Complete Guide to Magento (Adobe Commerce) eCommerce Platform

Think about a business developing in every aspect, from its design and product catalogs to its features and customer base expanding across multiple countries. Therefore, the industry now requires an e-commerce platform that can easily handle this growth. Here is where Magento comes in.

Magento is one of the most efficient and flexible eCommerce platforms available today. As of July 2025, over 107,000 live websites worldwide use Magento, demonstrating its significant market presence since its launch in 2008, according to BuiltWith. Startups and established businesses trust Magento to deliver exceptional online shopping experiences for their customers.

Why is Magento so special, and what makes Magento stand out? The Magento eCommerce platform is open-source and offers exceptional flexibility and customization options. Unlike other e-commerce solutions, Magento adapts to your business rather than compelling you to adapt to platform limitations. Magento scales with your ambitions, no matter whether you are running a simple online store or managing complex B2B operations across multiple markets.

Magento is cost-effective and flexible for all businesses. While it offers a free open-source version ideal for startups, it requires technical expertise for setup, customization, and maintenance. At the same time, established companies can utilize advanced features of Adobe Commerce (Note: Magento was acquired by Adobe) to handle many products and transactions. Keep reading to explore why Magento Commerce is a game-changer and how it can help your business.

Magento eCommerce is a comprehensive eCommerce platform that enables businesses to create, manage, and grow their online stores. It is built on PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) and uses MySQL databases.

Varien (later Magento Inc.) launched the first version of Magento in 2008. The timing was perfect: companies were migrating online in those days, and existing eCommerce solutions available were either very limited in features or extremely expensive. Magento solved both shortcomings with a rich feature set and flexible platform that could support everything from simple product catalogs to complex multi-storefronts.

The platform's journey took a major milestone in 2018 with Adobe announcing its intention to acquire Magento for $1.68 billion, introducing Adobe Commerce as its enterprise edition later, while continuing Magento Open Source.

Today, Adobe eCommerce solutions powered by Magento are the backbone of some of the largest eCommerce retailers in the world. Top global brands like Coca‑Cola, HP, Puma, Paul Smith, and BMW Group trust Adobe Commerce to power their e‑commerce platforms.

Magento 2

Magento 2 is a complete revamp of the previous platform. Officially released in November 2015, it fixed performance issues, improved the shopping experience, and included enhancements to the development process. It's important to know that official support for Magento 1 reached end-of-life in June 2020.

We continued to support Magento 1 users until June 2020, helping keep their websites secure and up to standard.

Adobe Commerce 

Businesses still using Magento 1 face security risks and no longer get updates or help from Magento, so upgrading to Magento 2 or Adobe Commerce is recommended. Key improvements of Magento 2 include:

• A full-page cache that improved performance. 
• A new, improved admin interface and user experience. 
• Better mobile responsiveness. 
• Easier checkout. 
• Modern security features. 
• Improved scalability for stores with high traffic.

Magento Editions

Magento has three main deployment models (editions).

• Magento Open Source: The free open-source edition that is appropriate for small to medium-sized businesses with the right technical skills or help from experienced developers to handle setup, hosting, and regular maintenance. 
• Adobe Commerce On Premise: The paid and self-hosted version of Adobe Commerce that has some advanced features. 
• Adobe Commerce Cloud: The paid, hosted cloud version of Adobe Commerce that comes with automatic scalability and support.

Key Differences

Magento Open Source provides basic eCommerce functionality, which does not cost anything beyond setting up. It comes with core eCommerce functionality such as product catalog management, shopping cart, checkout, and basic reporting. However, businesses are responsible for hosting, security, and supporting the platform.

Adobe Commerce is built on the open-source framework with enhanced enterprise-grade features such as customer segmentation, personalized recommendations, advanced reporting, and B2B integrated features. The most important benefit of Adobe Commerce is that official Adobe support is activated along with regular security and other updates. 

Features Comparison

Which One Is Right for Your Business?

Magento Open Source is best suited for

• Small to medium-sized businesses with technical expertise.
• Companies with a limited budget for platform licensing.
• Companies that can handle their hosting and security.
• Businesses with internal development resources available.

Adobe Commerce is well-suited for

• Enterprise-level organizations with complex needs.
• Companies that need official support and guaranteed updates.
• Organizations that require advanced B2B functionality.
• Businesses with high transaction volumes.

