Man in front of laptop at counter

Online shop systems Switzerland’s most popular online shop systems
Globally, there are countless online shop systems on offer. In Switzerland, the most widely used online shops all have one thing in common: they are open source. This article explains what this means and the advantages and disadvantages of the three most popular online shop systems in Switzerland.
Open source simply means that the source code for the software is freely accessible (Chip, 2018, in German). The program can usually be edited and adapted to individual requirements. The software is free in many cases, though there may be licence fees or development costs.
Switzerland’s most popular shop systems
Besides open-source systems, online shop systems can also be developed in-house. This is more often the case with larger online retailers such as Digitec Galaxus and Zalando. A study on online retailers conducted by ZHAW in 2021 (in German) revealed that 22.1 percent of the online retailers surveyed developed their online shop in-house. However, many retailers, particularly smaller companies, trust in the benefits of open-source shop systems. As this graph from the ZHAW study shows, the three most widely used open-source online shop systems in Switzerland are Magento, WooCommerce and Shopware:

Comparison of shop systems
Although the three most popular online shop systems are all open source, the features offered by Magento, Shopware and WooCommerce differ.
Magento
With just under 15 percent, Magento is the most widely used open-source shop solution in Switzerland. Magento is owned by the US software company Adobe.
Advantages
- Highly modular with almost 4,000 extensions available
- Multilingual with extremely practical e-commerce functions, such as SEO, guest orders, discount codes, etc.
- The open-source edition of Magento remains free
Disadvantages
- Relatively complex, especially with upgrades
- Cost and resource intensive, depending on the model selected
- Basic knowledge of PHP and SQL programming languages is advantageous
WooCommerce
With almost 11 percent, WooCommerce takes second place in the most popular online shop systems in Switzerland. It is the e-commerce extension for the content management system WordPress, which is very popular for blogging.
Advantages
- Can be linked to the WordPress content management system
- Low maintenance costs
- Hundreds of free plug-ins available
Disadvantages
- Performance may deteriorate with too many plug-ins or shop items
- Plug-ins and themes have to be updated manually, which can be time consuming
- Basic technical knowledge necessary to avoid conflicts with plug-in installations or further developments
Shopware
Compared to Magento and WooCommerce, Shopware has experienced a decrease in popularity since 2019, though this solution still comes in at number three. It is also the only solution of the three that was developed in Germany.
Advantages
- Many ready-made templates that can be adapted on a modular basis
- The legal foundation for e-commerce is designed for Europe and complies with the relevant requirements
- Intuitive navigation, even for non-programmers
Disadvantages
- The costs can reach the five-figure range
- The basic version includes only a minimal number of shop functions, making it hard to launch an online shop without fee-based modules
- Compared to Magento, Shopware (currently) offers relatively few modules
Finding the right online shop solution
A number of factors will determine which shop system a retailer ultimately uses, for instance:
- Shop objectives: What are the long-term goals for the online shop?
- Interfaces: Which interfaces are needed, for example payment, track and trace, marketing, automation or continue to shop?
- Requirements: What are the requirements for the online shop and can be they be met by the chosen shop system in three years’ time?
- Costs: How much can be spent on monthly maintenance and development for the online shop? What resources are required so the shop can operate long-term?
- Marketing: What marketing strategy is the retailer pursuing for their online shop and are the required modules available?
Since launching an e-commerce business or switching to a new shop system can be complex, costly and time consuming, the best course of action is to seek advice. That way, you can avoid major mistakes right from the start.