Magento Releases Hosted, SaaS Model

Magento, the open-source ecommerce platform, formally launched a hosted, software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.

The Magento platform — in my opinion — is without doubt one of the most strong and efficient ecommerce options accessible. If, in truth, Magento has any drawbacks or weaknesses, it’s that every one of its options, features, and adaptability got here at the price of a fancy backend that required greater than slightly internet improvement expertise.

The brand new Magento Go is a hosted, SaaS resolution that takes benefit of Magento’s options — however, maybe, not its flexibility — and requires a service provider to haven’t any internet improvement or design expertise.

Magento-Produced Video, Introducing Go

Superior Product Configurations

Just like the “common” variations of Magento, Magento Go consists of superior product choices starting from easy merchandise to configurable or bundled ones.

A configurable product, for example, could be a t-shirt that’s accessible in small, medium, and huge and within the colours purple, white, and blue. In Magento Go, this may present up as a single product with each dimension and colour choices. To anybody that has completed any on-line procuring, this kind of configurable product may appear apparent. However many hosted or SaaS ecommerce platforms lack this characteristic. Magento Go makes it comparatively straightforward.

Magento Go additionally permits for bundled merchandise, like including a sport or controller to an Xbox console and promoting all three at one discounted worth. Once more, that is a complicated product characteristic {that a} comparatively small set of SaaS ecommerce suppliers supply.

Merchandising and Advertising and marketing

Like Magento’s Group, Skilled, and Enterprise editions, Magento Go additionally places emphasis on merchandising merchandise on web site and off. That is the thought of utilizing cross promotion, coupons, or different means to encourage every buyer to buy extra each now and later.

For instance, Magento Go permits retailers to create all method of coupons that may be promoted in on-site banners, on coupon and deal websites like RetailMeNot or Groupon, or by way of e mail newsletters.

Magento Go additionally features a present card characteristic just like the module provided in its Enterprise version. This specific characteristic is uncommon amongst turnkey ecommerce options.

Methods to Have interaction Clients

Magento Go additionally features a built-in ranking and evaluation system, product comparisons, want lists that may be shared on social media websites, and “customer-assisted procuring,” the place the service provider can work together with clients.

A Clear Path for Progress

One other, unstated, characteristic of Magento Go is that it presents a comparatively clear path for development. It’s not unusual for small retailers to start out with SaaS ecommerce options however finally change to a licensed ecommerce platform as they develop. With Magento Go that kind of transition must be comparatively straightforward given the relation to the opposite Magento options.

Assist

Magento Go guarantees 24 hour-a-day assist for retailers by way of e mail or cellphone, relying on their plan. This, once more, is a crucial characteristic for on-line retailers that may not be fully code-literate.

Costs

Magento Go presents 4 primary plans which are priced primarily based on the variety of merchandise within the catalog and the extent of assist provided. The plans run $15, $25, $65, and $125 per 30 days for 100, 500, 1,000, and 10,000 merchandise respectively. The final two plans embody phone assist.

For the time being, Magento Go can be providing a $1 million ecommerce “stimulus” fund, which can contribute $15 per 30 days to a service provider’s invoice till the $1 million runs out.

Which means whereas the funds can be found, Magento Go’s primary plan is free.

The View of a Competitor

There are lots of hosted platforms moreover Magento Go, after all. One of many main options is Shopify, an Ottawa, Canada-based hosted platform with greater than 12,500 energetic customers. The corporate was based in 2006. Its chief platform officer is Harley Finkelstein, who spoke with us about Magento Go.

“Magento is an honest platform,” stated Finkelstein. “However for the non-hosted variations, retailers nearly all the time want a developer to get it going. Magento Go, the hosted model, is healthier than the ‘common’ variations of Magento, however it’s actually not plug-and-play, like Shopify.

Finkelstein continued, “Getting arrange on Magento Go doesn’t appear to be a brief, straightforward course of, and plenty of entry-level retailers will nonetheless must associate with a developer to get Go up and operating. In that respect, the barrier to entry — for a lot of smaller retailers — nonetheless exists with Magento Go. However, in comparison with the common variations of Magento, it looks like a primary step in the best path.”

Summing Up

Magento Go is a superb turnkey ecommerce resolution that may be very aggressive with main SaaS suppliers. If a enterprise is simply getting began or pondering of fixing ecommerce platforms, Magento Go is actually price a glance.

In fact no platform is ideal, so retailers ought to all the time contemplate a couple of choices earlier than making a selection as necessary as which ecommerce resolution to make use of.

It is usually price nothing that PayPal, a pacesetter in on-line transactions, owns some 49 p.c of Magento.