An ecommerce platform review has left me baffled.
We’re all aware of the amount of misinformation you can find online. Social media channels have become well known for it. However, a recent Google result has left me wondering about websites that some would view as carrying good authority and credibility. Can you trust online reviews?
If you’re a business owner that trusts websites that look professional and give a perception of authority, I could understand why the result I stumbled upon could leave you questioning your judgement.
We’ve all typed in searches that bring us to product comparisons. The classic A v B type of searches that wield often excellent content is what I’m talking about. These are common when it comes to ecommerce platform searches.
What started this off?
The search in question was:
Adobe Commerce v Shopify
The ecommerce platforms might vary. However, it is a great example of the type of research countless people conduct on a daily basis.
The No.1 result on Google UK brought up a respectable looking website that was titled as follows:
I’ll admit that my suspicions are always raised when someone begins a line with “My honest..” – because what else should you expect from a review?
However, what followed is something I take a lot more issue with. CEO’s and other people in senior roles will often make “at-a-glance” scans of reviews. They might do it to cement the research given to them by others in their organisation. They could be small business owners about to make a critical business purchase. These type of people don’t always have someone more knowledgeable to do the research for them.
The review contained a typical Pro’s and Con’s table. My past experience tells me that these are sections of a page that a reader goes straight to. They look for the stand-out information that might instantly dismiss one product. It might cement a view that the other is what they need.
This is the panel in question:
If you’re unfamiliar with the platforms, they’re both major ecommerce systems. Adobe Commerce is referred to as Magento in sections of the review because that’s what it used to be called. It became Adobe Commerce a few years after Adobe bought Magento.
So why do I have a problem with this table? Let’s begin to go through the Pro’s that are listed for each.
Adobe Commerce Pro’s
Limitless design options
The author begins by listing “Limitless design options” as a Pro for Adobe Commerce. The problem is that Shopify can offer the same if you engage the services of a coder/programmer. There is very little, if anything, you can’t do with your store design on Shopify if the right programming skills are at your disposal.
Before anyone says “But do you need a programmer to achieve the same on Adobe Commerce“, the answer is yes. If you want to control every element of your design, you’re probably going to need coding skills on both platforms.
It is an incredibly misleading Pro to lead with, potentially leading to a less informed reader thinking that they couldn’t achieve the same with Shopify.
Community support base
Next we come to the Pro of “Large community support base”.
Doesn’t that lead you to think that Shopify’s community support base is poor or small? Nothing could be further from the truth – it has a huge community support base! You’ll find an immediate answer to almost any question about Shopify from a quick Google search that will take you to the answer within the community forums. It is a staggeringly misleading “Pro” to make for Adobe Commerce if you’re not to put the same in the table for Shopify.
I hasten to point out that Adobe Commerce/Magento’s support base is very good, but I wouldn’t say it trumps the Shopify support. I’d say they’re both very good.
Multi-channel selling
The reviewer moves onto the Pro of “Multi-channel selling” for Adobe Commerce, with no mention of it in the Shopify column.
Would that make you think that Shopify doesn’t offer other channels as a selling option? Again, that isn’t true. Shopify gives you access to over 80 different channels for selling. These include Facebook, Amazon, eBay and many other huge channels.
Why list something as a positive for one platform and not for the other if it offers it?
Good sales features
This is a bit of a mystery. There is no further mention of what the reviewer means by “Good sales features” in the table. However, I think they’re referring to in-built tools that allow you to offer goods at sale prices. That might be anything from a “Reduced to” feature or perhaps discount codes.
You can guess what is coming next. Shopify offers plenty of very strong sales features. There are also a plethora of apps that can be bolted-on to it, in a matter of minutes, to give you access to even more features – and many of these are free of charge.
Part of Shopify’s success has come through continual development of features related to sales, so I’m completely mystified as to what the author is trying to say in favour of Adobe Commerce. It is true that Adobe Commerce/Magento has good tools in this respect, but they’re no stronger than those offered by Shopify. Indeed, if I was pushed, I’d say it is an area in which Adobe Commerce is weaker.
Shopify Pro’s
Let’s shift to what the review says are some of the Pro’s about Shopify before we get to the Con’s in respect of Adobe Commerce.
Unlimited products
The first thing they list as a Pro is that Shopify lets you have unlimited products. Whilst this isn’t untrue, how many stores require 50,000 products? That’s the point at which Shopify begins to ‘throttle’ the service a store owner receives. In other words, your store is limited to adding 1,000 products a day.
