The definitive guide to choosing the right eCommerce platform

It depends on your business size, technical requirements, and growth trajectory. For most Malta-based SMBs launching their first online store, we recommend Shopify for its speed-to-market, managed hosting, and industry-leading checkout conversion rates. If you already run a WordPress website and need integrated commerce, WooCommerce is the natural fit — it gives you full code ownership and avoids monthly platform fees. For mid-market and enterprise brands that need unique customer experiences, multi-region selling across the EU, or deep third-party integrations, MedusaJS offers a headless, open-source architecture with zero vendor lock-in. For complex B2B operations with large product catalogues, multi-store requirements, and advanced pricing rules, Magento (Adobe Commerce) remains a strong option. We assess your specific needs during a free discovery session and recommend the platform that genuinely fits — not the one that pays us the highest commission.

Shopify excels at reliability, speed-to-market, and ease of management. It handles hosting, security, PCI compliance, and software updates for you, and its checkout consistently outperforms competitors on conversion rate. WooCommerce offers deeper customisation, full code ownership, no monthly platform fees, and seamless integration with the WordPress content ecosystem. If your priority is getting to market quickly with minimal technical overhead, choose Shopify. If you have an existing WordPress site, need complex custom functionality, or want to avoid ongoing platform costs, WooCommerce is the better fit. For Malta-based businesses, we also factor in local payment gateway support, EU VAT handling, and multi-language requirements when making our recommendation.

Headless commerce separates the frontend (what your customers see and interact with) from the backend (product management, orders, payments, inventory). They communicate via APIs, which means your development team can build any frontend experience — a blazing-fast Next.js website, a React Native mobile app, a kiosk, or even a voice commerce interface — while the commerce engine handles business logic behind the scenes. You need headless commerce if you require sub-second page loads for SEO and conversion, want to sell across multiple channels from a single backend, need a storefront that looks nothing like a template, or plan to integrate with multiple best-of-breed services (CMS, search, personalisation). If you are a smaller business that values simplicity, a traditional Shopify or WooCommerce setup will serve you well without the added complexity.

The investment varies significantly based on platform and scope. A custom Shopify store starts from EUR 5,000 to EUR 10,000 for a bespoke theme with SEO foundations and post-launch support; growth-tier Shopify projects with migrations and integrations range from EUR 10,000 to EUR 25,000; and Shopify Plus or Hydrogen headless builds range from EUR 25,000 to EUR 60,000+. WooCommerce stores typically start from EUR 4,000 to EUR 8,000 for a custom theme and plugin setup, scaling to EUR 15,000 to EUR 30,000 for complex builds. MedusaJS headless commerce projects start from EUR 8,000 to EUR 15,000 for a starter store, with multi-region and enterprise builds ranging from EUR 15,000 to EUR 80,000+. Magento projects typically start from EUR 20,000 for basic setups and can exceed EUR 100,000 for full enterprise implementations. We provide detailed, transparent quotes after a free discovery session — no hidden fees.

Yes. We handle full-scope migrations from Magento 1, Magento 2, and Adobe Commerce to Shopify, WooCommerce, or MedusaJS. Our migration process covers product catalogues (including configurable products, bundled products, and custom attributes), customer data with password reset flows, order history for lifetime value analysis, 301 URL redirect mapping for SEO preservation, payment gateway reconfiguration, and re-integration with email marketing, ERP, and fulfilment systems. Magento migrations are among the most complex we handle due to the platform's data model, but we have a proven process that minimises downtime — most stores experience less than 4 hours of read-only mode during cutover. We also audit your existing Magento customisations and recommend equivalent solutions on the target platform.

MedusaJS is an open-source, headless commerce engine built with Node.js and TypeScript. Unlike monolithic platforms, it separates the commerce backend from the storefront, giving you complete creative freedom for the frontend while providing battle-tested commerce logic (products, orders, payments, inventory, taxes) via REST and GraphQL APIs. Choose MedusaJS when you need a unique brand experience that templates cannot deliver, when you sell across multiple EU countries with different currencies and VAT rules, when you want full ownership of your code and data with zero platform fees and no transaction charges, or when you have a JavaScript development team that can maintain and extend the platform. MedusaJS is not ideal for businesses that need a simple, quick-to-launch store without technical resources — in that case, Shopify is the better fit.

We have extensive experience with the Magento ecosystem and can advise on Magento 2 and Adobe Commerce projects, particularly for complex B2B scenarios with multi-store architectures, advanced catalogue management, and custom pricing rules. However, for most new projects we recommend evaluating Shopify Plus or MedusaJS as alternatives, as they offer better developer experience, lower total cost of ownership, and faster time-to-market. Where Magento remains the strongest choice is in enterprise B2B with complex product relationships, multi-warehouse inventory, customer-specific catalogues, and advanced quoting workflows. If your business genuinely needs these capabilities, we can build and maintain your Magento store or help you plan a migration when the time is right.

EU compliance is built into every eCommerce store we develop. We implement GDPR-compliant cookie consent with granular category controls, privacy policy and terms of service page templates aligned with EU Consumer Rights Directive requirements, right-to-erasure (right to be forgotten) data deletion workflows, DSGVO-compliant email marketing opt-in mechanisms, EU VAT handling including MOSS/OSS for cross-border digital goods, Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) and 3D Secure for payment processing, accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA) in line with the European Accessibility Act, and data residency options for platforms like MedusaJS where you control infrastructure location. We work with legal advisors to ensure compliance, though we always recommend clients consult their own legal counsel for jurisdiction-specific requirements.