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Methodology

How we choose the ecommerce platform

Decision tree + comparison matrix of the 4 platforms. No fluff.

When clients ask us "what's the best ecommerce platform?", the correct answer is: it depends. Each platform covers different use cases. The wrong one costs three times the right one, in time and budget.

On this page you'll find 3 tools to orient yourself: our typical project distribution, a 5-question decision tree, and a comparison matrix on 8 criteria.

Typical distribution of our projects

Out of 100 ecommerce projects, the final platform we recommend distributes as follows. It's not preference, it's the result of case-by-case analysis applied to our client base.

WooCommerceWordPress + plugins
~70%
ShopifyTurnkey SaaS
~15%
PrestaShopEU open source multi-shop
~10%
MagentoAdobe Commerce enterprise
~5%

Indicative estimate based on our experience, not a market figure. Distribution varies year to year and depends on the clients who contact us.

The 4 platforms

At a glance.

Each platform has a specific strength. Identifying your case is the first step.

Default ~70%

WooCommerce

Maximum flexibility, full code control.

  • Catalogs from 50 to 10,000 products
  • Mature integrations with European ERPs
  • Superior SEO (WordPress base)
  • Open source: zero platform cost
  • Maintainable custom plugins
Explore WooCommerce →
Niche ~15%

Shopify

Fast time-to-market, zero infrastructure worries.

  • DTC brands with marketing focus
  • International multi-currency selling
  • Rich app store (subscriptions, AR, etc.)
  • SaaS: automatic scalability
  • Online in 1-3 weeks
Explore Shopify →
Niche ~10%

PrestaShop

Native multi-shop, B2B with complex pricing.

  • Multi-brand under one installation
  • B2B with customer-group pricing
  • Native multi-currency and multi-tax
  • Powerful variant management
  • Self-hosted open source
Explore PrestaShop →
Enterprise ~5%

Magento

Adobe Commerce for enterprise catalogs.

  • Over 10,000 SKUs with complex variants
  • Advanced B2B (P.O., approvals)
  • Enterprise ERP integration (SAP, Oracle)
  • International multi-store 20+ countries
  • Audit trail and advanced compliance
Explore Magento →

Decision tree

5 questions to orient yourself.

These are the same questions we ask in initial calls with clients. Answer each one mentally: the right platform fit emerges.

1How many products do you sell?

Less than 10,000 WooCommerce, Shopify or PrestaShop cover well. Go to question 2.
More than 10,000 + advanced B2B Magento Adobe Commerce is likely the fit. Other platforms struggle beyond this threshold with complex B2B.
↓

2Do you need multi-shop / multi-brand?

Yes, multiple brands under one installation PrestaShop native multi-shop is the natural choice. Go to question 5 for confirmation.
No, just one brand WooCommerce or Shopify, depending on next questions. Go to 3.
↓

3Do you have a European ERP to integrate?

Yes (Sage, SAP B1, Odoo, Italian ERPs, etc.) WooCommerce has the most mature integrations. Almost certainly this is your fit.
No, online sales only Go to question 4: depends on how you want to manage costs.
↓

4Code control or turnkey service?

Full control, customizations, custom integrations WooCommerce is unmatched: open source, maintainable custom plugins, no lock-in.
All-included, no technical worries Shopify SaaS is the ideal fit, especially for international DTC brands.
↓

5Is editorial blog a primary asset?

Yes, SEO content is the driver WooCommerce + WordPress is unmatched on the editorial side. Confirms the fit from question 4.
No, product-focused The choice from previous questions stands.

Doubts on a question? Call us 10 minutes and we'll tell you on the phone.

Comparison matrix

The 4 platforms on 12 criteria.

How strong each platform is on each criterion. Filled dots = great fit, empty dots = not recommended. Total score at the bottom.

Criterion WooCommerce Shopify PrestaShop Magento
Flexibility / customization ●●●●● ●●○○○ ●●●○○ ●●●●○
Time-to-market ●●●●● ●●●●● ●●●○○ ●○○○○
Total platform cost (TCO) ●●●●● ●●○○○ ●●●●○ ●●○○○
European ERP integration ●●●●● ●●○○○ ●●●○○ ●●○○○
SEO + editorial content ●●●●● ●●○○○ ●●●○○ ●●●○○
Plugin / theme ecosystem ●●●●● ●●●●○ ●●●○○ ●●●○○
Internal team learning curve ●●●●● ●●●●○ ●●●○○ ●○○○○
Server-side tracking / Conversion API ●●●●● ●●●○○ ●●●○○ ●●●●○
Multi-shop / multi-brand ●●●●○ ●●●○○ ●●●●● ●●●●●
International selling ●●●●○ ●●●●● ●●●●○ ●●●●●
Advanced B2B (pricing, P.O.) ●●●●○ ●●○○○ ●●●●○ ●●●●●
Enterprise catalog (10K+ SKU) ●●●○○ ●●●○○ ●●●●○ ●●●●●
Total score (out of 60) 55/60 🏆 37/60 42/60 40/60

●●●●● excellent  ·  ●●●●○ very good  ·  ●●●○○ good  ·  ●●○○○ limited  ·  ●○○○○ not recommended

Total score is a simplification: every project weighs the criteria differently. For an enterprise B2B catalog, Magento's score matters more; for an international DTC brand, Shopify's matters more. For most cases, however, criteria weigh in favor of WooCommerce, which is why it's the platform we propose in ~70% of projects.

