Technology

Magento

Magento (Adobe Commerce) is a powerful open-source e-commerce platform for building and running professional online shops with extensive customization options.

Magento is one of the world's leading e-commerce platforms and is used by thousands of companies to run complex online shops. The platform offers a highly flexible framework that scales from small shops to international enterprise solutions. Since its acquisition by Adobe the commercial variant is marketed as Adobe Commerce, while the open-source version remains available as Magento Open Source. Thanks to a large extension ecosystem and an active developer community Magento is especially attractive for businesses with custom requirements.

What is Magento?

Magento is a PHP-based e-commerce platform first released in 2008 and established as one of the most capable solutions for online retail. The architecture is modular, allowing developers to customize almost every aspect of the shop – from product display and checkout to complex pricing rules and multi-store setups. Magento 2, the current generation, improves performance, security and extensibility and supports modern technologies such as Elasticsearch, Varnish caching and REST/GraphQL APIs. The platform exists in two variants: Magento Open Source (free, community-driven) and Adobe Commerce (paid, with features like B2B, content staging and cloud hosting). Native support for multi-language, multi-currency and multiple storefronts makes Magento well suited for international businesses. It integrates with ERP, CRM and PIM systems as well as payment and shipping providers.

How does Magento work?

Magento is based on the MVC pattern (Model-View-Controller) and uses PHP with the Zend/Laminas framework. Product data, orders and customer data are stored in MySQL or MariaDB; Elasticsearch powers product search. The modular design allows adding functionality via extensions or overriding existing modules without changing core code. For performance Magento uses multi-layer caching with Varnish as full-page cache and Redis for session and block caching. REST and GraphQL APIs allow integration with external systems or headless commerce. Deployment is supported by Composer as dependency manager and a CLI for indexing, cache management and database migrations.

Practical Examples

B2C online shop: A fashion retailer runs a Magento shop with configurable products, size and colour variants, wishlists and personalized recommendations.

B2B commerce: An industrial supplier uses Adobe Commerce for custom price lists, quote requests, quick order and customer-specific catalogues.

Multi-store setup: An international retailer manages multiple storefronts in different languages and currencies from a single Magento installation.

Marketplace: A company uses Magento as the base for a multi-vendor marketplace where different sellers offer their products.

Headless commerce: A tech company uses the Magento GraphQL API as backend for a React-based Progressive Web App (PWA) with maximum frontend flexibility.

Typical Use Cases

Enterprise e-commerce: Large companies with complex catalogues, custom pricing and high order volume

International trade: Shops that need to serve multiple countries, languages and currencies

B2B portals: Companies offering business customers self-service ordering with custom terms

Custom shop solutions: Retailers with specific requirements beyond standard systems and deep customization

Omnichannel commerce: Integration of online and offline channels via one platform with shared inventory and customer data

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

High flexibility: Almost every function can be adapted or extended without changing core code
Scalability: Magento handles large catalogues and high traffic reliably with the right infrastructure
Rich ecosystem: Thousands of extensions in the Magento Marketplace and a large developer community cover almost every use case
Multi-store: Multiple shops, brands and countries can be managed from one installation
Powerful APIs: REST and GraphQL enable headless architectures and integration with third-party systems

Disadvantages

High complexity: Setup, customization and operation require specialized Magento developers and solid know-how
Resource-intensive: Magento needs capable server infrastructure with Varnish, Redis and Elasticsearch for good performance
Cost: Total cost of ownership is higher than with simpler shop systems – especially Adobe Commerce with licence fees
Long development cycles: Customizations and upgrades can be time-consuming and complex

Frequently Asked Questions about Magento

What is the difference between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce?

Magento Open Source is the free community version with all core e-commerce features. Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Commerce) is the paid enterprise version with additional features such as B2B modules, content staging, advanced analytics and optional cloud hosting. For small to medium shops the Open Source version often suffices; large companies with complex B2B needs benefit from Adobe Commerce.

Is Magento suitable for small online shops?

Magento can be used for smaller shops but is often overkill due to its complexity and higher hosting needs. For simple shops with few products, solutions like Shopify or WooCommerce are more approachable. Magento pays off when you need customizations, multi-store setups or complex product structures.

How much effort is a Magento version upgrade?

A Magento upgrade can take several weeks depending on customizations and installed extensions. The move from Magento 1 to 2 was a full migration. Within Magento 2, updates are more manageable thanks to Composer-based dependency management and semantic versioning but still require thorough testing of all extensions and customizations.

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