When it comes to open source e-commerce platforms, both Drupal and Magento are equally colossal. And they are being convalescent with each passing day. This makes it a challenge for prospect e-store owners to choose between the two technologies when it comes to establishing an online Shoppe.
And here is where the real-time comparison creeps in. Juxtaposing Magento and Drupal and contrasting their features is the best way to understand which shopping cart is best-suited for your upcoming e-commerce venture. So here is a comprehensive neck-to-neck comparison of features of both e-commerce portals to help you identify the platform of your choice.
Admin Panel:
Drupal: Known for its smooth learning curve, the admin panel of recently launched Drupal 7 is user-friendly and easy to use. Thanks to the overlay module, the admin area appears over site which makes management a tad simpler.
Magento: The admin panel in Magento has been rigorously tested but the huge set of on-screen options can easily put-off first time users. But the diverse variety of available Magento training courses can definitely provide assistance.
Content Management:
Drupal: Drupal Commerce is based on the widely-used Drupal CMS, so you are not likely to face any issues in this section. You can easily add a text editor to your site using the WYSIWYG editor. Though, embedding images can demand bit of your efforts for sure.
Magento: Magento's content management system offers reasonable features which can suffice the needs of amateurs, but it definitely lacks the refinement offered by Drupal.
Documentation:
Drupal: As of now, Drupal doesn't have much to offer in the documentation front. The project is still in the nascent stage and things are likely to turn out with time.
Magento: Though Magento boasts of Wiki documentation and an established community support forum, it is probably more difficult to get answers from this community. Moreover, the answers don't tend to drive to you a final 'solution' for your problem. However, there are numerous paper backs available which ensure that you are don't feel left out while using Magento.
Theming:
Drupal: The theming system in Drupal is quite reasonable. If you are patient, it gives you plenty of room for exercising controls. Though, at the time of documentation of Drupal Commerce theming of certain specific areas is quite poor.
Magento: Theming in Magento is more intricate as compared to theming in Drupal. However, once you have mastered it you have plenty of room for control.
Scalability:
Drupal: Drupal lags behind in this sense. But we expect Drupal to catch up soon.
Magento: Magento is a clear winner in this sense. It has established itself as a scalable platform that is capable of supporting complex enterprise applications.
SE Friendliness:
Drupal: Drupal is highly search-engine friendly. Its SEF URLs make the Drupal sites highly optimized and make them rank higher in the SE rankings.
Magento: Magento has also been optimized reasonably well. Though, you need to handle some off-shelf themes carefully as they are poorly built and may pose optimization issues.
Checkout Process:
Drupal: The checkout process in Drupal Commerce is a smooth sail but you will have to invest considerable amount of time in customizing and fine-tuning it as per your requisites.
Magento: Magento's single-page checkout makes things simplistic for the end user. It has been well-developed and includes enhanced features powered by JavaScript.
As you quickly read through the aforementioned features of both the platforms, you get a clear overview of whether they are suitable for you next venture or not. Both Drupal and Magento highly powerful shopping cart solutions. Though Magento clearly outruns Drupal in several aspects, you can shortlist the platform that compliments your idea of e-commerce store the best.
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