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Aphix vs Magento | eCommerce Comparison

Choosing the right eCommerce platform for your business can be a tough decision to make, and we know that. That's why we are comparing Aphix eCommerce against Magento eCommerce, so it's easier for you to make the right choice.

Kevin Faulkner - Marketing Executive Written by Kevin Faulkner - Marketing Executive 16 Sep 2020 in Best eCommerce Platform

Whether you own a small growing business looking towards eCommerce or a larger enterprise who is unhappy with your existing provider, this article will help you understand Aphix’s eCommerce when compared to Magento.

Choosing a suitable eCommerce platform for your business can be a crucial decision when expanding to online sales, and you should take the time to get it the right first time.

To help you make the right decision, in this article, we are comparing head-to-head Aphix against Magento in terms of the most critical factors you need to take into consideration when making such a business changing decision.

These factors include:

  1. Specialisation
  2. ERP Integration
  3. Ability to Edit Code
  4. Security
  5. Hosting
  6. Complexity
  7. Scalability
  8. Pricing
  9. Upgrades
  10. Features

See the comparison table below:

Aphix VS Magento Comparison Table

 

So, let’s get started.

 

  1. Specialisation

    Aphix offers an award-winning SaaS eCommerce solution designed for the B2B market. We truly understand the complexity of B2B businesses. When it comes to bulk product ordering, customer specific-pricing, quantity breaks, split transactions, maintenance of catalogues, and ERP integration, the Aphix Digital Platform makes the difference.

    Magento was built for the B2C market as a standalone solution without ERP integration in mind. They eventually launched their first B2B version in 2019 which doesn’t come close to providing the features or functionality that the B2B market demands.

  2. ERP Integration

    Aphix offers out-of-the-box, real-time integration with all major ERP systems such as SAP, Sage, and Intact. This real-time integration means that your customers see live product information, customer-specific pricing, stock availability, account information such as credit limits and balance, order history, statements, and more directly from your ERP. The Aphix platform uses the ERP system as the brain of the eCommerce operations, meaning you only have to maintain the data in one system, your ERP.

    Magento doesn’t offer a direct ERP integration. It requires a 3rd party connector to pull the information from your ERP and push it into the web store. Connectors lead to extra costs and complexity and can impact your web store’s security, and, if any updates are required, they can break the eCommerce site or harm your other systems.

  3. Ability to Edit Code

    Coding is complicated, and while some platforms like WordPress might have simple things which you can "edit", it's difficult without a team of developers to avoid that "white screen of death". For a mission-critical eCommerce system, those types of simple mistakes can cost big - but simple mistakes are the least of your problems - there are few applications more complicated than Magento and to edit the code effectively you really need to consider Magento Developer training and certification.

    The Aphix philosophy is that no business should have to write code. Need to drop in a contact form? Want to install a chatbot? Track and ad campaign? We've got a tool for that to keep it simple. Want to reconfigure your catalogue, change your menu structure to optimise your customers' experience? We've got great content and catalogue management system for that. Need to update your WebShop business logic to cater for the new type of stock message that doesn't fit into your existing products linked to a newly created custom field in your ERP? Well, we're here to help do that for you. No risk, no fuss, and you'll be able to fully test it and sign off on it before it goes live to your customers.

  4. Security

    Aphix is a certified integration partner to SAP, Sage, and Intact, meaning we provide a secure SaaS software that’s approved by the ERP provider. The software itself is also hosted and managed by Aphix. All security updates, including SSL certificate renewal, underlying AWS infrastructure updates, load balancing and 24/7 monitoring are all handled without you having to even consider them. All security updates are automatically applied and rolled out without you needing to take any action, meaning you're always on the latest and most up to date version.

    Magento, on the other hand, is an “Open Source Software” which depends entirely on your IT resources. Even when it comes to simple security issues such as an SSL certificate, you have to take care of it and ensure that it's kept up-to-date. When Magento creates patches for known security risks, it’s up to you to act on it to ensure your eCommerce is safe and secure. You'll be prompted by email about an update you should apply.

    If you have in house resources to manage your Magento installation, apply the relevant patches (ensuring it doesn't break any customisations you have) and update all the required infrastructure, then the patch notifications you receive will come as no surprise but no doubt you'd rather be spending time working on your business rather than managing mandatory security updates. If you don't have inhouse resources to manage this, then your provider will place you in a queue of all their other Magento customers to receive the updates... let's hope they get to you soon and they don't forget about that customisation which always breaks after every patch.