Typical scenarios

How we chose in 6 real cases.

Every platform choice is the result of a concrete conversation with the client. Below are 6 representative examples (anonymized but real) of how we applied the methodology. In most cases WooCommerce emerges as the best fit for the European market, but we also show cases where another platform is objectively more suitable.

Case 1 · Food sector · WooCommerce choice

Food producer with 80 products and Italian ERP integration

Client: small artisanal pasta producer from Piedmont, 80 SKUs, 4 employees, revenue under €500K/year. Needs: sell online to end consumers, manage B2B orders with bars/restaurants, sync with Danea Easyfatt ERP for electronic invoicing and stock. No international sales currently. Catalog managed directly by the owner (marketing skills, not technical).

Final choice: WooCommerce. Rationale: native official plugin integration with Danea is mature, very low recurring cost (only hosting €300/year + Stripe for payments), easy WordPress backoffice for the owner. Online in 3 weeks (€2,950 Professional package), today managing 30-50 B2C orders/week + 4-5 B2B orders weekly, all synced with the ERP.

Case 2 · DTC fashion brand · Shopify choice

Sustainable apparel brand selling in 8 EU countries

Client: DTC brand of organic cotton t-shirts and hoodies, 200 SKUs (size/color variants), marketing-first team of 6 people, growing revenue. Needs: international selling in 8 EU countries with localized currencies, languages and taxes, native integrations with TikTok Shop and Instagram Shopping, fast time-to-market for seasonal collections, rich app store for marketing automation (Klaviyo, Yotpo reviews).

Final choice: Shopify Advanced + Shopify Markets. Rationale: Shopify Markets' native multi-currency management is unbeatable on 8+ countries, app store integrations with TikTok/Instagram are plug-and-play, marketing team uses backoffice without technical support.

Why not WooCommerce (our default choice)? WooCommerce was feasible but required 3-4 different plugins to cover multi-currency, multi-tax and TikTok/Instagram integrations, with heavier maintenance. For DTC brands selling in their home country only or in 2-3 EU countries we propose WooCommerce instead for the much lower recurring costs. Here Shopify won only for the combination of international marketing + 8 countries + marketing-first team. Online in 4 weeks.

Case 3 · Medium B2B distributor · WooCommerce choice

Restaurant supplies distributor with 1,500 products and customer pricing

Client: B2B distributor of professional equipment and packaging for the restaurant industry, 1,500 products with technical variants (capacity, materials, certifications), 200 professional customers with individually negotiated price lists, recurring weekly orders, also B2C retail sales. Needs: prices hidden from guests, mandatory login to see B2B pricing, repeatable orders from history, integration with European ERP, technical section with downloadable PDF datasheets.

Final choice: WooCommerce + B2B for WooCommerce. Rationale: the B2B plugin natively covers customer pricing, hidden prices, quote-based ordering. ERP integration is plug-and-play. Magento would have been oversized (catalog under 5,000 SKUs). PrestaShop feasible but with more premium modules to license. Online in 6 weeks (€4,950 Top package), today managing 80-120 B2B orders/week + 30-40 B2C orders, all synced with the ERP in real-time.

Case 4 · B2B industrial distributor · Magento choice

Industrial distributor with 25,000 SKUs and SAP integration

Client: industrial distributor of mechanical components, 25,000 SKUs with complex technical variants, 200 corporate buyers with multiple accounts, negotiated pricing per customer, real-time integration with SAP S/4HANA for stock, prices and orders. B2B needs: purchase orders (P.O.), multi-step approvals, audit trail for ISO compliance, deferred invoicing with custom payment terms.

Final choice: Magento Adobe Commerce B2B Edition. Rationale: at that SKU volume + advanced B2B + enterprise ERP integration, no other platform covers the scope.

Why not WooCommerce (our default choice)? For catalogs up to 5,000 products with medium B2B we always propose WooCommerce + B2B plugin (see Case 3 above), which covers that scope at 1/5 the cost. In this case however the 25,000 SKUs + SAP enterprise integration + 200 corporate buyers with multi-step approvals were beyond WooCommerce's sweet spot: it would have required extensive custom development, losing the speed and low-cost benefits that make it our default choice. Build time: 14 weeks, enterprise budget. Performance tripled after go-live thanks to Magento Cloud + advanced caching.

Case 5 · Multi-brand group · PrestaShop choice

Fashion group with 4 brands under one installation

Client: fashion holding with 4 different brands (luxury, casual, sport, outlet), each with separate product catalog but unified logistics/finance backend. Needs: manage 4 distinct stores (URL, theme, independent pricing) but with unified backoffice, shared warehouse, differentiated pricing per customer group, centralized invoicing.

Final choice: PrestaShop multi-shop. Rationale: PrestaShop was born for exactly this case (native multi-shop under one installation).

