Magento vs WordPress for SEO and eCommerce: How to Choose the Right One?

10 Minute Read
Written by: Branko Ilishev
Jan / 09 / 2023

Can we compare Magento and WordPress when it comes to their eCommerce features? Both platforms are trendy among users, even though WordPress takes a significantly larger piece of the cake.

This Magento vs WordPress comparison will give you insight into the most valuable features. At the end of the article, you can determine which platform will serve your business better, according to a few essential criteria.

WordPress is one of the most convenient and widely used content management systems, and it is practically free (we will explain what this means later). And the best thing is that it can be extended to any website you need, from a regular news site to an eCommerce solution using the proper plugins. On the other hand, Magento is fully dedicated to eCommerce, which means you get the complete pack of eCommerce SEO features you need. With Magento, you can build an all-inclusive online store, especially when managing a large stock of items.

Indeed, there are so many differences between these platforms, but it doesn’t mean WordPress is better than Magento, and vice versa.

But before we determine the best Magento vs WordPress SEO and eCommerce features, let’s discuss the differences and similarities.

What Is Magento?

Magento is an open-source software that can help you create an online store. This software is one of the most famous ones on the global market and is also free.

The number one priority of Magento is eCommerce; therefore, it provides the following features:

  • Marketing and SEO tools
  • Management of tax and shipping
  • Payment gateways and shopping cart service
  • Order and customer management
  • Inventory and catalog management

Magento is suitable for small and large businesses since it supports various languages, sites, and currencies. Even though it isn’t beginner-friendly and you’ll need some knowledge, it’s fully customizable.

What Is WordPress?

WordPress is also open source, and it’s a content management system that gives you the advantage of building sites even if you don’t have any technical expertise.

Even though it is not an eCommerce platform by default, it still has various features and can be used for eCommerce. However, you will have to install a WordPress plugin to transform it into an online eCommerce store. Nevertheless, it’s undoubtedly the most famous content management system globally, and WooCommerce, its official plugin, has one of the best eCommerce technologies worldwide.

Some of the crucial features regarding eCommerce you can use include:

  • Integration of payments
  • Shipping, tax, and catalog management
  • Cart and checkout

How Can We Compare WordPress vs Magento?

We must note that both are very powerful eCommerce and content management platforms. Magento is specially dedicated to online stores and sales, while WordPress requires plugins to work correctly.

Many find WooCommerce the best option for WordPress online shops, but you aren’t simply limited to it. Every WordPress user has the exceptional freedom to use any eCommerce plugin they find suitable for their business.

On the other hand, WordPress has a powerful blogging option, while Magento needs an extension for that. That means you can get a complete eCommerce WordPress vs Magento comparison and choose the one that may enhance your business performance.

WordPress vs Magento for eCommerce: The Ease of Use

Both platforms are relatively easy to use, especially when you already have some experience in this niche. If you want a direct solution, Magento offers excellent store management. If you have more time to experiment with plugins and design flexibility, then WordPress, with its eCommerce extensions, can be a better solution.

You don’t need specific technical skills to set up online stores using any of these platforms. Still, Magento requires more skills, while WordPress is intuitive and relatively easier to grasp. Probably, Magento would win this Magento vs WordPress battle because it’s focused on eCommerce sales and solutions.

Comparing the eCommerce Features of Magento and WordPress

The aspects of WordPress vs Magento eCommerce are interesting to analyze. Magento is a dedicated eCommerce platform, while most WordPress websites use WooCommerce to work well.

Even the Magento Open Source has a wide array of built-in eCommerce features. It’s free, but any business owner can migrate to paid plans anytime. Using Magento, you can manage your inventory, control your ads, track shipping, implement payment gateways, and get detailed reports every month.

But what about WordPress? What should we know about its eCommerce options and functionalities?

As we said a few times, WordPress isn’t a standalone eCommerce solution, which means you need a plugin or extension to make it work. But does it mean it would be more complex to manage when you add WooCommerce or any other eCommerce plugin?

In general, people who are in this business are already familiar with WordPress, so WooCommerce is only an addition they can learn in just a few days. WooCommerce also lets you sell on marketplaces, which can maximize your profits.

So WordPress WooCommerce vs Magento is such an unpredictable battle, and it’s difficult to determine who takes the gold. The best thing is that no matter which WP eCommerce plugin you choose, you can get plenty of eCommerce functionalities, including store templates, extensions, payment methods, SEO tools, etc.

Comparing The SEO Features of WordPress and Magento

We have a lot to discuss regarding WordPress vs Magento SEO features. In general, all these comparisons, including Magento vs WordPress, don’t make sense if we don’t include the SEO features and aspects as an essential part of business growth.

WordPress is known to be the best fit for on-page SEO. You can adjust the headings and paragraphs, add links, create custom URLs and alt text, and insert the proper metadata. It uses plugins like Yoast SEO to allow you to optimize the content properly, but you can choose any other you find better.

