Starting an online business can be intimidating due to the intense market competition. But knowing a few principles will help you lay the foundation for a prosperous online store. Additionally, building an eCommerce website is not as simple as it looks.
The roadmap starts with planning where you must decide on various factors which will decide the future performance of your website. This blog highlights various necessary factors such as platform, third-party integration, and more that can help in the process. So, stay tuned and find out these factors because they can be essential for your eCommerce business’s success.
The last decade has seen a rapid growth in eCommerce, especially in the later years. Online sales are continuously growing, and it is estimated to reach $4.2 trillion by 2025 (as per Statista). So, if you want a chunk of money from this figure then it is time for you to start selling your goods or services online to get benefitted from this meteoric growth.
You can start an eCommerce website by hiring a web developer for a mare fee which can sound feasible in the short-run but what about the long-run? This can be tackled by selecting an eCommerce platform that has already been designed and tested and is ready to be deployed after a few customizations.
However, there are a lot of options available in the market, but how will you assess which one is the best for you? Which one will fulfill all your requirements and will deliver the best performance? Well, the factors mentioned in this blog will help you with choosing the best eCommerce platform for your small business or brand.
An eCommerce platform is a software application that allows businesses to manage their online sales operations. It provides a variety of tools and features for creating and managing an online store, payment processing, order management, inventory management, and integrating with other platforms or systems. Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce are some of the famous eCommerce platforms which are used by thousands of businesses around the world. So, before moving forward let’s discuss me tell you about these 4 platforms.
Initially released in 2008, Magento is an open-source platform which is best suited for medium to large enterprises with complex eCommerce needs. It is highly customizable and scalable and is a preferred choice for businesses with a dedicated development team. However, it requires technical expertise and incurs higher hosting costs.
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Released in 2006, Shopify is a hosted, subscription-based platform which is known for its user-friendly interface. It is a preferred choice for small and medium sized businesses and startups too.
It’s a fully-hosted platform which takes care of hosting and maintenance, so you can focus solely on running the store. Shopify’s ease of setup and a wide range of themes make it popular among non-technical users. However, it has limited customization options compared to open-source solutions.
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WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin for WordPress, making it highly flexible and customizable. Ideal for small to medium businesses, it permits complete control over store design and functionality.
While it’s cost-effective and SEO-friendly, it requires hosting and maintenance efforts.
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BigCommerce is a hosted SaaS platform that caters to growing business mining for omnichannel retail. It offers robust built-in features, including multi-channel selling, without relying on third-party apps. While it’s more expensive at higher tiers, it remains a strong choice for businesses looking to scale.
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Setting up an eCommerce store includes initial costs, which can vary significantly depending upon the platform. Where some platforms offer a free basic version, while others have a subscription or licensing fee right from the start.
Additionally, consider costs related to domain registration, hosting, and premium themes. Remember that platforms with lower initial costs may have limited features, which could result in higher long-term expenses as your business grows.
So, before finalizing your choice, carefully evaluate your budget and long-term requirements to avoid unexpected costs later.
The features that are offered will vary between systems. The best eCommerce platform provides integrated marketing tools like newsletters, abandoned cart emails, reward programs, deals and 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.
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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.
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:
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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 eCommerce 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.
If you're a new eCommerce 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.
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.
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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.
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:
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:
Accurate analysis is crucial for measuring your store’s performance. An ideal platform should include built-in analytics or support integration with tools like Google Analytics. Key metrics include traffic, conversion rates, customer behavior, and sales trends.
Choosing a platform with comprehensive reporting tools helps you make data-driven decisions to enhance your marketing and sales strategies.
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 contact our professionals.
In the ever-evolving world of e-commerce, staying ahead of the competition requires more than just a great product and an appealing website. To truly succeed, online businesses must leverage data-driven insights to make informed decisions and drive growth. This is where the power of analytics comes into play, and Shopify, one of the leading e-commerce platforms, offers a robust suite of analytics tools to help entrepreneurs achieve just that.
Shopify has an engaging and user-friendly interface which allows businesses to use it easily for their business needs. However, getting it according to your specific business requirements is a challenging task.
Exploring the web of eCommerce solutions, we came across a variety of Shopify stores that have utilized the platform in a way that they can be in the list of best sportswear websites. This blog explores the importance of utilizing Shopify stores to build powerful, user-friendly sportswear websites.
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