The creation of an online store requires the selection of a CMS to manage and organize the content of the future online sales site. While WordPress, WooCommerce, Prestashop and Joomla are among Magento’s competitors, this CMS has many advantages that its rivals don’t: its flexibility, power and adaptability to your customers’ needs. When choosing your future CMS, as part of the development of your online project, it’s important to get to know Magento and answer the following question: what is the Magento CMS? Let’s take a look at its history and its different versions. We’ll discover Magento’s modules and extensions, and look at the solutions provided by this open source software, recognized worldwide as one of the preferred media for digital and e-commerce businesses.
The history and development of Magento
Before delving into the history of Magento, let’s define what a CMS, or Content Management System, is. A content management system enables you to design, edit and modify the content of your website. Featuring dynamic functionalities, the CMS allows you to update each page of your website or online store almost instantaneously.
The CMS is based on the form of the site and its content. The form (or base) is defined by thearchitecture and theme that give it its appearance on the screen:
- theme: site design, color, graphics ;
- in-store navigation: categories, sections, product pages;
- basic Magento functionalities: internal organization and plugins installed by default.
Content is then integrated into the site’s architecture and theme by installing additional plugins dedicated to the company’s needs (payment modules, special product sheets, sale of dematerialized goods and services). This operating principle applies not only to Magento, but also to WordPress, WooCommerce, Joomla or Prestashop.
Magento was developed as open source software by the American publisher Varien in 2008. It took its definitive name of Magento in 2010. Its core software is based on two computer languages: PHP and Zend Framework, adapted to support online stores. The first version was immediately recognized as the best open source project as early as 2008(source), thanks to the free development possibilities open to everyone.
In 2009, Magento launched its first paid version, the Enterprise Edition. It adds multiple functionalities to the open source version. This first version was followed by a second, which expanded the platform’s functionalities in terms of :
- the shopping experience ;
- loyalty ;
- deployment of evolutions ;
- performance and scalability…
Before becoming the property of Adobe, owner of Photoshop, Illustrator or In Design, in 2018, Magento was first acquired by Ebay, then sold to Permira, a European investment company. Adobe invested $1.68 billion in the purchase of Magento and has since invested in the development of the platform. It’s fair to say, then, that Magento is a web solution with a bright future, thanks to the spectacular and ever-growing development of e-commerce.
Initial version of Magento: open source
The open source version of Magento was first released in 2008. This free version is still accessible. It can therefore be downloaded and modified at will by a developer, to be hosted on a server specific to the developer or the company he is working for. Enhancements to this open source version are made by installing plug-ins adapted to the company’s requirements.
Installing the open source version of Magento is therefore reserved for IT professionals (developers). These are the only people who can modify the code after being certified by Magento itself.
First version of Magento: Enterprise Edition
This new version was released before Magento was acquired by Ebay. Magento quickly realized that its open source version was designed for web development professionals, which would ultimately slow down its development and the platform’s expansion worldwide. Indeed, it was impossible for a small business with ambitions to expand on the web to migrate its old site without calling in a developer.
So, in 2009, the first EE (Enterprise Edition) version was launched. This version is still in use today, although it has undergone a number of significant improvements since its launch. Magento Enterprise Edition is a paid version of the platform. It has enabled many customers to develop their online sales by implementing :
- more efficient customer management ;
- functionalities dedicated to building site visitor loyalty;
- enhanced marketing functions specific to Magento.
Payment for access to Magento Enterprise Edition is in the form of an annual subscription, the price of which varies according to the value of the merchandise offered for sale and the average basket.
Today, it is marketed under the name Magento Commerce and includes, in addition to the first functionalities of previous versions :
- a B2B option ;
- possible customer segmentation
- extended payment options
- an array ofadvanced marketing tools;
- search functionality with Elastic Search .
Like the open source version, the software and its modules must be hosted on the company’s own server, in a cloud that offers a hosting service, or via a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) provider. Once again, managing this hosting requires technical support to manage and configure this professional version of Magento.
Second version: Magento Commerce Cloud
Commerce Cloud is a new option for companies without their own servers. All data and the software structure are hosted in a private cloud provided by Magento. The functions are exactly the same as those of the self-hosted version. The difference lies in the way the e-commerce application is hosted. The annual subscription price for Commerce Cloud is higher than for the first version, but offers many advantages.
It’s a truly turnkey solution that can be upgraded to include new functionalities, such as dashboards for monitoring e-commerce strategy. This Magento Commerce Cloud solution also integrates Adobe tools: Analytics Cloud, Advertising Cloud and Marketing Cloud, for optimized performance. There’s no need to worry about servers, networks or security – it’s all taken care of by Magento. This is a very attractive solution for companies that don’t want to deploy an IT infrastructure, or manage all the technical aspects of an enterprise server.
Choose between the 3 versions of Magento
The choice between the 3 versions of Magento depends on the company’s needs. If you’re on a tighter budget, the open source version allows you to deploy a basic e-commerce system using an in-house or external developer. The only additional cost is that of additional Magento functionalities.
If your company has a large number of products and would like to enhance its offering with a ready-to-use solution, the Commerce version is the right choice. Multi-user, it enables you to sell online and receive numerous daily orders, including international ones. Simply choose between the classic Commerce version and the Magento Commerce Cloud product, if you don’t wish to manage hosting, configuration, security and installation of new versions, which are sometimes subject to data migration problems or temporarily impossible customer access.
Installing Magento is therefore the guarantee of an optimal online sales experience, serving both the customer and the company.
We recommend these other pages:
