Which CMS is Best for an Online Store
September 30, 2024 4:58Many entrepreneurs have long realized that doing business online offers more advantages than offline. The vast market, convenience for both consumers and business owners, easier promotion, and customer acquisition make it simpler than trying to attract people to a new brick-and-mortar store. However, you’ll only experience these benefits if you focus on the quality of your website, especially its technical aspects.
When you decide to launch a new product online, it’s important to understand that competition is fierce. You’ll need to work hard to make your site better, more thoughtful, and higher quality. Once you’ve determined what features your online store should have and what functions it needs to perform (build a plan), it’s time to choose a CMS (Content Management System).
To avoid unnecessary expenses, building a site with errors, or encountering technical issues when you want to optimize or add new features, it’s crucial to have a clear idea of what your site needs. With this well-thought-out idea, you can consult specialists who can recommend the best platform for you.
Popular CMS Options for Online Stores
CMS platforms are categorized as either paid or free.
Let’s start by looking at the most popular ones:
Paid CMS: Bitrix, Magento Enterprise, CS-Cart, Moguta, and others.
Free CMS for online stores:
- Opencart
- Magento
- WordPress
- Joomla
- MODx
- PrestaShop
- Drupal
If you think free CMS platforms are lower quality or inferior, think again.
The main difference is that with paid platforms, you not only pay for the basic version, but you’ll also have to pay for extensions and customizations during updates. In terms of actual benefits or privileges, there isn’t a huge difference.
Paid doesn’t necessarily mean better! The key issue with paid platforms is the additional costs, even when it comes to online support. A paid CMS like Magento, for example, becomes relevant if your online store offers more than 200,000 product listings. This makes paid CMS options or custom-developed platforms a better choice for larger online stores.
About 90% of online stores use free CMS platforms: there are no extra costs, plenty of established solutions, and full flexibility for any customizations or changes (whereas with paid CMS platforms, modifying core features may not be possible due to closed-code elements).
Top CMS Platforms for Online Store Development
- OpenCart
- WooCommerce + WordPress
- Magento
- MODX
- PrestaShop
- Shop-Script
- CS-Cart
- 1C-Bitrix
- Joomla
- Drupal
- OKAY-CMS
- BigCommerce
- Shopify
- 3DCart
- XCart
- UMI.CMS
- NetCat
- PHPShop
- InSales
- Django CMS
We’ll dive into the most popular CMS platforms below.
SaaS Solutions
Simply put, SaaS (Software as a Service) is cloud-based software that you can access through a subscription. A familiar example on the market is Prom.ua. You pay for a subscription and can quickly create a website. BUT:
- You can’t make any custom modifications to it;
- You don’t own the code;
- You’re just a temporary user of the platform.
Developing an Online Store on Laravel, Yii, or Symfony Frameworks
When considering building a custom CMS and choosing which framework to use, there are several options depending on the programming language. If you’re using PHP, the most popular frameworks are Laravel, Yii, and Symfony.
Custom CMS (built from scratch) allows you to avoid the limitations of ready-made content management systems. The only constraints are your budget and the development company’s experience, which determines how much time is needed for implementation.
The key to making this decision is understanding what exactly you want to see on your website and selecting an IT company that specializes in building online stores using Laravel, Yii, or Symfony, rather than relying on pre-built solutions.
If you're looking to save money, it’s better to choose a ready-made platform, but don’t skimp on the expert who implements it. Otherwise, you might end up with a buggy website that doesn’t function as needed. Keep in mind, a ready-made CMS is not a guarantee of quality; every content management system for an online store requires the developer's experience and professionalism. To ensure success, provide the developer with a clear vision of the final result you want (a well-written specification document will be highly helpful).
When to Choose a Framework for Your Online Store Over a Ready-Made Platform:
You expect high traffic on your website, with a large and varied catalog of products and many users.
You want to create a unique website with custom functions that aren’t available in off-the-shelf platforms (although it’s worth noting that almost any functionality can be integrated into a ready-made CMS).
For example, Intent Solutions has been professionally developing online stores on Opencart for over 8 years. We can fulfill almost any customer request regarding functionality on Opencart. Additionally, some companies mislead clients by saying that Opencart is only suitable for small stores with limited inventories. We confidently refute this. With proper optimization, our stores with over 200,000 products perform excellently.
You plan to eventually create a mobile app (you’ll need to write an API for the app to interact with the website). We’re also ready to assist with that :)
You require your own security system that’s stronger and more secure than a widely available system—this requires a professional developer who can deliver top-notch work without risk.