Adobe tell you that the ‘effective limit’ for products is 10,000. That’s a lot of products but you can actually go above it. The only issue you get is that they begin to do something similar to Shopify – they throttle back the service your site gets. They do this by slowing your store down.
So the author is correct? No. There are Magento stores with over 1 million products! The 10,000 limit is how many products can be ‘paginated’, but the platform is capable of going far, far beyond that number. I’d ask this – how many people are going to flick, page by page, through 10,000 products?
If you’re doing a rigid fact check on it, then the statement about Shopify is correct, but the reviewer should be saying the same about Adobe Commerce.
AI-powered Shopify Magic tool
The table lists Shopify’s AI-powered Magic tool are another Pro. This is a clever feature that will do everything from writing product descriptions for you to finding a photograph of a product. I have to say that I think it does both with moderate success, but I seldom find it saves time for clients (I don’t use it at all because of SEO concerns in respect of AI).
The reason I don’t see it as a Pro is because it is so unsuccessful in finding you exactly what you want that you spend time going back to what you could have done in the first instance – writing something yourself or finding a better image.
Shopify Magic may well be seen as a Pro by some, so we’ll give it a pass in that respect. My complaint is that Adobe Commerce and Magento have AI-powered tools. The platform will generate descriptions, content, and find imagery in much the same way that Shopify Magic does. Yet again, something listed as a Pro for Shopify hasn’t been listed as a Pro for Adobe Commerce – even though it exists.
100+ payment options
Shopify offers a huge number of ways for your customers to check out. Listing this as a Pro might carry credence. Most of these come via Shopify’s own payment gateway known as “Shopify Payments”.
Adobe Commerce and Magento (you can still run old versions of Magento) use external payment gateways. That means you can choose and configure however many payment options you want. Could you match the number offered by Shopify? Almost certainly. However, they also now offer their own payment gateway, known as Adobe Payment Services – so again they’re now offering something as an integral part of their platform.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t added up all the payment service options you could configure for Adobe Commerce and Magento. The reality is that they can offer you more than you’ll ever need.
Does Shopify hold an advantage over Adobe Commerce that means it is credible to list it as a Pro when it comes to payments? I’d say it probably does – just. The Shopify Payments feature is completely integrated and there is zero effort (almost) in implementing it when compared to Adobe Commerce options. The point I would make is that the “100+ payment options” isn’t really the Pro. That comes in respect of ease of implemention.
Huge app market
This is a good Pro. Shopify benefits from a mammoth number of third-party apps that can be integrated with it. There are currently in the region of approximately 8,500 apps available.
Unfortunately, I still have to take issue with it on the basis there are almost 6,000 Adobe Commerce/Magento apps!
I think it is a perfectly reasonable Pro to list, but I’m not convinced it is sufficiently ahead of Adobe Commerce/Magento. The point I would make is that the table should mention that apps are not an exclusive thing to Shopify and that Adobe Commerce and Magento have a substantial library of apps too.
Mobile-responsive store
This one got to me. If I was reading this as an uninformed business owner, I’d undoubtedly think that Shopify offered me a mobile compatible store that Adobe Commerce/Magento didn’t.
It is completely unjustified to list it as a Pro for Shopify when Adobe Commerce and Magento offers exactly the same.
Summary of Pro’s
The Pro’s are misleading for both platforms, if only because what is a Pro on one platform is usually something that the other offers.
The saddest thing about the way the Pro’s have been written is that they could very easily have been a helpful list. There are plenty of Pro’s on both platforms that the other couldn’t compete with, often because of the type of business they’re aimed at, but the reviewer has opted not to use them.
Next, we move on to the Con’s…
Adobe Commerce v Shopify Con’s Panel
This is the section of the table that lists the Con’s of each platform:
They’ve chosen to list the same number of disadvantages for each platform. My eye was drawn to it within a couple within seconds, and what is in it adds weight to my opinion that the effort put into this review is questionable.
Adobe Commerce Con’s
Too complex for beginners
Of all the Pro’s and Con’s listed, this is one I am going to give most credibility to. Adobe Commerce/Magento isn’t what I’d call the easiest of platforms to get started on.
When it comes to the ease of use compared to Shopify, for beginners, it is a long way behind. However, Shopify has become more complex as it has grown, and I know hundreds of people that have struggled with it if they’re what the author terms as ‘beginners’.
I would probably rephrase the point and not say that it is too complex for beginners, instead using a phrase such as “complex in comparison to Shopify“.
