Crescentek

Ecommerce Website Development

Shopify, Woo, Magento — match platform to business.

Honest e-commerce platform advice for Irish SMBs. Shopify for clean SaaS simplicity, WooCommerce for content + commerce, Magento for enterprise scale, BigCommerce for the Shopify challenger — we build on all four, and we'll tell you which fits.

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ecom-compare.crescentek.ie
S
Shopify
The all-in-one
€29–€299/moSMB to growth-stage D2C
Feature support
Irish payment (Stripe)
Revolut Pay
Apple/Google Pay
Multi-channel (Amazon, Meta)
Custom checkout
Plus tier
Subscription products
via app
Headless frontend
Plus tier
No monthly fee
What actually drives the choice

Four considerations that do most of the work.

Platform marketing makes everything sound equally possible. In reality, four specific factors determine which platform is right for you.

Real cost, not sticker cost

Shopify's €29/mo plan looks cheap until apps stack up. Magento looks enterprise-only until you price Woo with the plugins you actually need. We run 3-year TCO, not month one.

Your catalogue's shape matters

50 SKUs with simple variants? Any platform works. 5,000 SKUs with complex B2B pricing tiers? Magento. Digital products only? Shopify. The catalogue drives the answer more than branding.

How custom does checkout need to be?

Standard checkout flow? Shopify or WooCommerce are ideal. Custom B2B approval flows, quote-then-buy, or field technicians placing orders? Magento or headless builds. Know your need first.

Who's building and maintaining?

Shopify wants little dev involvement long-term. Magento needs a serious dev partner. WooCommerce sits in between. Match the platform to the team that'll actually run it.

When we pick each

Our actual build criteria, per platform.

Not just generic pros and cons — these are the specific scenarios where we'd recommend each platform over the others.

Shopify

We build on Shopify when...

You're D2C consumer, 50-5000 SKUs
You want hosting/maintenance handled
You need fast launch (weeks, not months)
Marketplaces + ads + store in one view
You'll stick with mostly standard checkout
WooCommerce

We build on WooCommerce when...

Content is as important as commerce
You already run on WordPress
Budget is tight, monthly fees unwelcome
You need design flexibility
Your dev team wants the control
Magento / Adobe Commerce

We build on Magento when...

Catalogue is huge (1000s of SKUs, complex)
B2B with complex customer tiers
Multi-store, multi-language, multi-currency
You have the budget for a serious build
You have (or will hire) technical staff
Side-by-side, no spin

The honest feature matrix.

What each platform does natively vs. what requires paid apps, plugins, or higher tiers. We'll update this as platforms evolve.

Feature
S
Shopify
W
WooCommerce
M
Magento / Adobe Commerce
B
BigCommerce
Irish payment (Stripe)
Revolut Pay
via pluginvia module
Apple/Google Pay
Multi-channel (Amazon, Meta)
via plugin
Custom checkoutPlus tier
Subscription productsvia appvia plugin
via app
Headless frontendPlus tier
No monthly fee
Is it a fit?

The right ecom platform depends on your business — not on what's trending.

Platform religion leads to bad builds. We'll match the stack to your catalogue, budget, and team — not push a favourite.

Right fit
We should talk if…
You're picking a platform for a new commerce business
You've hit the ceiling on your current platform
You want vendor-neutral advice, not a Shopify sales pitch
Your team has strong opinions and you want an outside view
You need honest TCO analysis, not just sticker price
Not a fit
We'll point you elsewhere if…
You've already committed — we can build, but consulting isn't needed
Your catalogue is under 10 SKUs — overthinking platform here
You want us to rubber-stamp what a vendor told you
You need enterprise platforms beyond our stated scope (Salesforce Commerce, SAP Hybris)
When we're most useful

Common ecom platform scenarios.

Where independent platform advice saves Irish retailers from costly platform mistakes.

Choosing an ecom platform
Shopify vs WooCommerce decisions
Migrating between platforms
Replatforming from custom builds
B2B commerce builds
Subscription commerce builds
Wholesale + retail split stores
International / multi-currency setups
Common questions

Ecom platform questions, honestly answered.

The questions Irish SMBs ask us most often.

Genuinely depends. Shopify wins if you want hosting + maintenance handled, fast launch, and are happy with mostly standard checkout. WooCommerce wins if you're content-led (blog + shop), want design flexibility, or are cost-sensitive long-term. Both are strong — it's a context decision.
For most SMBs, yes. Magento (Adobe Commerce) makes sense at scale — complex catalogues, B2B tiers, multi-store needs. Below that threshold, it's expensive overhead. We've migrated several Irish clients DOWN to Shopify or Woo because they were drowning in Magento maintenance they didn't need.
Fine for tiny catalogues (under 20 SKUs) where commerce is secondary to the site. They'll hit limits fast on product options, integrations, and international tax handling. For anything growing, migrate before you hit the wall — migration from Squarespace is painful if you wait too long.
Sometimes. Headless (Shopify Hydrogen, custom frontends) gives performance and design freedom that template stores can't match. But it's more complex to maintain and requires a serious dev team. Worth it for brands where performance/design is a competitive edge; overkill for most SMBs.
Stripe works well across all four major platforms with Irish and EU support. Each platform also has its native gateway (Shopify Payments, etc.) which usually reduces transaction fees on the platform itself. We'll run the numbers on your volume to show which works out cheapest — it's often Stripe + native combined.
Yes — it's a common project. Most common moves we do: Shopify ↔ WooCommerce, Squarespace → Shopify/Woo, Magento 1 → Shopify/Magento 2, custom-built → Shopify. Migrations include products, customers, orders, URL redirects, and team training. Scoped honestly based on catalogue size and complexity.
Works well with

Services that pair with this one.

Need help picking an ecom platform?

Free 30-minute platform call. Tell us your catalogue, volume, and team — we'll tell you honestly which platform fits, and when to switch if you're on the wrong one.

Reply within 1 working day GDPR compliant Based in Ireland