other than what it takes to set it up by a developing company like us. The set up costs vary depending on the size of your business, complexity and number of products to set up and configure, and designing/styling the Magento website to match your branding.
Another benefit to Magento is that as an open source eCommerce application it is constantly being updated and there is documentation and support that is freely available for every new version that is released to the public. This means that if you are having a problem configuring something in your store’s dashboard or have a basic question, somebody will be able to answer the question for you, if not help you find an article that answers your question.
Magento Is Flexible
Every website owner knows how important it is to choose the right payment provider. That is why it is important to make sure your shopping cart is flexible enough to adapt to different payment providers. With Magento, you can work with Paypal, Authorize.net and many more other payment providers such as Google Checkout. This flexibility guarantees you will be able to take payments from anybody in the world, not just the United States, because the more options you offer the less likely you are going to find a customer whose unique payment method (international/e-checks) is not supported by your website.
While it is important to have flexibility with payment providers, you must also make sure you have flexibility when it comes to calculating shipping and handling. Keep in mind that for one website you may wish to ship internationally and you will want to be able to choose which countries you ship to and which ones you do not. You may also find yourself wanting to offer a flat shipping rate for international orders while dynamically calculating shipping for U.S Residents.
Magento has the ability to do this by offering both flat shipping and what is called Table Rate shipping. Table rate shipping allows you to offer shipping at a price based on the checkout total. So if you want to charge $10 shipping for items over $100 and $25 for orders over $300, you can do that.
Magento Is Customizable
Like most well built open source applications, Magento is built with the idea that you will want to update the theme and maybe even change some of the functionality. This functionality can vary from different custom built extensions to various alternative sales models, blog Tools, category & product page enhancements, express checkout, gifting options, customizable images & media, merchandising, mobile apps, advanced search & navigation, and social media integration.
If you are looking to start a new e-commerce based website, we strongly recommend you save yourself the hassle of having a shopping cart built and go with Magento. Our team can help you find a theme and customize it to your liking should you need any assistance. Let us know if you have any questions about the pros and cons of Magento and see if it is right for you.
Magento Development Lead