Difficult to find a hosting provider
Just as I had glimmer of hope, this one came along. I’ll address it swiftly by saying it is not difficult to find a hosting provider for Adobe Commerce – because Adobe themselves offer a hosting option!
If you opted not to choose Adobe’s offering, you’ll find a wide choice of hosts that offer Adobe Commerce/Magento specific hosting plans. Search for it on Google and you’re spoiled for choice.
I have absolutely no idea why the author chose this as a disadvantage of Adobe Commerce/Magento. I am baffled by it and it lends further strength to the argument that reviews of this type can send business decisions makers in the wrong direction.
Lot’s of additional costs
Adobe Commerce and Magento sometimes lead to the need for third-party involvement, particularly from coding/programming professionals.
Many of the apps will also incur additional costs, but that’s no different to Shopify. If you opt for your own hosting provider, that’s going to be an additional cost too.
I think it is reasonable to suggest that Adobe Commerce and Magento can carry additional costs. Whether that can be quantified as “lots” is something I’m not sure about. It depends how well you’ve done your research in respect of what you want your store to do and understanding what Adobe Commerce and Magento offer out of the box.
Relies on third-party apps
I find this to be a challenging disadvantage to list. Adobe Commerce and Magento don’t rely on third-party apps at all.
You only need a third-party app if a platform doesn’t offer the features you want. Adobe Commerce and Magento don’t offer the extent of in-built features that Shopify does, but that doesn’t mean they rely on third-party apps if you can manage with the excellent feature set they contain.
Shopify Con’s
Limited customisation options
You’re not really limited in respect of the customisation of a Shopify store. It is no more locked down than Adobe Commerce’s hosted solution.
I don’t think the reviewer has the depth of knowledge about Shopify being open to coding/programmed changes in the same way (almost) that Adobe Commerce and Magento are.
I’ve yet to be involved with the Shopify site that has had a development it couldn’t proceed with, as long as they had the resources to deliver it (be it in skills or finances). That is after working on some major international sites too.
Shopify templates can be customised in almost unlimited ways.
Additional app costs
This counters the Con given to Adobe Commerce about “lots of additional costs”. There can be additional app costs on Shopify in the same way as on Adobe Commerce. However, this boils down to understanding the original feature set and what it gives you.
It is another disadvantage I’d have described very differently, perhaps with a phrase such as “Costs can escalate quickly with additional apps”.
Ultimately, the review has pointed out that both platforms can see the need for additional apps at increased cost. That is a fair comment in my opinion, but I don’t think the table has communicated the facts clearly.
Lacks built-in features
I couldn’t disagree more with this. I am confused as to why it is listed as a disadvantage on what is one of the most feature-packed ecommerce platforms on the world.
Shopify is brimming with built-in features and the company frequently adds more. It is another perfect example of something that might turn someone away from a platform for no good reason. It isn’t true, and I say that when compared with any other platform, not just Adobe Commerce or Magento. To list it as a disadvantage is incredibly misleading.
There is also a contradiction in the review. Outside of the table, the author writes that Shopify contains “unparalleled sales features“. Yet the table says it lacks in-built features?
They cite that it only has “standard site analytics“, but what they don’t say is that this depends on the level of plan you opt for.
Most templates cost extra
There is a wealth of templates available for you to choose from on Shopify. I know few companies that opted for the paid-for additional cost templates.
If you were to do a percentage split between paid-for and free templates, then yes you’ll find that the majority are at additional cost. Factually, at least statistically, it is true.
However, this is also the case with Adobe Commerce and Magento, for which there are thousands of paid-for templates! The same could be said for WordPress & Woocommerce (the latter being the ecommerce plug-in for WordPress), so how on earth can it be a disadvantage that is only listed against Shopify?
Summary
If you were to glance at the table, you’re going to come away with opinions that are factually untrue and could lead you in a direction you shouldn’t go.
There are parts of the article that fill some of the gaps in, but they also give more misleading information around costs and how expensive both platforms are compared to each other and the wider ecommerce environment.
I’m at a loss as to why some of the information has been published and can only conclude that the reviewer lacks any real knowledge about either platform or lost track of what they were writing.
My summary is easy – don’t rely on online reviews unless you know the source/writer knows what they’re talking about beyond a quick glance at something. Can you trust online reviews? In this case, no.
Scan the internet and get as many views and opinions as you can when it comes to ecommerce platform choice. Get professional assistance if you feel you need it and know what you need a platform to do before you begin reading reviews.
It infuriates me that reviews of this type can get the exposure they do.
If you’ve ever been misled by an online review, let me know in the comments section.
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