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Home Blog Web Design and DevelopmentCrucial Considerations in Choosing the Right Ecommerce Platform
Digital Marketing 3 min read
Digital Marketing 9 min read
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The global shift to technology caused a dramatic rise to the ecommerce industry.
You may be one of those business owners who want to leverage the many benefits of ecommerce but unsure about which exact platform. For one, there is a huge difference in terms of customizability of an owned ecommerce site versus one that is pre-built and templated. But on the other hand, pre-build commerce sites provide convenience in the sense that you’re not creating a site from the ground up.
And that’s just mentioning some of the considerations you have to look into. As an expert web development company, we urge you to make this choice based on your various business goals. In that, with those goals in mind, you can study the differences between the various options for ecommerce platforms and see which ones fit the bill for your requirements.
An ecommerce platform is designed for online stores – small to enterprise – to manage their businesses in a complete software solution. In this platform, companies can run their own website, marketing, operations, and sales – allowing them to run their business and centralize their operations.
An ecommerce website is different from a marketplace in terms of ownership and customization.
A marketplace is a platform for all sorts of online retailers to sell their products on-site, with no personalization of site features – just displaying, selling, then shipping. An ecommerce platform allows sellers to personalize their own website according to their business needs.
If you want a deeper understanding of the matter, check out our blog marketplace vs ecommerce to learn more about it.
Most of the processes of an ecommerce platform are automated, but starting an ecommerce business requires you to understand each step of this process.
First, you can customize your store systems from available payment options, product management, and customer service. Once set, you can display all your products on the website while placing them under categories, providing product dimensions, details, and images. Organizing each of your products into the website will streamline the user’s journey.
A potential customer can be led to your product through search engine results, paid advertisements, or organic traffic. The customer can add the product to the digital cart and decide when to checkout and ship the product.
Ecommerce platforms help you streamline the user experience (UX) from product discovery to checkouts via essential features including product catalogs, security, and flexible payment methods.
Ecommerce platforms also have plugins that help you to steer customers to the most profitable products – leading to more sales. You can have a more effective customer service system, have a 24/7 global reach, and build your brand recognition in a more personalized online store.
Without a doubt, you need to understand thoroughly the advantages and disadvantages of ecommerce and all available platforms will set you prepared to start your own. But if you’re really up for the challenge, then:
Having an ecommerce website isn’t as simple as putting your products on shelves and waiting for a sale. Just as launching a brick-and-mortar store, you need strategic planning in building your ecommerce business.
You might be attracted to some ecommerce platforms that offer affordable plans, but it’s not just the budget that you should be considering.
Here are the factors you’ll need to consider and have some research on before committing and choosing an ecommerce platform:
Not all features may apply to your business so choose a platform that works suitably with the highlighted features of the ecommerce platform.
Surely, knowing the cost of hosting an ecommerce store will anticipate your expenditure and estimate your ROI. Some ecommerce platforms offer plans that include a number of features such as web design features, security, functionality and maintenance, and periodically hosting.
The initial development costs aren’t the only ones you should keep in mind. Running an ecommerce site requires maintenance, security, and other feature upgrades which can be costly affairs if you didn’t have proper research before the site launch.
Does the annual fee include the basic features needed for you to start a website, including the domain name and hosting? Some platforms may come with affordable plans but require additional payments for features in the form of extensions.
Not all can be applicable to your online store so listing down the essential ecommerce features would secure possibilities of choosing a platform that’s suitable for you. Include on your list the offsite extensions like payment gateways and analytics tools.
UX must always be the foremost focus of any commerce. Improving your relationship with your customers doesn’t only come with smooth page navigation and captivating web designs.
One way to have interactive customer service is via customer support. A good customer support system can resolve issues quickly through the channels of their choice. The ecommerce platform should anticipate all technical problems and offer the best resolutions for each.
Technological advancements provide more resources like artificial intelligence (AI) in digital marketing create better customer service interactions. Some platforms offer AI-powered support systems that automatically facilitate common issues.
How do your customers usually pay? Do they pay by credit card or debit card that links to their bank account, or do they work with redirects and off-site payments? Do international shoppers have a payment option, too?
You should find an ecommerce platform that operates with a number of payment choices. If you want to have a wider global reach, your business should offer payment processing services that operate different currencies, and payment methods.
With any payment gateway that you decide to work on, you should ensure that it’s convenient, secure, and always has more options. More payment options translate to more transactions as it leaves less friction for customers on checkout.
Security is one way to show that you are a trusted brand.
A robust ecommerce security system can identify and fight off most security threats. A cyber breach could harm your ecommerce business’ reputation as customers will become more reluctant to shop at stores that have put their financial and personal information at risk.
With that in mind, here are some key security features you should not miss when choosing an ecommerce platform that has robust security:
Check if the platform has the above security features, payment card industry (PCI) compliance, and data backups.
Having an SEO strategy in place increases the organic traffic on your website. When a prospective customer uses search engines to acquire information about a product or service, having a higher ranking in search results increases your opportunities to convert them into customers.
Ecommerce SEO considerations include the domain name, meta descriptions, image alt tags, navigation links, page titles, headings, IP addresses and the like. It also includes your website’s indexability and crawlability — which are all essential for you to rank your website on search engines.
Acquiring data to understand the trends in customer behavior and make data-driven decisions is crucial. With this, working with a good analytics tool is a must in ecommerce.
Most ecommerce platforms integrate their own analytics so you won’t need to sync data and develop new insights and solutions from another analytics platform. If you prefer working with other analytics solutions, you can find extensions on most platforms.
If you’re aiming for a quick online store setup, some ecommerce platforms have pre-made templates to save you more time and financial investments in web development.
Even so, most businesses prefer to customize their own website since they are beneficial in a competitive edge. Most ecommerce providers allow you to custom web design but they cost relatively higher than website themes.
To know more about customization, check out our recent ecommerce design tips article to improve sales and conversion rate!
The number of shoppers using mobile devices is now increasing so having your website into mobile technology will make easier and seamless transactions – avoiding the possibilities of abandonment.
In choosing an ecommerce platform, keep in mind that you’re not just looking for swiping functionalities and navigation. Inquire about the mobile-only features like card designs, touch ID, click-to-call buttons, and click-to-map buttons.
For a more fluid decision process in finding the best ecommerce platform, here are some questions should you ask yourself and your company:
WooCommerce is one of the most popular choices among the ecommerce community since it can cater to large- and small-scale businesses. It is an open-source platform that is built on WordPress and lets you customize your site by installing extensions.
Shopify is best for startups, hobbyists, and starter brands since it offers different versions of set pricing that cater to different business needs.
Magento offers two platforms: Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce. Magento Open Source is a self-hosted platform and a free version while Magento Commerce is the premium version and has more in-house features that are best for large-scale enterprises.
The biggest challenge in choosing an ecommerce platform is dealing with the limitations of each. Some platforms may offer cheap plans but have restricted features to work with and may also require additional costs for plugins and extensions, while some platforms with complete features may be costly for your business.
Make sure you weigh in your priorities—may it be features or price, study each platform, and choose which fits your requirements.
Ecommerce platforms are supposed to be streamlining your web development process to generate online traffic, centralize your business operations, and personalize your transactions.
But if you choose a platform that doesn’t let you work in an agile way, you’ll be missing out on sales and making fruitless investments. Ergo, it’s crucial to take note of these things as you choose the right platform for you.
How was your journey in choosing an ecommerce platform? Share it with us through our Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn accounts. We’ll be delighted to hear from you!
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