There are 204,405 live websites currently using Magento to power their online stores as of December 2020, and the number of Magento sites is constantly growing. Magento’s user base includes large scale enterprises like Coca-Cola, Nescafé, In-N-Out, and Sig Sauer. It is one of the top three ecommerce platforms globally and is the platform of choice for approximately 10% of the top one million ecommerce websites.
A closer look at the actual numbers reveals that not all websites using Magento use the latest version or even the latest major release.
As of the 30th of June, 2020, Magento versions 1.x are no longer officially supported. However, there are still many websites running Magento versions 1.9.x or lower. Here’s a breakdown of websites still running Magento versions 1.x.
Adobe currently only supports Magento versions 2.x and here are the numbers for stores running the latest versions.
Although Adobe no longer supports version 1.x, a majority of Magento websites continue to use it. Running an unsupported version of Magento is a security risk and means that the website using it is no longer PCI compliant and should not accept online payments.
Fortunately, the latest metrics on Sansec show the numbers changing rapidly in favor of the latest versions. A potential reason for the slower adoption of Magento 2 is the time required to migrate stores over from Magento 1 to Magento 2. On average, it can take anywhere from 3–6 months for small to medium stores to fully migrate over to Magento 2. However, the performance benefits and functionality it provides are well worth the time and effort.
There are over 81,000 live websites in the United States that use Magento to run their online business. That’s nearly 40% of Magento websites globally and greater than all other countries in the top 10.
Here’s a closer look at the numbers of the top 10 countries using Magento.
While Magento used to be the top player in the market a decade ago, it was dethroned by Shopify over the years. Although it’s now ranked 3rd globally as an ecommerce solution, this isn’t due to any limitations in the platform.
Magento websites are some of the most feature-rich and high-performing websites on the internet. Thanks to their flexible architecture, Magento stores are endlessly customizable to achieve virtually any functionality an online store may require. However, being an open-source, customizable, and feature-rich platform comes with a bit of a learning curve and limits its adoption by the general public.
Most online stores and small businesses have simple requirements. They only require a simple theme, a store to host products, and the ability to accept payments through their websites without any additional complications. WooCommerce and Shopify provide this functionality without a steep learning curve, and that is why they have higher numbers in the market today. However, when you move beyond basic functionality, that’s where Magento shines best.
Magento is open-source and can provide more functionality than a Shopify store on a $300 per month plan, right out of the box and free of charge. Magento Cloud Commerce offers better functionality, more control, and greater customizability than Shopify’s enterprise solution. With Shopify, everything is black-boxed, and merchants retain little control over their stores.
A direct comparison of WooCommerce and Magento isn’t entirely fair. WooCommerce is an extension used with WordPress, whereas Magento is a dedicated ecommerce platform. However, for argument’s sake, when compared head-on, WooCommerce lacks most of the essential functionality an online business requires.
While it adds the ecommerce functionality to a WordPress website, things like invoice generation, SEO, order management, printing shipping labels and packing slips, and product swatches require additional third-party extensions. These are essential features every online business requires, and WooCommerce is unable to offer them natively.
While Shopify and WooCommerce have a more extensive user base today, the functionality they’re able to provide isn’t enough for an online enterprise. Magento is the go-to solution for merchants dedicated to growing their business and those seeking advanced functionality for their online stores. It’s the ideal platform for any business that wants a store capable of scaling with demand and growing with a business.