When starting out in business, choosing the right ecommerce platform for your needs can be overwhelming. There are so many options out there that it can seem like they’re all more or less the same.
But as we’ll discuss below, this isn’t true! Each ecommerce platform has its own strengths and weaknesses—and choosing the wrong one could have severe consequences for your business down the road.
Luckily for you, we’ve put together this guide on how to choose an ecommerce platform covering everything from what goes into deciding which platform is suitable for your needs to how different types of platforms compare against each other.
So, whether you’re already an entrepreneur with a new product idea or simply looking into starting an online store one day, this guide will help you make that dream happen!
You must do your research beforehand to find out which type of ecommerce solution will best fit into your budget and help take advantage of any special offers offered by developers right now. Even though we have mentioned some specific companies above when talking about their software solutions, we encourage everyone reading this article to look around further before making their final decision!
Factors to Consider When Choosing an Ecommerce Platform
When choosing an ecommerce platform, there are several factors to consider. Below, we’ve outlined a few of the most important ones:
Scalability
Scalability is the ability to grow without affecting the performance of your website. This is particularly important because it allows your business to grow without spending more on hosting and development. There are two types of scalability: horizontal and vertical.
Horizontal scalability refers to adding more servers (or instances) to handle more significant amounts of traffic and data storage. This type of scalability can be achieved through cloud computing platforms such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure.
Vertical scalability refers specifically to increasing the processing power per server rather than increasing the number of servers in use simultaneously. For example, if you’re running WordPress, plugins allow you to increase the speed limits within settings.
These all need to be in response to consumer demand of your ecommerce storefront, so you experience as little downtime as possible.
Payment options
To choose the right ecommerce platform for your business, you must consider the payment options. The reality is that customers want to pay with a card, a popular ewallet like PayPal, or an alternative method like crypto.
Payment options depend on your business model and how you plan on selling your products or services over the internet.
You need to know what secure and reliable payment gateways are available for each ecommerce platform you are considering, so it best matches your target consumer base. For example, PayPal is great for North America, but using the Alipay Cross-border Payment Gateway plugin for WooCommerce by OPMC is a better solution when targeting China.
Security
Ecommerce platforms are a hotbed of security threats. These sites process your credit card information and store customer data, so it’s essential to ensure that your platform is safe and secure.
Look for a platform that has a good reputation for security. This will help you feel confident in the safety of your site, which is vital to keep customers coming back again and again.
Look for features built into the ecommerce platform itself. Does it allow you to use SSL encryption? Does it have an auto-patching feature that can add new updates as they come out? Do they offer two-factor authentication? These are all things to consider when choosing an ecommerce solution for your business.
We highly recommend you check out the Security for WooCommerce plugin available from our ecommerce team.
Customization options
Customization options are essential for any business that wants to differentiate itself from competitors. And one of the most popular ecommerce platforms, WooCommerce, has a lot of customization options.
WooCommerce provides many features out-of-the-box, but you may want to add more functionality or change how some things work through plugins.
Integration with other tools and platforms
Once you’ve narrowed down your ecommerce platform to a few options, it’s time to take a look at the integrations available. You may want to consider using several other tools for your business, such as accounting software and shipping platforms. The more efficiently all these tools work together, the easier it will be for you to manage your entire business.
Popular Ecommerce Platforms
You’re probably familiar with some of the most popular ecommerce platforms, but there are plenty more to choose from. Which will work best for your business depends on your unique needs and your target consumers.
1 – Shopify
Shopify is a popular ecommerce platform that allows businesses to create and manage an online store. It is known for its ease of use, flexibility, and wide range of features and integrations. Some of the key elements of Shopify include:
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- A user-friendly interface that makes it easy to set up and manage an online store, even for users with limited technical experience.
- A wide range of templates and customization options, allowing businesses to create a unique, professional-looking store.
- Built-in support for payment processing, inventory management, and shipping, making it easy to manage all aspects of an ecommerce business.
- A large ecosystem of third-party apps and plugins, which can be used to add additional functionality to a store, such as email marketing, social media integration, and more.
- 24/7 customer support.
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All these features make Shopify a good choice for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. It’s a one-stop-shop solution for ecommerce needs and has a strong track record of satisfied customers.
2 – BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a popular e-commerce platform that can be beneficial for business owners because it offers a variety of features, such as customizable storefronts, integration with popular payment gateways, and the ability to easily manage inventory and shipping.
Additionally, it also has built-in SEO tools and the ability to create and manage marketing campaigns which can help drive more traffic to the website and ultimately increase sales. It also has a variety of apps and plugins that can further extend its functionality, making it a versatile and robust option for business owners looking to establish an online presence.
3 – WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin for the WordPress platform. It allows you to turn your WordPress website into a fully featured online store.
One of the main benefits of using WooCommerce is that it uses a widely used and flexible content management system. This means that you have access to a large community of developers, as well as a wide range of plugins and themes.
Another benefit is that it is free to use, and you only need to pay for additional features or premium plugins. It also has a wide range of customization options, from basic to advanced, allowing you to create a unique-looking store. It also supports payment processing, inventory management, shipping, and tax options.
Magento
Magento is a full-featured eCommerce platform used by large brands like Nike, L’Oréal, and Coca-Cola. It’s an open-source platform that offers functionality like multi-channel selling, mobile commerce, payment processing, and more.
One of the best parts about Magento is its easy customization options—its open-source nature makes it easy for developers to customize their site however they want.
There are some growing pains to using Magento as it is built on PHP, which requires a bit of learning to maximize each of the features available on the platform. However, once you get the hang of that language, you can do pretty much anything you want with a significant scalability factor.
| Platform | Ease of Use | Customization | Scalability | Pricing |
| Shopify | High | Limited | Limited | Monthly subscription, transaction fees |
| Magento | Low | High | High | Self-hosted, open-source software |
| WooCommerce | Medium | Medium | High | Free, open-source plugin for WordPress |
| BigCommerce | Medium | Medium | High | Monthly subscription, transaction fees |
Please note that this comparison is based on general perception and may vary based on individual needs and use cases.
How to Decide
With so many options available, it’s essential to know what you want from your platform. First, you should analyse your business goals and customer needs. Are you focused on selling a single product or multiple products? Do you want to drive traffic to your site with an online store, or do you plan on using the platform as a way of collecting emails and then driving sales through email marketing? Before deciding which platform is best for your business, think about how the platform will help support those goals and needs.
Next step: understand the different types of ecommerce platforms available today. There are three main categories: hosted services (eBay), self-hosted solutions (Magento), and software as a service (Shopify). Each has its own pros and cons in terms of cost, flexibility, and ease-of-use.
The most important factor when deciding between these options is whether they align with your company’s needs at this stage in its development. If they don’t align perfectly now but could be beneficial down the road, keep them on hand so that when the time comes for a changeover, there will already be some familiarity with whatever new solution may be implemented.
Try out different platforms with a small project before committing to a larger one. The last thing you want is to pay thousands of dollars and lose your entire investment because the platform doesn’t work for you or the features aren’t useful. You should also see what your competitors are using and how they are doing it. You can always get ideas from them on how best to use their chosen e-commerce platform.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has given you a good understanding of how to choose an ecommerce platform. The key is to assess your business needs and goals and then find the platform that best meets those requirements. And don’t forget testing out different platforms is essential because it helps you make better decisions about which one will work best for your company.
Once you’ve made a decision, be sure to visit our ecommerce plugin storefront so you can automate and customize all the various features of your platform and maximize your earning potential.
Download Ecommerce plugin from our storefront
Visit our ecommerce plugin storefront so you can automate and customize all the various features of your platform and maximize your earning potential.
