The e-commerce market has many online shops, so an up-and-coming e-shop looks to build unique customer experience. Many businesses prefer an existing e-commerce platform in place of building a fresh one that requires the domain expertise of an eCommerce solutions company.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to picking the e-commerce platform that gives an online shop the edge. And since there are literally countless platforms to build an e-commerce shop, a business should choose the one that suits it the most.
Picking the right platform
Stock size: A business should consider its stock size. Additionally, whenever a business browses for picking a store platform, it should focus on spending a small sum for the services. Many businesses rely on providing alternative payment methods for a couple products.
Physical or digital: A business must know that which type of products is it selling. Are the products digital or physical? The nature of products determines shipping costs and even the e-commerce platform.
Payment methods: Not every e-commerce platform favors different 3rd party payment processers. So if a budding online shop has issues using PayPal, the company should start making some fresh arrangements.
A hosted version or a self-hosted one: If an online shop is confident to modify its look regularly, it should focus on getting a self-hosted version. Either way, an e-commerce platform must completely modify the store in a live environment.
Payment plans: Last, a business must choose a platform that suits its needs and budgets the most. Many companies prefer paying monthly instead of offering a small sales percentage to the company that hosts your platform.
Different up-and-coming platforms for different needs
Shopify
This platform rules when a business prefers selling furniture, books, and clothing. Having more than 12,000 customers, Shopify is leading online platform landscape. A couple reasons of picking this online shopping platform include:
- There are millions of themes and add-ons to pick.
- This platform has extensive community support.
- The setup cost is minimal, so a business can sell in minutes.
- This platform comes with a simple back-end administration.
- Shopify comes with an extensive network of 3rd-party professionals.
- Shopify plugs and plays practically every other payment gateway.
Magento
This solution is trusted by every leading brand in the market. This platform has rightly revolutionized the world of e-commerce as it has revamped the shopping experience for nearly all the top 1,000 retailers. This shopping platform comes with the ability to integrate both digital and physical shopping experience.
- This platform is constantly evolving since it is an open-source one.
- Magento comes with mobile-friendly configuration that can enable businesses to catch up with their customers in the age of m-commerce.
- This e-commerce platform can run a number of storefronts from just one back-end system.
WooCommerce
This platform will give e-shop a classy look, which is hard to find elsewhere. This platform is for those online shopping sites that are willing to take on challenges. The plug-in for this platform is completely free, but its setup has to be learned; which is why, WooCommerce is taken by start-ups that are willing to learn and are adventurous. Some great advantages of using WooCommerce are:
- This CMS is completely free, and that is precisely why it has attracted many start-ups that have tight budgets.
- This platform offers e-merchants a new level of flexibility with products.
- WooCommerce offers a something extra; for example, a professional site can become a fully functional store with an integrated blog with this platform.
- Since WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, it takes the popular CMS’s ease of use.
So if a business needs a reliable, time-honored online shopping platform, then it should choose Shopify. However, someone who is willing to take a bit risk and be somewhat adventurous can go with WooCommerce and Volusion without hestitations. And these platforms can be put to use with the help of leading e-commerce web solutions company easily.