The entry into e-commerce and the provision of an online shop is decisive for competition in more and more business areas - both B2C and B2B.
In particular, this is due to digitalization, the change in mindset towards "permanently online" and the general presence of the Internet. The World Wide Web in fact determines more and more areas of everyday life - be it in the private or in the business environment.
More and more companies are realizing the high economic relevance of B2B and B2C online shops. As a result, the implementation of an online shop is hardly a recommendation, but an absolute necessity in view of the increasing online competition. Now is the time to act correctly and to conceptualize a digital strategy that is strategically aligned with the target groups and company goals. Otherwise, the chances of being able to compete on the market in the long term will dwindle.
The foundation for success-oriented e-commerce is first and foremost the right online shop system. Experience shows that one of the three big players, "Shopware", "Magento" and "Shopify", is usually the best solution for B2B and B2C online shops of any kind.
Important questions before choosing the right shop system
Finding the right shop system for your e-commerce is no easy task.
As a starting point for your research, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- How many products does the online shop need to hold?
- Which filter functions are needed?
- Does the online shop need specific interfaces?
- Are individual adjustments necessary/wanted?
- Should there be a connection to marketing portals or an online marketplace?
- Should the online shop be maintained in-house?
- Is a national or international orientation desired?
- Is expansion necessary in the future, should it be possible to influence processes afterwards?
The selection of a suitable shop system
The choice of shop system should indeed be made largely dependent on your individual answers to these questions.
For example, simpler systems are often advantageous for a smaller product portfolio, whereas - if you are already anticipating expansion - you should probably go for more extensive software.
Generally speaking, modular systems are less flexible - in terms of design as well as interfaces and general scalability.
Particularly in the B2B sector or for more extensive e-commerce projects, a large number of other programs often have to be connected via interfaces. Check carefully whether the software you are considering can meet all your requirements.
Furthermore, it is decisive which capacities are available for maintenance or even for independent shop set-up. Complete in-house processing is relatively seldom possible for extensive projects, even in large corporations. Especially the conception of user-centered design and intuitive layout, as well as the integration into existing system and process structures usually require a lot of expertise. However, make sure that you are able to maintain the online shop internally afterwards.
In terms of optimal usability for end users, shop construction kits traditionally have the edge. However, special online shop extensions for content management systems and extensive open source software have also made strong gains in recent years.
Shopify is a relatively simple shop builder that requires almost no specialist knowledge.
However, for maximum usefulness, specific knowledge in design, usability, e-commerce and online marketing should be available.
Shopify is suitable for companies that are aiming for a small to medium-sized online shop.
Shopware is a full-fledged shop software for medium-sized online shops.
For the shop setup, professional support is usually appropriate here.
The management succeeds finally but also without expertise.
Which steps should always be taken into account when setting up a shop?
No matter which shop system you choose, it is essential to proceed methodically and precisely when setting up your shop.
The most important steps for the creation of a successful online shop:
Of course, an e-commerce project should not begin directly with the shop setup.
First of all, a kick-off workshop should be held, in the course of which all factors relevant to the planning and appropriate implementation of the online shop are compiled and fundamentally aligned.
The main intention is to ensure that all those involved have a common understanding of the intended project goal. In addition, the responsibilities for the project implementation are clarified.
Only now is the online shop filled with products and other content.
As a basis, however, customer groups should be defined, prices determined, payment methods implemented and security in terms of terms and conditions, data protection and DSGVO created.
If special features are planned, these must of course also be implemented beforehand.
If the shop is set up in cooperation with an external partner, the employees who will henceforth be responsible for the online shop should ideally receive comprehensive training before the launch.
Although many management features of modern online shop systems can be used intuitively, efficient independent management is only possible if everyone involved knows exactly what they are doing.
In fact, already during the creation of the online shop, various important course should be set for a good ranking in the major search engines.
For maximum success, additional, differentiated SEO measures are nevertheless indispensable.
In addition, it is also important to take into account the many other possibilities of modern online marketing such as social media, rating platforms, content marketing, link building and so on.
Differentiation of the following shop systems in detail
Shopify is a simple but powerful shop builder as a SaaS solution (Software as a Service). In order to build a Shopify shop, you can choose from three different shop licenses, which you can then use to create your online shop with the corresponding features directly in the browser.
Shopware is a modular shop software, which is open source, but also available in various commercial editions. You can download the open source software with a few clicks on the Shopware website - without entering any data.
