Miva Merchant has long been considered a leader in the eCommerce software solution segment for small to mid-size companies. It has been around for years, and is recognized by web designers and developers as an established eCommerce solution that has been used by tens of thousands of online merchants.
Miva Merchant is based on its own proprietary software and offers its own scripting language. It is very powerful, fast and extremely flexible, especially when it comes to custom design integration, which is why Miva Merchant is one of our preferred eCommerce solutions, and why we became a certified Miva Merchant developer.
The Power Of Modules
Miva Merchant's power and flexibility is also apparent in how it meets the specific requirements of online merchants, both retail and B2B alike. Miva Merchant's extensibility, or how it meets feature requirements, is uniquely based on modules. These modules are developed by a number of 3rd party developers devoted to Miva Merchant, and extend the basic features and functionality of Miva Merchant. So, instead of Miva Merchant trying to make its core eCommerce software be everything to everybody, it depends on their 3rd party developers to create modules that greatly expand its functionality.
Today, there is a huge number of modules available for Miva Merchant. There are modules that allow further customization of your site's layout, such as category and product pages. There are modules that will further extend Miva's handling of taxes, payment methods, and shipping methods. There are modules that will enable anything from a one-page checkout to tax exemption for B2B companies, from customer contact management to a "continue shopping" feature. And it's modules that allow Miva Merchant to be a strong contender in the B2B marketplace.
There's no doubt that the modules available for Miva Merchant can greatly extend the functionality of your online store and meet most, if not all, of your requirements without the need for custom programming. But it will cost you, as each module needs to be purchased separately. Nonetheless, most modules are superb and reasonably priced.
A Powerful e-Commerce Solution
Miva Merchant is a powerful eCommerce solution and, in our book, one of the best when it comes to design flexibility and performance. Although you can purchase a Miva Merchant license for around $995, we recommend starting with Miva Merchant's hosting solution. This is a good way to get started with Miva Merchant and get your site established at a lower cost, especially when you'll need to purchase modules as well. Because Miva Merchant has become more agressive in releasing new features and updates more often, you'll get these automatically when using their hosted solution.
Miva Merchant does have a steep learning curve. On the design end, web designers new to Miva Merchant will find it challenging when it comes to integrating custom web designs. For merchants and end users, the Miva Merchant backend, or admin console, is not very "user-friendly" and leaves much to be desired, especially when comparing with the admin consoles of Miva's less-expensive competitors.
As a Miva Merchant Certified Web Developer, we have the experience to design and develop a professional e-commerce site for you, powered by Miva Merchant. In addition, we do offer training to get you up and running in managing your Miva Merchant's system. Please contact us to see if Miva Merchant is the right e-commerce solution for you!
