Magento versions / editions
Magento versions / editions
What is the difference between Magento Comminity (CE) and Magento Enterprise (EE) editions?
Why is the first one free and the other comes on subscription basis?
This article will try to cover most of the functional differences of these two editions in general. For the Magento Enterprise edition functionality not available for Magento Community the alternatives will be offered accordingly.
Magento Community
To get an impression on the functionality introduced in Magneto Enterprise one may first want to get the idea of what is the functionality that comes for free with Magento CE.
It is also worth mentioning that all the functional aspects available for Magento Community can also be found in Magento Enterprise.
1) Mobile version of the store
With the help of responsive themes available, store administrator can engage customers using mobile devices.
2) Multiple stores / store views
Magento allows setting up several stores (with different domain names, if required) within a single installation or setting up multi-lingual version of the store with the help of store views functionality.
3) Pricing rules
Magento allows the store owner applying complex, flexible discount rules and issuing coupon codes.
4) Reporting functionality
Allows merchants to have a sales related reports.
5) Layered Navigation
Customer experience is also a part of the functionality to look into and having a convenient way to navigate the store can prove important when it comes to sales.
6) Variety of payment gateways
To cover the checkout preferences of customers from different countries it is possible to set different payment methods (some of the payment methods can only be introduced using corresponding software).
7) Product Configuration
Flexible product types, settings and a variety of options allow creating a product considering all the possible requirements.
8) In store advertising
Magento comes with related products, up-sells and cross-sells functionality out of the box.
9) SEO
Though basic, Magento comes with search engine optimization functionality.
10) Customer account and order management
The orders are processed manually and customer accounts can be created and managed from the backend (admin area) of the store, making it if customers prefer placing orders by phone.
Magento Enterprise
1) Optimized to handle large amount of products
Due to the architecture peculiarities Magento Enterprise can handle vast amount of products much faster. If you expect the store to be product-heavy (couple of thousands of products) Magento EE is a much more preferable option.
2) Full Page Cache
Out of the box, Magento Enterprise comes with the caching software increasing the load speed of the store.
3) Comprehensive backup
Magento EE allows rolling back the changes made to CMS pages, products and product categories easily.
4) Improved tax calculation
Allows better control of the retail stores, different warehouses or particular tax zones.
5) Customer Attributes and segmentation
Magento Enterprise comes with a set of rules and attributes allowing to segment customers into particular groups considering a number of different values. A really powerful tool enhancing Enterprise segmentation functionality or introducing it to Magento CE Market Segmentation Suite can be found at our store.
6) Gift wrap
Another customer experience enhancement allowing a quick and neat way of offering a wrap for a product purchased. For Magento Community one may want to look through the Gift Wrap extension.
7) Loyalty program
With Magento EE it is possible to reward your customers for the purchases made with the in-store currency. One can introduce similar functionality to Magento Community or improve the Enterprise edition one with the help of Points and Rewards extension.
8) Store credit and gift cards
The functionality common for Magento Enterprise can be introduced to Magento Community with the help of extensions such as: Gift Card/Certificate and Store Credit and Refund.
9) RMA
Magento Enterprise has an RMA functionality for handling customer complaints. For improved experience we advice referring to RMA extension available at our store and compatible with both Magento CE and EE.
10) Solr search
Powerfull searching engine with the alternatives described in the Magento Solr search article.
11) Abandoned cart follow ups
Allows automatically email the customers who have abandoned the cart. Another sparkling solution by aheadWorks Follow Up Email with a variety of conditions can further improve the email marketing of the store or introduce it to Magento Community stores.
12) Automatic cross sell, up sell and related product assignment
This Magento Enterprise functionality allows applying relevant related items to products en masse, making it a functionality to look into when dealing with vast numbers of products. Some additional functionality can be established with the help of Automatic Related Products extension for both Magento editions.
13) Magento team support
If any issues or questions Magento team will be glad to assist Magento Enterprise owners.
To sum up.
If you expect the store to be product-heavy and dealing with huge customer traffic, it is recommended to stick with Magento Enterprise.
If you find the list of the features available for Magento Enterprise not that convincing, you can always go with Magento Community - an excellent ecommerce solution.
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Points & Rewards