Don’t forget that WordPress was initially a blog platform, so you can easily optimize any content you publish.

Magento SEO comes with plenty of SEO features, but you may need some time to learn how to use it. What’s essential for this Magento vs WordPress comparison is that you can incorporate meta tags, alt tags, and product descriptions, generate sitemaps, include links, and prioritize the important pages.

All these processes are done manually because SEO is not something you can automate. As a result, you get great all-inclusive SEO and eCommerce websites. So, if you have to choose between WordPress vs Magento for SEO, you can’t go wrong with any of them.

The Pricing Plans as Determining Factor to Choose Between WordPress and Magento

If you are a new or small business, we are sure you want to save some money and find the most affordable but still functional solutions. Regarding Magento vs WordPress pricing, both are free to use, but charges may apply for specific eCommerce and SEO features.

Regarding Magento vs WordPress WooCommerce, you can’t hope for entirely free solutions.

This is the moment when Magento’s price comes pretty high, even though the domain name is quite cheap. Magento’s Pro plans are pretty expensive, but if you want a complete eCommerce enterprise pack, you will have to pay at least $22,000 annually, which is not great for small businesses.

On the other hand, WooCommerce+WordPress hosting may cost you about $7 every month, depending on how big your resource demand is. The most expensive option is about $45 monthly for complete access to all eCommerce features, but it’s important to check the WordPress Pricing plans.

We have concluded that Magento vs WordPress eCommerce packs come in different pricing plans, and you have to find the right one according to your business needs.

The Security Features: Magento vs WordPress

Every website owner has a lot of questions when it comes to the security aspects of platforms. So, we will give an answer to the question of what makes WordPress secure, and we will do the same about Magento. That’s how we will get an essential conclusion about WordPress vs Magento security features.

WordPress is regularly updated, so all security features are on the highest possible level. When it comes to an SSL certificate, you must buy it separately and renew it when needed.

Magento is also pretty secure, especially the paid versions. But, if you use the open-source version, you’ll have to regularly check on the vulnerabilities and additionally protect your website from DDoS attacks.

The conclusion is that WordPress and Magento can be secure if you take the necessary measures. If you don’t act immediately, you risk a lot, even though it doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily be a target of cyber attacks.

Magento Templates and Themes

Another crucial aspect when choosing between WordPress or Magento is their templates and themes. You can use many different Magento themes from ThereForest and Templatemonster for $50, and you can also find a small selection on Adobe’s official marketplace.

Magento has a fairly limited theme selection; however, it compensates for this by allowing you to use a set of free developer tools. It is called the PWA Studio project, and you can use it to create web apps while also using its APIs, which allow you to build headless sites.

WordPress Templates and Themes

WordPress offers more than 10,000 free themes, and you can also purchase thousands of third-party templates from third-party marketplaces. 

Furthermore, its block-based editing is intuitive and allows you to design excellent sites without code. Considering the overall ease of use of WordPress, it’s not surprising that it’s highly popular all across the globe.

WordPress Vs Magento SEO Final Verdict

When it comes to ease of use, WordPress is the obvious winner, while Magento offers robust eCommerce features to enhance your commercial performance. The Magento vs WordPress SEO features are on point, especially regarding on-page optimization, whether you see WordPress or Magento and SEO.

WordPress is much cheaper than Magento, even when plugins are used to integrate online store features. We must say that WordPress is also more user-friendly and flexible for newbies, including small businesses and inexperienced website users.

Magento offers extensive eCommerce features as a complete solution, but that comes with an edgy price; you must be ready to pay if you want regular maintenance. WordPress and WooCommerce vs Magento could be a pretty tied battle if there wasn’t that price difference.

Anyway, you need to explore all the options you have, which may include some of these comparisons:

FAQs

Is Magento better for SEO than WordPress?

Both Magento and WordPress offer exceptional SEO features, especially for on-page optimization. It gives you a tremendous competitive advantage when you need to rank higher on search results for specific keywords, whether it’s about SEO in Magento or WordPress.

Magento vs WordPress: Which one is more expensive?

Even when you use the free versions, it doesn’t mean you don’t need to spend money on your Magento or WordPress site. But, we can say that Magento is more expensive regarding dedicated eCommerce features.

Is WordPress the best for eCommerce?

You have two options – to pay a lot for an eCommerce edition or to use WooCommerce as one of the best eCommerce plugins for WordPress. But you have more appropriate plugins, which means you aren’t limited to these options, so it’s undoubtedly one of the best options.

About the Author

Picture of Branko Ilishev

Branko Ilishev

Branko is your SEO prodigy. He manages the SEO team and finds creative solutions for your online visibility problems by thinking out-of-the-box. He also translates the collected data of analytics into understandable information that gives you concrete insights.