How can you choose an e-commerce platform when there are so many to choose from and what should you consider when doing so?

Here is the second instalment in the "E-commerce" series. First post was about what you need to consider before starting an e-commerce business. Today, you will be able to read about what you need to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform for your e-commerce business. To find an e-commerce platform, you first need to sort out your priorities and set a budget.

How much can it cost?

The answer can be very crucial. You can use the e-commerce platform completely free of charge, or pay for an updated version for around £150-£400 a month depending on the platform you choose.

Important to mention, using free packages is not necessarily a good thing. Most of the time you are limited in your design or can't set up certain things. That way, your e-commerce will be limited and there is a risk that you won't be visible in the digital noise among others and even your competitors. So take your time and compare what you actually get if you choose a platform that offers free version or what you get if you would pay. Keep in mind that the most expensive is not always the best.

How much can I do myself?

Although starting an e-commerce business is relatively easy, you need to be prepared to pay with your time. Whatever services or products you intend to sell, you'll need to do a lot of preparation before launching.

There are two different ways to design your online shop. A drag-and-drop builder means you can move images or text around. If you're not used to coding websites, this might be the best way for you. The other way is open source for those who have the knowledge and ability.

So keep that in mind (not too far back) when choosing a platform.

Scalability

Your business is at the starting line today but it won't be in the future. As your business grows, you may need other services, such as changing payment options or getting support for unlimited products. Is it prepared for different languages? The bigger your e-commerce becomes, the more you will want to automate. For example, let's say you run an e-commerce store selling clothes. Wouldn't it be nice to have a return note automatically generated when someone orders a product or makes a return? That's why it's important to decide in advance what you want to do with your business, what your vision is and choose the e-commerce platform that's right for your business.

Marketing tools

Will your e-commerce platform help you attract new customers? In other words, are there tools for SEO or tools to promote you via email?

UX may be an important part of your ecommerce business, but without customers, there is no ecommerce, so it's important that you have the tools you need to grow your business.

Performance

Three seconds! It takes three seconds for us to lose patience waiting for a website to load according to a study by Google. So if your website loads slower than that, there's no product or design in the world that can save your business if your customers don't want to visit you.

In short, make sure you have a fast website. Make demands on the e-commerce platform before you decide to become a customer. Most offer trial periods. That all your plug-ins and images work and load properly. If you have large images, a tip is to compress the images because the images are usually the heaviest on a website.

Who is the owner?

Anything can happen and it's hard to know how fast or slow your business is growing. Therefore, you need to know that not all ecommerce platforms see you as the owner of your ecommerce because some platforms rent out ecommerce solutions to their customers.

So be sure to choose an e-commerce platform where you are the owner and can move with your e-commerce so that your SEO pages do not disappear or that you do not have to re-list all products.

At Digitalpartner, we always recommend WooCommerce as it is built on the WordPress Content Management System. 

Difficult to choose?

Tip. Check out different templates on each e-commerce platform. Partly to find inspiration and partly so that you know what opportunities you have there.

Next week, you will get the final tips and tools to get your e-commerce!

How can you choose an e-commerce platform when there are so many to choose from and what should you consider when doing so?

Here is the second instalment in the "E-commerce" series. First post was about what you need to consider before starting an e-commerce business. Today, you will be able to read about what you need to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform for your e-commerce business. To find an e-commerce platform, you first need to sort out your priorities and set a budget.

How much can it cost?

The answer can be very crucial. You can use the e-commerce platform completely free of charge, or pay for an updated version for around £150-£400 a month depending on the platform you choose.

Important to mention, using free packages is not necessarily a good thing. Most of the time you are limited in your design or can't set up certain things. That way, your e-commerce will be limited and there is a risk that you won't be visible in the digital noise among others and even your competitors. So take your time and compare what you actually get if you choose a platform that offers free version or what you get if you would pay. Keep in mind that the most expensive is not always the best.

How much can I do myself?

Although starting an e-commerce business is relatively easy, you need to be prepared to pay with your time. Whatever services or products you intend to sell, you'll need to do a lot of preparation before launching.

There are two different ways to design your online shop. A drag-and-drop builder means you can move images or text around. If you're not used to coding websites, this might be the best way for you. The other way is open source for those who have the knowledge and ability.

So keep that in mind (not too far back) when choosing a platform.

Scalability

Your business is at the starting line today but it won't be in the future. As your business grows, you may need other services, such as changing payment options or getting support for unlimited products. Is it prepared for different languages? The bigger your e-commerce becomes, the more you will want to automate. For example, let's say you run an e-commerce store selling clothes. Wouldn't it be nice to have a return note automatically generated when someone orders a product or makes a return? That's why it's important to decide in advance what you want to do with your business, what your vision is and choose the e-commerce platform that's right for your business.

Marketing tools

Will your e-commerce platform help you attract new customers? In other words, are there tools for SEO or tools to promote you via email?

UX may be an important part of your ecommerce business, but without customers, there is no ecommerce, so it's important that you have the tools you need to grow your business.

Performance

Three seconds! It takes three seconds for us to lose patience waiting for a website to load according to a study by Google. So if your website loads slower than that, there's no product or design in the world that can save your business if your customers don't want to visit you.

In short, make sure you have a fast website. Make demands on the e-commerce platform before you decide to become a customer. Most offer trial periods. That all your plug-ins and images work and load properly. If you have large images, a tip is to compress the images because the images are usually the heaviest on a website.

Who is the owner?

Anything can happen and it's hard to know how fast or slow your business is growing. Therefore, you need to know that not all ecommerce platforms see you as the owner of your ecommerce because some platforms rent out ecommerce solutions to their customers.

So be sure to choose an e-commerce platform where you are the owner and can move with your e-commerce so that your SEO pages do not disappear or that you do not have to re-list all products.

At Digitalpartner, we always recommend WooCommerce as it is built on the WordPress Content Management System. 

Difficult to choose?

Tip. Check out different templates on each e-commerce platform. Partly to find inspiration and partly so that you know what opportunities you have there.

Next week, you will get the final tips and tools to get your e-commerce!