Business first.
Technology second.
I choose technology based on operational fit, flexibility and total cost — not the platform with the loudest marketing.
Hosted platforms can be fine for quick starts, but they come with built-in limits. Open platforms offer more room, but often depend on inconsistent plugin ecosystems. I tend to prefer OpenMage when a business needs freedom, custom logic and long-term practical control.
There is no single right answer for every company.
Why I do not believe Magento 2 is the right answer for most average companies
In my professional opinion, Magento 2 is an over-engineered, resource-hungry enterprise platform for a great many small and mid-sized businesses. It is not that it cannot do a lot — it can. The real question is whether its complexity, operational burden and total cost are proportionate to what the company actually needs.
OpenMage, on the other hand, gives me a maintained, modernised and much more manageable foundation. It allows serious customisation and operational freedom without forcing every business into enterprise-level overhead.
Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, OpenCart or even Magento 2 can all be valid in the right context. My point is simply that platform choice should follow business requirements, total cost and sustainability — not trend or fashion.
Hosted platform or your own system?
A hosted platform is often like renting: easy to move into, but you always operate within someone else’s limits and keep paying for a framework that never really becomes yours. A custom system is more like owning: it takes more preparation, but can be shaped around your needs. The business case depends on the manual work, platform limitations and recurring costs that the custom solution can realistically remove.