The Howdy Glossary

Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform aimed at small and medium businesses looking to customize and manage their online stores' appearance, content, and functionality. It provides a wide range of plugins and themes to enhance the customer experience. Developed in PHP with the Zend Framework and using MySQL/MariaDB for its database, Magento requires users to maintain optimal web server configurations for smooth operation.

Magento was created by Varien, Inc., which later became Magento, Inc., a private company based in Culver City, California. The platform was first released in March 2008 to offer a customizable e-commerce solution for businesses of various sizes. Its development goals included providing flexibility and robust features that allow businesses to control and adapt their online stores as needed.

Magento's main competitors include Shopify, WooCommerce (WordPress), and BigCommerce. While Shopify is known for its user-friendly interface appealing particularly to small businesses, WooCommerce offers seamless integration with WordPress along with extensive customization options. BigCommerce focuses on ease of use and scalability for businesses of all sizes. Magento distinguishes itself through its strong emphasis on flexibility, scalability, security provided by the Zend Framework, and performance through optimal web server configurations. These attributes make it a preferred choice for companies seeking highly customizable e-commerce solutions tailored to specific business needs.