in Magento development.

Magento is superior to any other open-source package we have come across and I would like to take you through some of the reasons why we believe it is so good and why it is the fastest growing E-commerce package in the world.  Below is a shortened summary of the many benefits Magento offers and why we at CTI absolutely rave about it!

1.    Expandible / Scalable: An online store must fulfil your short, medium and long term aims.  This isn’t possible with some platforms as they limit the growth and size of the platform.  With Magento ecommerce solutions, you can be sure that you will be able to let your online shop grow with you, ensuring order volume is never a problem and you are never limited.

2.    CMS (Content Management System): This is a core requirement for web design in any situation.  This gives you the ability to modify, edit and improve your site with ease without the need for any technical expertise.  Magento facilitates this and ensures that it is easy for the administrator to find products, edit products, add new products and even re-design certain aspects.  This is particularly helpful if your product is seasonal as you are able to ensure your site allows for this and boosts your sales.

3.    Analysis: When pursuing a new or revised strategy such as eCommerce, it is essential for the client to be able to quantify the impact this new revenue stream is having.  This is something that Magento facilitates, providing the administrators with data that will help them adapt their strategy according to their results.  Statistics are extremely important when evaluating the impact of a newly implemented effort.

4.    Promotions & Discounts: Unlike most other e-commerce systems, Magento allows for changes in promotions, discounts, coupons and vouchers, meaning that you have the flexibility to adapt your pricing to your strategy. This ensures that you can always fulfil one of your 4Ps (or is it 7 now? Or 10?...)

5.    Customer Service: Magento is the fastest growing ecommerce platform in the world thanks to its ability to cater for consumer needs and technical support.  This is a key element to any service and just because your business is operating online, doesn’t mean the service you provide your customers can’t be just as good.

6.    Open-Source: When considering your choice of ecommerce solution, price is obviously an important factor. The fact that Magento is open-source means that is it completely free. No initial purchase cost, no renewable licence costs.Another benefit of open-source are that they are continuously improved by a vast community of contributors for all around the world.

7.    Navigation: Navigation is an important factor and Magento  facilitates it.  When trying to buy a product, there is nothing more frustrating than having to search around for ages, or having troubles making your purchase because the checkout facility doesn’t work. If it’s difficult to pay, people leave. Magento is very effective at solving this problem and ensures ease of use for the end user.

8.    Security: There are obvious security concerns in regards to online payment platforms. Due to the nature of the information being used, users are sometimes over-sceptical of the risks involved and it is therefore important that the platform used is secure.  One of the benefits of Magento is that it is compatible with most leading payment gateways such as SagePay.

9.    Social: With the age of Web 2.0, people are increasingly wanting to review products, give their feedback or simply engage through a blog, these are features that Magento can provide, ensuring that your site is up to date with the latest trend.  This is an option Magento can include on your site.

10.  Do it properly! Because open-source platforms are available to all, you will come across many so-called specialists.  Some of them are real specialists, some of them are mavericks, be careful when you chose. Make sure they have the portfolio to back up their claims and ensure they have the infrastructure to spend time on your project.

For updates on further blogs, follow @CTISN on Twitter