Magento or Shopware?

Intro

We get it, Shopware is not (yet) the most known and used shopsystem in the UK. We also understand that you might think something like "If all the successful shops in the UK use Magento, it can't be that bad?". Of course working with Magento is doable, but what if there is a solution, which does not lack behind at all and does not require as many ressources to get you started or extend existing functionality? Well, this solution is shopware. They made their first bigger appearance in the UK with their presence at the InternetRetailing Expo and invest significantly in PR to let companies know about their affordable and well documented solution. Magento, as first mover in the market, has an advantage in awareness. However, if you take a look at Google Trends, Shopware becomes more popular than Magento in Germany nowadays and there is a reason behind that. Especially in the initial setup, shopware spares you a lot of headaches and huge costs. An extensive amount of default functionalities ensure that you’re up and running in no time, especially by using shopware’s premium plugins. For companies with complex requirements, the shopware enterprise version is very affordable (a one time fee including support). In comparison, even a lot of magento partners claim to see no reason in buying the magento enterprise license as the support is very questionable, the unique features quite limited and the yearly costs (for the majority of users) not worth it.

How shopware conquered the german market

Feature comparison, Magento CE vs Shopware Professional

magento
shopware

Cost

Free
1.295 € (One time)

Support

no
12 months, after that 49€/month

responsive template

yes, limited default functionality
yes, with extensive functionality

Stagingsystem

No
No

Subshops

No
Yes

Rights & Roles

No
Yes

Open-Source API

No
Yes

Superior Content Management

No
Yes

Managing Page-Layouts without extensive coding

No
Yes

Certified plugins to ensure compatibility

No
Yes

The main benefit hereby is, that at Shopware, you will already be able to setup a professional online-shop without having to purchase the enterprise license to receive professional support. Shopware is therefore very attractive for SME's which have complex requirements, need effective marketing tools but are not big enough yet to be in need of enterprise services.

SEO Comparison - Which shop-system performs better by default?

Can speaking URLs be created?
Yes
Yes
Can Meta-Data get edited?
Yes
Yes
Can products be assigned to more than 1 category without creating different URLs? (Duplicate Content)
Yes
Yes
Get Parameter-URLs removed from the index automatically?
No
No
Will (for SEO) unimportant pages removed from the index automatically?
No
No
Will Search result pages automatically removed from the index?
No
Yes
Can Index-Settings get adjusted in the Backend?
No
Yes
Will at URL-Changes a redirect created?
Yes
Yes
Attributes rel=prev and rel=next available by default?
No
Yes
Do all pages from page 2 automatically set to „noindex/follow“?
No
Yes
Are XML Sitemaps available?
Yes
Yes
Does the system have a CMS / Can all texts be adjusted without coding?
Yes
Yes
Does the shop-system offer cross-selling and similar links?
Yes
Yes
Result
7
11

We hereby compared the basic functionalities for webshops. Of course, further functionalities can be added through code-adjustments and plugins. However, its generally better to have things covered by default instead of system extensions, to ensure continuous compatibility throughout future versions & to save costs.

Ressources

*S0Y reserves the right to refuse migrations for any reason. The offer is valid for customers, who decide to go for the shopware Professional Plus or Enterprise license.