1. User-Friendly

Magento provides a user-friendly admin interface that non-technical users can use to manage their online stores. The dashboard of the platform gives you easy access to orders, customer details, and inventory management. The product creation functionality simplifies the process for businesses and allows them to create products in the catalog quickly, including images, descriptions, and pricing.

2. Customization

The true power of Magento website solutions is in the customization. The modular nature of the platform helps developers customize almost everything for the store. Using custom themes, you can change the look and feel of the store, and custom modules help to add very specific functionalities based on unique business needs.

3. Support and Extensions

Magento has thousands of extensions and features you can find in the Magento Marketplace. Extensions range from payment gateways and shipping methods to marketing automation and analytics tools. Magento has a vast community of developers who ensure continuous support for problem-solving.

4. Themes and Templates

When it comes to themes and templates, Magento offers a wide range of themes and templates, from free community options to premium designs. Your stores look amazing on a laptop, desktop, tablet, or mobile device with Magento’s responsive designs. The flexibility of theming and appearance in Magento allows businesses to create unique experiences and establish a stronger brand recognition in a competitive market.

5. Marketing and SEO Tools

Magento eCommerce stores have built-in SEO capabilities to help rank higher in search. Features include optimization of URLs, meta tag management, and sitemap generation. There are advanced marketing tools for creating and managing targeted campaigns, segments, and tracking conversion rates.

6. Customer Support

Magento offers many customer support channels, including built-in tools to integrate live chat, helpdesk systems, and detailed FAQs. Magento's customer account features give shoppers the ability to track orders, manage wish lists, and view order history.

7. Security

In all Adobe eCommerce solutions, security is a priority. It has PCI-compliant features, secure payment processing, and software updates regularly to prevent the latest security vulnerabilities. Advanced security extensions give even more protection against threats from SQL injection and cross-site scripting while still retaining functionality.

8. Inventory Control

Comprehensive inventory control systems also allow you to track stock levels, manage suppliers, and reduce the time spent on purchasing by automating reorder processes. A system with multi-warehouse capabilities will allow you to manage your inventory across multiple locations, and low-stock alerts resolve the problem of overselling when the stock is insufficient.

Pricing Overview

Licensing Considerations

Many businesses consider Magento Open Source an attractive option as it has no licensing fees. However, the total cost includes hosting, security, development, and maintenance costs.

Adobe Commerce licensing is tied to Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) and offers many advanced features, including official support. The investment typically pays for itself over time, especially as the conversion rate improves and operations become more efficient.

Advanced Functionalities

Adobe Commerce costs more because it provides premium features and advanced tools, such as:

• Advanced customer segmentation and personalization.
• B2B commerce built-in capabilities.
• Advanced reporting and analytics.
• Preview content before it goes live.
• Advanced security and compliance features.

Hidden costs to consider:

• Development and customization costs.
• Third-party extension costs.
• Maintenance/updates.
• Training and certification costs.
• Integrations with other business systems.   

1. Feature-Rich and Flexible

Magento provides exceptional flexibility with its eCommerce platform. It has an extensive feature set that not only covers simple product catalog management but also has advanced B2B features. Businesses can customize every aspect of an online store, from the checkout process to inventory management systems. 

2. Scalable

Magento moves with you as your business grows! Whether you’re starting with a few products or managing millions of SKUs, Magento can handle your needs. Magento supports multiple stores, websites, and store views that you can run with a single installation. Imagine how easy that is as you enter new markets! 

3. Secure

As said, security is a top priority of Magento solutions. 

4. Mobile-Friendly

Modern Magento website (Magento 2) themes are mobile-responsive by default, ensuring a seamless shopping experience across all devices. The Progressive Web App (PWA) option also improves site performance on mobile devices. 

5. Supportive of Multi-Currency and Languages

Magento’s built-in multi-currency and multi-language support capability makes global commerce easier than ever. Thus, businesses can expand into international markets without any limitations from their e-commerce platform. Magento makes currency conversion, tax calculations, and localized content management smooth. 

6. Rich Add-Ons and Extensions

As discussed, the Magento Marketplace has every solution for your business needs. 

7. Advanced Analytics and Reporting

As discussed, Adobe Commerce offers a lot of analytics and reporting capabilities. It allows businesses to analyze customer activity, sales performance, and discover potential opportunities for growth with detailed reports and dashboards.  

8. Large Community

Magento has one of the largest and most active communities in the e-commerce space. Adobe Commerce supports this with thousands of developers, active forums, GitHub contributions, and a large Slack community. Magento 2 alone has over 10,000 GitHub stars, 6,000+ forks, and thousands of contributors on its GitHub repository.