  5. Hosting

    Aphix provides hosting to all of our customers. As part of this, our hosting services include system monitoring, firewall management, backup (14-day retention), security updates, PCI DSS compliance, HTTP URL monitoring and 24/7 support, amazon hosting usage is based on a fair use policy, SSL setup, and uptime of 99.95% on average.

    When you run a Magento site, you must factor in that it can be a resource hog and is technically built to run on a dedicated server. Depending on the product you choose, Magento can be hosted on-premise, through a third party, or in the cloud. In most cases, the responsibility to host a Magento product is entirely up to you.

  6. Complexity

    Aphix offers an intuitive and easy to use software with a clean user interface that makes the customer experience smooth and easy. The back-end allows you to build beautiful sites even if you have never done it before. Also, there is a full day of training provided by the Aphix team where you can ask questions and play with the software before you go live. Finally, Aphix offers how-to guides, feature guides, and other documentation from our knowledge base that will help you even further.

    Magento does not offer any training, nor do they provide developers to help you build your site. It’s your responsibility to find a partner or developer to help you use Magento’s software. They can build your website for you, do the ERP integration, find suitable hosting, provide a sufficient level of security and everything else that needs to be done in order for your store to go live. Unlike Aphix eCommerce, which anyone can use and maintain. With Magento, you will need a digital agency partner or an in-house IT resource to maintain it.

  7. Scalability

    The Aphix Digital Platform was created with business scalability in mind. Our products work out-of-the-box in real-time with your ERP and the platform hosts multiple add-on solutions to help your business grow such as eCommerce, mobile apps and eProcurement tools.

    Magento is a stand-alone eCommerce solution. From the implementation of the product to the bespoke integration to eventual go-live can be a very long and arduous journey. Maintaining and scaling the solution is a hands-on full-time job for any business.

    Achieving some level of scale is attainable with Magento, but very, very time-consuming. Most businesses achieve a level of scale but just can’t sustain it before they have so much pain that they need to switch to a different eCommerce provider.

  8. Pricing

    Aphix offers a premium SaaS software solution and a suite of products hosted on the Aphix Digital Platform. When you sign up to Aphix the complete package includes integration, hosting, security checks, monitoring, upgrades, support, training, roadmap, and much much more, all at a price that is one of the best on the market.

    Magento’s software depends on your needs. It can vary from free software to software that is over $140,000. But, even if you chose their best product at that price, you will still need to have your own dedicated IT resources to maintain the software for you, unlike Aphix who manage it for you.

  9. Upgrades

    The SaaS nature of Aphix ensures that your eCommerce site or webshop is continuously improved, updated, and upgraded. New features are applied automatically to the solution which are based on the Aphix product roadmap and customer feedback. These software upgrades are included in the annual license fee, so you don’t even have to pay anything extra.

    Magento’s software is also improved and upgraded based on their roadmap and their customers’ needs. However, upgrades don’t work the same way. When there is a software upgrade, your eCommerce site may fall apart due to the many customisations that you have made along the way and were necessary for the ERP integration in particular. Upgrading or updating your theme in Magento means you have to start your eCommerce project all over again.

  10. Features

    Aphix has a wide selection of both B2B and B2C features as standard that make it easy for companies to choose from. Such features include multiple product variants, related products, period discounts, coupons, multi-buy offers, customer-specific pricing, paired products, and quantity breaks to name a few.

    Magento also has a lot of features that help companies with cross-selling and upselling but are not as good when it comes to a B2B company’s needs. Such features include product variants, related products, coupons & discounts, product bundles and groups.

Summary

Choosing the right eCommerce software for your business is no easy task, and you should take your time before making a final decision.

You need to consider many factors that can help make your business growth easier, such as ERP integration, security, hosting, scalability, and pricing, to name but a few.

Remember, while a free eCommerce solution might sound great to start with it’s not always the best option no matter how good it may sound. You’ll need to consider all the costs and work involved not only to go live but also to scale the solution when the time comes.

We see solution scalability as a critical factor when making the right decision in order to future-proof your business and your investment.

So, if you’re searching for an eCommerce solution, take a look at the Aphix Digital Platform for your business as it has many other assets than just stand-alone eCommerce.

It’s an award-winning eCommerce platform which is certified by ERP providers around the world. It makes it easy for you to take your first steps into the online world and scale your business in safe hands.

If you wish, you can request a demo to view our eCommerce solutions in action.

Also, feel free to email us at sales@aphixsoftware.com or call us on +041 213 7222 if you have any other questions.

Aphix future-proof eCommerce

 

 

 

 

 

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