When it comes to the world of Magento eCommerce, there are two different software editions that you can choose from to run your online business: Magento Enterprise Edition and Magento Community Edition. Both editions are excellent pieces of eCommerce software, and no matter which one you choose you’ll be able to run a user-friendly and powerful online store in no time at all.
However, although the core of these two editions is essentially the same, they differ in some significant ways: namely, in features, support and – of course – price tag whilst the Community Edition is completely free. So should you purchase the Magento Enterprise Edition when you can get the Community Edition at zero cost? It’s an important question. Upgrading to Magento Enterprise Edition is a substantial investment, and you’ll want to make sure you’ve thought through the pros and cons of upgrading properly.
In some cases, Magento Community Edition may be all you need. For example, if you run a small eCommerce business, then the basic (yet still powerful) features contained within this free edition may be all your business needs to operate an effective and user-friendly online store. However, if your business is larger, and you hope to increase your sales exponentially, then taking a serious look at the Enterprise Edition can be worth your while. Here are 3 advantages of opting for the Magento Enterprise Edition for your eCommerce store.
1. Comprehensive support.
License holders of Magento Enterprise Edition have access to around the clock professional support by both email and phone. Included in the license is a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Magento for continual technical support, and so no matter what the problem, or what time it is, you’ll receive the prompt and professional help you’ll need. In contrast, if you run the Community Edition, your only means of support is the Magento Community online, or hiring a Magento professional to help you with your particular issue. Sure, the Magento Community is a thriving community of passionate and savvy Magento users. But when you need urgent support, sifting through posts and discussions to find the answer(s) you need is time consuming, with no guarantee that you’ll find what you’re looking for. And hiring a Magento professional can be costly if the time required to solve your particular issue is significant. However, if you purchase Magento Enterprise Edition you’ll receive all the support you need at anytime, and you won’t have to pay extra for it.
2. Premium features.
Magento Enterprise Edition comes packed with a range of premium features that are not included in the Community Edition. For example, with this edition you’ll get an enhanced content and catalogue management tools and improved search functionality with Solr. However, one of the most important and game-changing features of the Magento Enterprise Edition is Full Page Caching. With Full Page Caching enabled, the time it takes for your webpages to load can decrease dramatically, which can help you get more sales. Like it or not, your customers hate waiting for pages to load, and if your pages don’t load fast enough then they may click away in frustration. In fact, 40 per cent of customers abandon a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load, and for each 1 second delay in loading a page, customer satisfaction decreases by 16 per cent (according to various 3rd party sources). So by having pages that load in an instant, visitors to your website are more likely to stick around and make purchases. Unfortunately, the Community Edition doesn’t offer Full Page Caching, and so if you’re serious about maximising your sales, Magento Enterprise Edition could be the way to go.
3. Powerful marketing tools.
Apart from offering merchants greater customisation and added functionality, and 24/7 technical support, Magento Enterprise Edition contains a number of powerful marketing tools (such as advanced customer segmentation and targeting, private sales, events and invitations and reward points capabilities, just to list a few) that can help increase your sales and revenue. These marketing tools just aren’t included in the free Community Edition, and this fact alone can justify purchasing the Magento Enterprise Edition.
When deciding on whether to opt for the Magento Enterprise Edition over the Magneto Community Edition, it’s important to keep the above advantages in mind. As stated in the introduction, if you currently run a small-sized business, and are currently happy with the amount of sales you’re getting, then the free Community Edition may be all you need. However, if your online store is currently generating a significant amount of sales, and you’d like to see that number grow in the future, then the Magento Enterprise Edition can be the ideal eCommerce platform for you and your online business.