Magento is also a shop software that is open source and commercially available. They offer special solutions for small, medium and large companies as well as the so-called Commerce Cloud.
Differentiation of the following shop systems in detail
Shopify is a simple but powerful shop builder as a SaaS solution (Software as a Service). In order to build a Shopify shop, you can choose from three different shop licenses, which you can then use to create your online shop with the corresponding features directly in the browser.
Shopware is a modular shop software, which is open source, but also available in various commercial editions. You can download the open source software with a few clicks on the Shopware website - without entering any data.
Magento is also a shop software that is open source and commercially available. They offer special solutions for small, medium and large companies as well as the so-called Commerce Cloud.
| Shopify | Shopware | Magento | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Canada | Germany | USA |
| Costs | Basic Shopify: 29 US-$ mon, Shopify: 79 US-$ mon, Basic Shopify: 29 US-$ mon, Advanced Shopify: 299 US-$ mon | Community Edition: Free of charge, Professional Edition: One-time 2.495 Euro (Jan 21), Enterprise Edition: Price on request | Community Edition: Free of charge, Commerce Edition: Minimum 15.000 Euro |
| Development effort | Low effort | Medium to higher | Higher effort |
| Documentation | Extensive in German and English | Extensive in German and English | Less extensive in English |
| Extendable | Yes, via HTML and CSS and with more than 2,000 apps and tools | Yes, individually and with more than 1,500 extensions | Yes, individually and with more than 1,5000 extensions |
| Mobile optimized | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Easy product management | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Product comparison | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of products | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Number of categories | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Subshops | No | Yes, from Community Edition | Yes, through extensions |
| Templates | Yes, more than 100 predefined designs | Yes, tested templates | Yes, large selection, but untested |
| API | Yes, among other things for new sales channels, such as Instagram or Facebook | Yes, API-First - individual interfaces can be programmed | Yes, numerous prefabricated, partly chargeable interfaces |
| SEO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Customer service by a special support team | Only for paid version | In English for paid version |
| Usability Backend | Intuitive, clear | Intuitive, clear | Complex - training recommended |
| Marketing | Automated marketing, free learning material and evaluations | Shopping worlds with focus on online marketing | Mainly via extensions |
| International use | International use, but also DSGVO-optimized | Possible, but main area of use Europe | Worldwide use |
| Great strengths | Fast time-to-market, Simple and largely intuitive, Quite customizable, Automated marketing possible | Fast time-to-market, Strong in design, Shop-in-shop possibility, Connection to ERP system Sage 100, Consideration of further marketing activities: NL, marketing automation, marketplace connection | Modular and maximally flexible, Enormous number of extensions, Best scalability, Strong with multishops and multilingual online shops. |
| shop building kit - Shopify | Shop software - Shopware and Magento | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Benefits | A shop building kit is a relatively simple all-in-one solution that can be used to quickly and inexpensively create a functional online shop. | A shop software is a comprehensive, highly flexible total solution that provides all the important building blocks and functions for maximum e-commerce success. |
| Advantages | Set-up without programming knowledge, Fast time-to-market, Complete solution | Fully customizable, Highly scalable, Immense and flexible feature set, Integration of all desired payment methods, marketing features, etc. |
| Disadvantages | Relatively limited functionalities and flexibility, Only for small to medium-sized online shops with not too many products, Rather an additional option for the stationary business | Extensive implementation - only possible in the rarest cases completely in-house, Relatively expensive |
Conclusion
Summarizing the findings from the comparison of the shop systems Shopify, Shopwareand Magento, it is not possible to define a universal favorite.
A company-specific and goal-specific decision must be made as to which system is the right one for the individual use case.
Therefore, we recommend our customers to consistently define the exact goals, expectations and usage intentions in the first place and select the appropriate system based on this.
But one thing is clear: Enough innovative possibilities for the creation of the individual online shop are given.
How we can support you with e-commerce:
- Development of atargeted strategy taking into account your individual goals and target groups, the choice of the right shop system for your needs to the professional implementation of your online shop.
- Joint development of an SEO strategy,social media marketing measures or native advertising formats.
- Support with content production in order to direct qualified traffic to your site and thus draw attention to your products.
For a successful and comprehensive e-commerce strategy, we are also happy to advise you on the following topics:
Oliver Parrizas will be happy to answer any questions you may have on the subject. 
+49-800-911-91-91
