Improving the Ecommerce User Experience With Personalization
Web Development 6 min read
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Home Blog Web DevelopmentDIY-ing an Ecommerce Website – the Benefits and Limitations
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Planning to DIY your ecommerce website? This might make you think twice before doing so.
DIY-ing ecommerce website development is a route many starting businesses take when they don’t have the capital to invest in outsourced developers. But while it offers an initial breather to your expenses, you may discover later on that it’s cost you more.
One good reason for this is that project delays lead to losses as more time is spent building the infrastructure rather than having it up and pulling in conversions.
While this is starting to sound like a case for scrapping the idea of building your own ecommerce site, we have to admit that there are some advantages to it if (and only if) you are able to manage the project properly. After all, if you can save a few bucks on hiring a developer, why shouldn’t you?
In this article, we will explore the advantages and disadvantages of this approach so you can decide on your best course of action.
The role of ecommerce in overall business is that it’s both a cost-effective and revenue-generating solution for businesses that don’t quite have the capacity to put up a physical store.
Particularly for small businesses, an ecommerce website can accelerate growth in ways that can’t be accomplished via social commerce or online marketplaces can’t accomplish. There’s also the matter of brand and business control which is rarely afforded you via these platforms.
Through an ecommerce website, you can have all of those. The key is just getting it up and running in as short a time as possible. Will building it by yourself or hiring a third party developer to do it be better for your business?
To answer that, let’st take a balanced look into both advantages and disadvantages of DIY-ing your ecommerce website.
As mentioned before, while DIY-ing can be faced with certain challenges, it can benefit some businesses that limited in terms of budget.
With the right resources skills or manpower-wise, it can have the following advantages:
For small business that are starting out, DIY-ing can be a great choice, but if there is a lack of technical skills for coding, there are options such as Wix and Shopify that help make it easy, yet affordable.
With this amount of flexibility, however, it’s important that you stay focused on your goals. Make a laundry list of your requirements, a timeline that you can and should stick to, as well as a solid vision for how your ecommerce website will look like and function.
This can be especially valuable for businesses that have a specific brand image they want the website to display and don’t want to settle for templated website designs.
FURTHER READING: 19-point Checklist to Guide Your Ecommerce Web Development Projects
While DIY-ing offers you flextibility and affordability, it’s important to remember that an ecommrece website is a project that must be managed properly so it benefits you.
The risk of delaying the project and, hence, delaying your return on investment is the ultimate sinkhole of DIY-ing and must be avoided if at all possible. These delays happen because of some major disadvantages:
While the cost of investing in a partner developer – whether an agency or a freelancer – causes a bit of strain, it offers more relief as you don’t have to worry about the build from a skills aspect.
This ability to code elegantly allows you to incorporate designs, features, and functionality that unique to your business requirements and is best for those with a particular customer journey in mind.
Lack of technical ability also limits your ability to scale up your efforts as these days, web developers are also armed with know-how in search engine optimization (SEO) – helping projects shine on search engine results pages from deployment.
We hence think back to the argument earlier that while DIY-ing ecommerce websites can save you costs in the beginning, it may prove to be more costly as the project drags on.
With the right expertise in development and project management, on the other hand, you can deploy your ecommerce website much faster. In turn, you also start to earn in the shortest amount of tim.
Moreover, full-stack digital marketing agencies provide you with infrastructural and promotional needs; an advantage especially if you have a wide gap to fill between you and your competitors.
Meanwhile, DIY-ing achieves your goal of establishing a transaction point, but may not suffice when it comes to pushing your business forward as it requires a whole different skillset to do so. Skills such as SEO, content marketing, conversion optimization have to be developed (often at a tedious pace) in order to do so.
The short answer to this is: No. Especially if you’re not confident in your own development and project management skills to see that the project completed.
Unless you can tell us and yourself that you can finish the ecommerce website and deploy it with full functionality in the shortest possible time, then we would rather advise you to partner with an agency or a freelance ecommerce website developer.
Working with an outsourced ecommerce website developer can be a great way to get your online store up and running quickly and efficiently. Here are some tips for working with an outsourced ecommerce website developer:
Write down your requirements and share them with the developer so they have a clear understanding of what you want. Ask for examples of their previous work so that you can make sure that their work aligns with your goals.
FREE TEMPLATE: Ecommerce Requirements Questionnaire
By ensuring that everyone is on the same page, the project can be completed successfully and within the desired timeframe and budget.
Ensuring this is essential for several reasons:
By having a plan in place for handling changes and updates, you can ensure that your ecommerce site remains up-to-date, functional, and meets the needs of your users.
Building a DIY ecommerce website can be a good option for businesses or individuals who want to launch an online store on a budget. While there may be limitations compared to a custom-built website, the benefits of control, customization, and learning opportunities can make a DIY approach a great choice for many.
That said, here are some of the key takeaways that you can bring with you should you decide to still DIY your ecommerce websites:
If you have any questions or inquiries, just reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, and we’ll be happy to assist you in your web development projects.
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