To ensure the best final result, you can turn to our team at Intent Solutions for developing an online store. We offer comprehensive web development services. You’ll receive expert consultation from industry professionals, and together we can determine which CMS is the best fit for your online store.
Let's Take a Closer Look at the Most Popular CMS Options
Now, let’s explore the top 4 CMS platforms from the list of the most popular content management systems.
Developing an Online Store on Opencart
Opencart is an optimal choice for a CMS. It’s no coincidence that many entrepreneurs prefer it. Numerous websites have been built using Opencart, and with each version update, the Opencart community grows, making the system even better and more capable of meeting a wide range of needs. As a result, Opencart-based online stores can be highly functional even without extensive custom development.
Advantages of Opencart CMS for Online Store Development:
- High level of security;
- Reasonable hosting requirements (compared to other popular platforms);
- Availability of additional modules to enhance functionality;
- High performance, with the ability to optimize for projects with over 200,000 products;
- A user-friendly, multifunctional admin panel that can be easily managed by someone without technical expertise.
It’s also worth noting that Opencart has an excellent modular system and well-organized code, which makes it easy to customize and extend the website. There’s a vast library of free and paid modules that can solve 90% of potential tasks. If a specific functionality isn’t covered by an existing module, the developer has two options:
- Install the module with similar functionality (or a combination of modules) and modify it;
- Develop a custom module for Opencart from scratch. This makes Opencart an incredibly versatile system with nearly unlimited expansion possibilities.
At Intent Solutions, we have been offering Opencart development services for over 8 years. This experience gives us an edge since we have case studies and solutions for most of the common issues that arise. If you find potential problems with this platform online, rest assured that we can work around them and deliver a high-quality result for your website.
Online Store Development on WordPress
WordPress is one of the earliest CMS platforms in web development, which is one of the key reasons why so many websites are built on it. Another reason is that it originally started as a blogging platform, and later, a large number of modules and plugins were added, making it more widely used.
However, WordPress is still better suited for blogs, news resources, or corporate websites than for online stores. The admin panel isn’t as convenient for e-commerce, as it wasn’t initially designed for that purpose.
Therefore, when choosing a platform, there are more appropriate CMS options that are specifically geared toward creating online stores. Additionally, WordPress has some notable issues with speed and security. While speed issues can be addressed through proper optimization, WordPress can be a good fit for a small store with only a few dozen products.
MODx as a CMS for an Online Store
We consider this content management system (CMS) more suitable for creating quick and simple websites. It competes with platforms like Tilda and, surprisingly, even WordPress.
Using MODx, you can implement more complex functionality, but its main advantage is speed. However, adding heavier features will significantly increase development time.
One undeniable downside of this system is its security. There have been numerous complaints about security issues, and unfortunately, updates from its developers haven’t done much to resolve these concerns.
Online Store Development on Magento
Magento is an excellent CMS for online stores but is specifically designed for large-scale projects (stores with a huge number of products or services).
If you’re planning to create a large online store with over 200,000 products and expect a heavy flow of users, Magento 2 is the right choice. For small to medium-sized stores, there are more suitable platforms. It’s also important to note that Magento requires a high-performance, expensive server.
If you own a large online store and are choosing between Magento or a framework-based project, and you don’t need any custom features that aren’t available in ready-made CMS platforms, Magento is undoubtedly the more logical option. It’s also worth understanding that almost any functionality can be added to Magento in the future.
That said, the financial side is important—developing a store on Magento is significantly more expensive than on a platform like Opencart.
If you find that Magento lacks a specific feature you need, adding it will come at a high cost.
In Conclusion
This article has provided an overview of various popular CMS platforms. The question of which one is best for your project—or whether you should build your own—depends on individual needs.
If you don’t require any unique tools or features and are looking to build a more standard (medium-sized) website, it’s better to save time and money by choosing a ready-made platform.
When making the final decision on which platform to use, you can discuss it with your development team or the company handling your project.
If you’re new to the online market and don’t fully understand the process, it’s best to work with a company that offers comprehensive services. You won’t have to figure out technical details on your own, and a personal manager will keep you updated on progress, ensuring a faster, higher-quality result without the stress.
Intent Solutions provides online store development services for projects of any complexity. And if you later need help with promotion and attracting users, we can assist you in achieving your goals through our comprehensive internet marketing services.
We are about business, efficiency, and results.
We are about the Client.
For consultations and pricing details, feel free to contact us via any available messaging apps.