Why not WooCommerce (our default choice)? WooCommerce with WordPress Multisite could have covered the scope, but required 4 separate WordPress installations synced via API to share warehouse and customers, complicating maintenance and costs. PrestaShop native multi-shop is objectively more suitable here. That said: for the majority of our clients who do NOT have multi-brand under one installation, we propose WooCommerce instead for better ERP integration, superior SEO and lower costs. Magento would have been oversized (catalogs under 10K total SKUs). Online in 8 weeks, today the 4 brands share logistics backend with 60% infrastructure savings vs 4 separate ecommerce.

Case 6 · Professional services · WooCommerce choice

Consulting firm with service catalog and SEO blog

Client: HR consulting firm with 15 services sellable online (courses, audits, packaged consulting), editorial blog as primary asset for lead generation (300+ SEO articles), Italian ERP, average revenue €800K/year. Needs: integrate service sales with existing editorial blog (on WordPress), maintain Google ranking on strategic keywords, marketing automation for leads (HubSpot integration).

Final choice: WooCommerce (continuity with existing WordPress blog). Rationale: integrating another CMS would have broken the SEO structure consolidated over 5 years of blogging. WooCommerce has native HubSpot integration, ERP, subscription management via Subscriptions plugin. Online in 5 weeks without losing rankings on 200+ already-ranked keywords.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions on ecommerce platform choice.

The questions clients ask most often when evaluating the right platform for their case.

Is WooCommerce free?

Yes, WooCommerce is a completely free open source plugin for WordPress. You don't pay licenses or commissions on revenue. The costs are only WordPress hosting (on our servers €260/year) and any premium plugins you need for your specific case. This is why it's the platform with the lowest TCO on the market — it's one of the main reasons we recommend it as default.

WooCommerce or Shopify in 2026: which is better?

Depends on the case, but for most projects we recommend WooCommerce: superior ERP integrations, better SEO, full code control, no recurring monthly fees, no commissions on revenue. Shopify makes sense for DTC brands focused on international marketing wanting zero infrastructure worries. Under 30 products without custom needs, Shopify Start is faster to launch. See the decision tree above to identify where you stand.

How much does a WooCommerce ecommerce cost?

Starts from €1,950 for the Start package (online in 1 week, up to 300-400 products). A typical WooCommerce Professional ranges €2,950-€4,950 (1-3 weeks). A Top €4,950-€9,900 (3-6 weeks). For enterprise projects over €9,900. These are indicative prices: every project is different and depends on customizations, ERP integration, marketing automation, B2B. A 10-minute call at +39 011 922 2277 gets you a realistic range for your specific case.

Can you migrate from Shopify to WooCommerce?

Yes, it's a migration we do regularly. We export products, customers, order history from Shopify and re-import them into WooCommerce keeping URLs (to preserve SEO ranking). Average time: 1 week for small ecommerce, up to 3-4 weeks for complex catalogs with variants, B2B, marketing automation. Typical reasons for migrating: reducing recurring Shopify costs, getting full code control, improving SEO, integrating European ERPs limited on Shopify.

Is PrestaShop still used in 2026?

Yes, PrestaShop 8 is actively developed and is a valid platform — especially for multi-shop under one installation and B2B with customer-group pricing. The European community is large, especially in France and Italy. It's the right fit for about 10% of our projects, typically for multi-brand holdings or B2B distributors with complex pricing. For standard mono-brand cases WooCommerce is usually faster to launch and cheaper to maintain over time.

Does Magento Adobe Commerce have a free plan?

Yes, there are Magento Open Source (free) and Adobe Commerce (paid enterprise version with cloud hosting included and annual licenses). The free version still requires performant hosting (€500-2,000/month) and a dedicated DevOps team to be securely maintained. For catalogs under 10,000 SKUs it's generally oversized: WooCommerce or PrestaShop cover the same scope with much lower costs and management complexity. Magento's sweet spot is enterprise catalogs + advanced B2B + ERP integration.

How long does it take to build an ecommerce?

Depends on platform and complexity. Start package (300-400 products, standard flow): 1 week on WooCommerce or Shopify. Professional (up to 1,000 products, multi-payment, basic ERP integration): 1-3 weeks. Top (complex catalog, marketing automation, custom dashboard): 3-6 weeks. Ultra (enterprise, advanced B2B, ERP integration): 5-15 weeks on Magento. The main constraint is almost always client material: copy, product photos, logo. Without ready material, any estimate stretches.

Is WooCommerce suitable for large catalogs (over 5,000 products)?

Yes, up to about 10,000 products WooCommerce holds well when accompanied by: performant hosting (LiteSpeed, Cloudways or Kinsta), optimized MariaDB database with dedicated indexes, Redis for object-level caching, tuning plugins like WP Rocket or LiteSpeed Cache, and an optimized theme structure. Above 10,000 products with complex variants and advanced B2B, Magento Adobe Commerce becomes the natural fit. For medium catalogs 500-5,000 WooCommerce is almost always the best choice for flexibility and costs.

Want orientation on your case?

In a 10-minute free call we'll honestly tell you which platform fits your project best. No commitment, no surprise quotes. Even if you don't end up working with us.

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