Magento, the giant of e-commerce platforms and now part of Adobe's ($ADBE) Commerce Cloud offerings, has had a good run. But new data indicates that developer and programmer activity around the platform is cooling off. 

This comes as interest in Shopify ($SHOP), now considered by many developers as a superior alternative to Magento, is on the rise.

The volume of activity on Stack Exchange ($PRIVATE:STACKEXCHANGE), a website where programmers connect to ask and answer questions about development platforms, shows that interest in Magento is plateauing.

From 2015 to 2018, the number of Magento-related Stack Exchange questions was on a relatively steep acceleration path. But as can be seen above, the number of additional questions is plateauing. This comes despite new marketing efforts from Adobe along with rapid revision iterations.

Meanwhile, as of late, interest in Shopify continues to pick up steam on Stack Exchange.

By looking at the number of Stack Exchange questions posted to the developer community, we gain a sense of the developer community's attention to various platforms.

Stack Exchange is the largest network of question-and-answer for computer programmers, so it serves as a reliable temperature check for activity and interest in various technologies.

While the number of questions on the platform doesn't necessarily translate directly to success or failure of various platforms, it does indicate how much activity and priority is being placed on development by companies.

Internally, both companies have slowed hiring for their respective platforms. At Adobe, Magento-related openings are down to just 18 from a spring 2019 high of 46.

However, at Shopify, the company is still hiring for 128 people, this down from a spring high of 193 openings.

Given trends in developer interest, Shopify is the hot ticket when it comes to e-commerce platforms. An uptick in developer interest spells a healthy future, at least for some time. With Adobe backing Magento, it would be foolish to rule out a good future for that platform as well. As always, we'll keep our eyes on the alternative data.

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