There are many resources, documentation, and support from other developers and businesses in this community. The community constantly contributes to the platform and resolves technical problems. 

1. Cost

Although Magento Open Source is free, the potential Total Cost can be high. Licensing fees for Adobe Commerce can also be high, particularly if you have a high-revenue business. 

2. Large Resource Requirements

Magento needs considerable hosting infrastructure to run effectively. More resources will be required, especially for stores with large product catalogs or high traffic. Proper server configuration and performance optimization are necessary. 

3. Complexity

With great flexibility, complexity also arises. Magento demands technical skills to set up, customize, and maintain, and will be challenging for non-technical users if they are not properly trained or do not have developer support.

1. Great Scalability

The Magento eCommerce platform is built for businesses that want to grow. The architecture of the Magento platform helps in horizontal scaling, through which businesses can add additional servers as the traffic increases. Moreover, managing multiple stores from a single installation helps businesses expand into new markets and new countries without having to install additional systems.

Regardless of whether you’re processing an order a day, an order an hour, or an order a minute, Magento maintains consistent performance with excellent caching and database management.

A great example of this is Wacom’s use of Adobe Commerce.

Adobe Commerce offered the tools we needed to support all our requirements and build regional e-commerce sites that maintain consistency while allowing flexibility.

Balaji Ganesan, Vice President of Information Services, Wacom

2. High Level of Customization

Unlike inflexible SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms, Magento provides unlimited customization opportunities. The open-source approach helps developers create custom modules, modify the core functionalities, and connect to any third-party systems.

As Gary Specter, Vice President at Adobe, said:

3. Powerful Features

Adobe eCommerce solutions using Magento offer exceptional enterprise-grade capabilities and features. That includes advanced customer segmentation, personalized product recommendations, a complete B2B function, and integrated content management features that give you everything for complex online commerce.  
This isn’t just theory. It’s proven through real-world results. For example, when Accent Group moved to Adobe Commerce, they were able to modernize their entire eCommerce infrastructure.

With Adobe Commerce, we don’t have to spend time managing our ecommerce systems. We keep getting new features and tools without having to build them ourselves.

James Buckner, General Manager, IT, The Buckner Group

4. Excellent Security

As discussed, security is the key focus of Magento solutions. The platform comes with built-in security features such as two-factor authentication, access control, advanced credential management, and secure payment processing. More than just built-in security, if regularly maintained, Magento also provides security updates and patches that address any emerging threats. If there are businesses that are collecting sensitive customer information, especially for financial transactions, Magento provides a framework to help secure those transactions.

Adobe Commerce is committed to proactive security through regular patches, HackerOne bug bounties, and PCI compliance. We help businesses stay protected.

Adobe Commerce Security Overview

5. Open Source Community

The Magento community dedicates millions of hours every year to improving the platform. This collaborative community gives ideas for the continuous development of the platform, plenty of documentation, and continuous support. The community extensions and themes provide affordable options for common business requirements, too.

Around 60% of Magento’s codebase comes from its third-party developer community, making community contributions one of the most valuable parts of the platform.

Adobe Commerce Case Study.

Magento eCommerce continues to be a top choice for businesses that are serious about succeeding in online commerce. Its flexibility, scalability, and plenty of features make it a great option for anyone from a start-up initiative to an enterprise-level business.

It is important to know that this level of development and maintenance is a huge investment. However, when thinking about the unlimited customization and future growth possibilities in Magento, the investment required feels reasonable. Magento keeps getting better with regular updates that improve speed, security, and add new features. Magento now allows cache clearing without re-deploying static files, making updates faster and more reliable.

Adobe's acquisition has strengthened Magento's role in the enterprise market, while continuing to support an open-source version. Choosing either Magento Open Source due to budget limitations or Adobe Commerce for enterprise-level capabilities, you are still choosing a platform that expands as your businesses grow.

Webandcrafts is a Magento development company dedicated to empowering businesses to develop, customize, and expand their eCommerce stores easily. We help organizations with Magento development and solutions from Adobe Commerce. We have supported projects like IKEA’s Adobe Commerce website for food essentials in the Middle East, delivering seamless user experiences. We cherish assisting every business in utilizing the potential of this amazing platform to realize their online commerce vision.

Whether you're starting with a new online shop or improving your existing platform with Adobe Commerce, our expert Magento developers develop personalized solutions that align perfectly with your vision. Turn your eCommerce dreams into reality with WAC. Reach out to us today and let's build something exceptional together.