There are a lot of options accessible to you, which is a double-edged sword, but how can you know which one is best? The factors you should consider while choosing the best ecommerce platform for your small business or brand are outlined in this post.

1. Accessible themes

Your online store's design is determined by its theme. Most e-commerce platforms provide a selection of themes. Some themes come with the subscription for free, while others are premium and cost extra to use. These premium themes will frequently distinguish your website from competitors and give your visitors a distinctive purchasing experience. While buyers may not experience richness if the platform just provides a small number of free themes. It does not qualify for the best eCommerce platform for your small business or brand.

Look at the platforms' offering of themes. Also consider the level of customization you want to put into your page. Platforms vary in how much customization they provide. Designing a website that accurately represents your brand may require a little more work if you are more experienced with website development.

2. Features

The features that are offered will vary between systems. The best eCommerce platform provides with integrated marketing tools like newsletters, abandoned cart emails, reward programmes, daily discounts, etc. in addition to the fundamental eCommerce capabilities.

A platform for online shopping should also be able to replace any built-in functionalities with App connections, such as MailChimp or Ship station. Even though the built-in functionality could be good, using apps that your team is accustomed to fosters consistency, which can be crucial for a developing firm.

3. Platform Cost

Although this would seem like a logical recommendation, the reality is that many platforms might provide various features at various prices. On certain systems, there is only one cheap flat charge and no additional transaction fees. In order to optimize your website, some systems charge a base rate, charge per transaction, and then demand subscriptions for other apps. This can quickly pile up, so your final rate might be far greater than it would be with one of the other sites.

Remember to factor in the features that each ecommerce platform provides. Some of them might incorporate extra features that their rivals do not offer in their base price. It is crucial to determine the qualities you require before selecting a choice, and then to choose which platform can offer better.

4. Integrations

When evaluating ecommerce systems, you should also take their connectors and plugins into account. Most platforms, like Shopify, will provide you with a wealth of tools to manage your business. The plugins that will function the best for you will depend on the needs of your organization. Think about the tools you now have or will need for your business as you examine the various platforms. The most common plugin categories that you should watch out for are listed below:

• Accounting add-ons to assist with revenues, taxes, sales, and profits
• Tools for email marketing to help you stay in touch with your consumers
• A system that makes it easier to thank customers for utilizing your products
• Apps that can assist with shipping the products

5. Consumer Assistance

The quality of a company's customer service is a crucial factor. Traditional brick-and-mortar businesses often have more control over how efficiently their business runs because the experience they offer is centered in a physical store.

Software failures and server outages, which frequently are beyond your control and will prevent any of your clients from accessing your business, make e-commerce a completely new game. Your servers are likely to crash at the worst time conceivable at some point. Your brand's reputation and income may be impacted by this.

When comparing ecommerce platforms, having someone you can contact whenever you need assistance getting things back up and running is a crucial consideration.

Look at the customer support for each platform; is it available around-the-clock? How do you manage to contact them? What are the available levels of support and their prices? Before choosing your platform, consider these questions and make sure you put them to yourself.

6. Technical Support

If you're a new e-commerce business owner, technical support for the platform you've chosen is extremely valuable to you. Some platforms only provide help Monday through Friday during regular business hours in their time zone. Others provide support around-the-clock.

The kind of help that is provided should also be considered. Some businesses exclusively provide online or chat help. Of course, your service package may have a direct impact on the type of support you are able to get. For self-service support, larger platforms also offer FAQs and tutorials.

You will lose business if customers are unable to view your website or make a transaction. A crucial component is making sure you have the needed support when you require it.

7. Scalability

Everyone who owns a business hopes it will expand in the future, but you may not be able to predict how much. However, it is crucial to look for a platform that will grow with your company.

When you initially start out, you don't want to pay for features and storage that you aren't using. As your firm grows, you'll also want to keep up with the increased expectations. Select a platform that will allow you to scale it to the size of your business without charging you exorbitant costs to do so.

8. Platform Development

The eCommerce platform's experience and credibility must also be considered. An eCommerce platform's longevity, expansion, and wider use across numerous industries by different business kinds are testaments to its dependability. eCommerce websites must inspire confidence.

Platforms become the go-to option for many brands all around the world when they develop into reliable beacons. Think about where the platform stands today and how far it has come. The true mark of advancement is mastering the art of eCommerce. Any platform that has made these improvements and has improved its eCommerce game will undoubtedly be in the lead.

9. SEO Friendly

Ecommerce companies must concentrate on their SEO as well. In fact, having your store appear prominently in search results can be advantageous. When people look for products like yours, you want them to find you.

When looking for an SEO-friendly platform, the following are some of the most crucial considerations:

• being able to incorporate a blog onto your website
• having your own domain name available
• the review functionality for customers

10. Visual Commerce

It is no longer an exceptional feature that makes you stand out in the crowd. If you are promoting eCommerce, you must show its advantages to end-customers efficaciously. Be engaging, and creative in all aspects. Visual Commerce gives a plethora of reasons to choose online shopping over in-person one, and it can turn favorable.

Hence, while you hunt for an eCommerce platform for your online store, be sure to have the Visual Commerce feature offered.

It extends help with the following benefits:

• Experiences that equate to full brick-and-mortar style shopping
• Cost Effective Method that reduces photography charges. Visual Commerce rather focuses on augmented product photography that prevails well as the end user can see the product in different shades of color and size with a single click
• Promotes customer engagement with creativity-rich content in terms of 360-degree view videos, augmented reality, and 3D configuration.

Selecting an online store platform; Conclusion:

Making a choice about selecting the best ecommerce platform is a crucial first step in opening an online store. Do your research in advance because changing ecommerce systems may be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. Establishing your company's internet page, importing your goods, and choosing your theme might take up valuable time that could be spent on other elements of your business. Make sure you choose the proper course of action the first time.

The daily chore of processing online sales is made easier when you are using the best ecommerce platform for your company. Utilizing an ecommerce platform that fully connects all facets of your company enables more efficient operations and gives you the chance to expand.

We have an eCommerce development team at FutureSoft India, specializing in Shopify Development. Should you have any queries, feel free to connect with our professionals.