The Magento community is a vibrant, engaged group of developers, designers, agencies, and merchants who are passionate about the open-source ecommerce platform. In many ways, the community is the lifeblood of Magento – without the collaboration, knowledge sharing, and volunteer efforts of community members, Magento would not be where it is today.
Magento was originally created by Varien in 2008 and released as open-source software in 2009. Unlike proprietary systems, Magento was made available for anyone to download, use, modify, and extend right from the start. This open ethos attracted developers and agencies looking for flexibility and extensibility in an ecommerce platform.
The availability of Magento’s codebase means developers can easily build custom modules, themes, and integrations. The Magento Marketplace launched in 2009 as a way for developers to share and sell their extensions. Today it features over 5,000 modules and themes, providing enhanced functionality, design customization, and integration capabilities.
Knowledge Sharing Fuels Innovation
A key aspect of the Magento community is knowledge sharing. Magento has attracted some of the brightest minds in ecommerce, and they are eager to help each other succeed. Developers share tips, tricks, and sample code on community forums, blogs, conferences, meetups, and social channels. Agencies publically document their implementations, case studies, and best practices.
This collective wisdom benefits everyone and prevents developers from constantly reinventing the wheel. It also breeds innovation as developers build on and improve each other’s work. Open collaboration accelerates advancement much faster than ‘closed loop’ proprietary systems developed behind closed doors.
For example, the Magento 1 platform saw incredible innovation in its time. Developers created hundreds of exciting new extensions for product visualization, marketing automation, predictive analytics, and more. Merchants gained access to cutting-edge functionality far beyond the out-of-the-box features. This extension ecosystem was made possible by Magento’s openness and the shared knowledge of its developer community.
Giving Back to the Project
The Magento community also contributes directly to the Magento project itself. Much of Magento’s codebase is developed and maintained by community members. Anyone can log bugs, suggest product enhancements, submit patches, translate the interface, and more. Magento product managers state up to 70% of code contributions come from the community rather than the core development team.
This gives Magento several advantages over proprietary platforms. The core team benefits from the community’s real-world experiences and development talent. This allows them to punch above their weight in terms of output. It also creates a sense of shared ownership rather than a ‘vendor’ relationship.
For developers, contributing code to the core platform is a chance to shape the product’s evolution. It builds valuable experience and looks great on a resume! It also allows agencies to ensure the features they need get implemented rather than waiting for a proprietary vendor’s roadmap.
Events Strengthen Connections
In-person and virtual events help strengthen the connections between community members. Local Meetups allow developers, agencies, and merchants to network, exchange ideas, and learn new skills. Magento also hosts major annual conferences like Imagine, MagentoLive, and MagentoLive Australia. These large-scale events include keynotes from Magento leaders, training workshops, networking opportunities and the latest product roadmap revelations.
The enthusiasm and camaraderie at these events is palpable. Lifelong friendships and business partnerships are often forged. Attendees leave inspired, energized, and excited about the future of Magento. Many ecommerce platforms lack this kind of engaged grassroots community. It is something unique to Magento.
Magento 2 Ushers in a New Era
The launch of Magento 2 in 2015 marked a new era for the Magento ecosystem. The re-platforming brought significant architectural improvements in performance, security, and scalability. Magento 2 also utilizes the latest web technologies like Composer, namespaces, and Varnish cache.
This was an opportunity to ‘reset’ the core codebase and extension marketplace. Thousands of extensions and themes built over the years for Magento 1 could not be directly ported to Magento 2. The community again rallied together, rebuilding and improving their extensions for the new platform. Today, Magento Marketplace features over 5,000 Magento 2 extensions, along with 3,000 + Magento 1 extensions still available.
Accelerating Growth
Magento’s acquisition by Adobe in 2018 opened up new resources and opportunities for growth. Adobe has accelerated the product roadmap with quarterly releases packed with new features. They have also improved the getting started experience for new users. At the same time, Magento remains committed to its open-source roots under an OSI-approved license.
This fast-paced development, in combination with a renewed focus on merchant success, has driven a resurgence in Magento adoption. The community is growing faster than ever before. Magento 2 sites now power over 250,000 stores, with over $155 billion in gross merchandise volume.
The Future is Bright
Today, the Magento community remains a vibrant, integral part of the Magento ecosystem. This grassroots foundation gives Magento advantages over other platforms. No other ecommerce solution can match the Magento community’s real-world innovation, customer-driven development, and passion. Magento is open by nature and always seeking feedback and collaboration from users. The British writer Samuel Johnson said, “Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified.” Johnson could well have been referring to Magento.
The future looks bright as Adobe continues to invest in making Magento the ultimate open, innovative, flexible, scalable enterprise ecommerce platform. With the community’s help, Magento is poised to shape the future of digital commerce.
FAQs
Why is the Magento community so important?
The Magento community fuels innovation through open collaboration and knowledge sharing. Magento developers are able to build on each other’s work rather than constantly reinventing the wheel. The community also contributes code to the core platform and provides valuable real-world feedback to influence the product roadmap. This grassroots foundation gives Magento an advantage over other platforms.
How does the community help Magento development?
The Magento community contributes directly to the platform’s evolution by submitting code, suggesting improvements, and reporting bugs. It’s estimated up to 70% of Magento’s code comes from voluntary community contributions rather than the core team. Having an engaged, knowledgeable community involved in development allows Magento to punch above its weight.
What community events bring Magento users together?
Magento organizes large annual conferences like Imagine, MagentoLive, and MagentoLive Australia. There are also numerous local Meetups where community members can network, exchange ideas, and learn new skills. These events strengthen connections between users and get them excited about the platform’s future.
How did Magento 2 impact the developer community?
The launch of Magento 2 required extensions and themes to be rebuilt and improved for the new architecture. This allowed the community to ‘reset’ the marketplace. Today Magento Marketplace features over 5,000 Magento 2 extensions, along with 3,000+ still available for Magento 1. The community rallied together to quickly adapt and innovate for Magento 2.
Why does Adobe’s acquisition represent new opportunities?
Adobe has accelerated the Magento product roadmap with quarterly releases packed with enhancements. They’ve also improved the onboarding experience for new users. At the same time, Magento remains committed to open source under an OSI-approved license. With Adobe’s resources, the community has an exciting opportunity to shape the future of flexible, innovative enterprise commerce.
The Bottom Line: A Solid Foundation
The Magento community provides a rock-solid foundation for the platform’s continued success. Community members’ connections, collaboration, and shared vision give Magento unique advantages as an open, innovative ecommerce solution. With the community’s passion and Adobe’s investment, Magento’s future potential is limitless.
