Сhoosing an ecommerce platform is very similar to choosing a plan for your mobile phone. There is a large selection of e-commerce solutions available on the market. After spending your time on painful research, you often end up picking the most famous online store software that might turn out to be too complicated or too simple for your business.
Here at Galaxy Weblinks Inc. we work both with clients who are just about to start online store and with frustrated owners of e commerce website willing to transfer to another e-commerce platform.
Our goal is not to push you into the most expensive option, but to help you make a wise and informed decision by evaluating your business needs taking into the account your budget, feature requirements, and other factors important for e commerce businesses. In this article we hope to shed some light on the daunting task of choosing an ecommerce platform.
E-commerce platform search starts with identifying your priorities. If you are looking for an easy and quick hosting solution, have a small budget and you are not tech-savvy, BigCommerce, Shopify or Volusion might be a great fit.
WooCommerce is a little more expensive, but is great for customisation.
Prestashop is a middle-of-the road solution. Large e-commerce businesses that can afford to outsource infrastructure support, usually go with feature-rich systems like Magento Community. Of course, advanced solutions come with a high price tag. The last option is to build a custom online store software specifically for your e-commerce website. It is a great choice for companies with a very specific needs and custom functionality.
Now let’s take a look at the main questions we ask our clients helping them in choosing an e-commerce platform.
- Do you already have a website or you are going to start online store from scratch?
E-commerce solutions like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce (Community) can be integrated into the existing website. Other platforms (Prestashop and Magento) require building a new one. If you do not have a store yet, we will help you to make a fresh start with the best online store software for your needs.
- What is your budget for an e commerce website?
When you start comparing e-commerce solutions on price you will notice a drastic difference between high end and low end online store software. It might seem self-explanatory, but you should take into account not only the initial build cost, but also less apparent expenses like monthly plan, transaction fees, support costs etc. Custom and enterprise solutions like Magento Enterprise and Magento Community are the most costly, as you need to hire seasoned developers for ongoing support. And at the low end there are simple platforms and plugins (WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce) that can be supported by the owner of the e commerce website himself.
- Do you have programming skills?
Some e commerce solutions (Magento, Prestashop, Volusion) need professional support and development. If you have little technical knowledge and a very small budget that does not allow you to hire a developer, it would be better for you to choose a platform that can be managed without programming skills, e.g Shopify or BigCommerce. If you are good at coding, consider WooCommerce that requires moderate technical expertise.
- Are you planning a rapid growth?
If you start online store for the first time, you might be lured into choosing the cheapest plan. But will the e-commerce platform grow with you and continue to meet your needs? Keep in mind, that your online store software has to solve your current problems, not to create more in the future. For example, if you pick a low-cost option now, in a year you might have to pay extra money for new features and additional storage.
- What are you going to sell?
Some e-commerce solutions have better features for selling digital goods, and some – for physical products. Selling physical products require features like shipping and tax calculations, inventory control and so on. Simple and inexpensive platforms (Shopify, BigCommerce) have a little more limited options for selling physical goods.
- Do you require integrated plugins and advanced SEO capabilities?
The tools and programs that you currently use or would like to integrate into the platform also have an impact on your decision. The most integration-friendly platforms are Magento and WooCommerce. The best search engine optimisation features are offered by Prestashop and WooCommerce.
- What are your design requirements?
Making the store look good is essential for e commerce businesses. If you have enough resources, hire a seasoned designer to create a completely custom layout for you. But, definitely, custom design will add a fair chunk to the cost of your ecommerce website. If you are on a tight budget, pick an e-commerce platform with a lot of attractive themes like Shopify or BigCommerce.
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