Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
An eCommerce platform will streamline the way clients and employees interact. It allows businesses to deploy inventory management software and AI machine learning to enhance the customer experience. Learn how to choose the right eCommerce platform for your business.
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A shift to digital selling and mobile shopping makes it necessary to have an eCommerce platform that will allow customers to buy their brands hassle-free and save time for an online game. Thus, each business needs an e-commerce platform that is user-friendly and enhances customer interaction.
Note that the best eCommerce platforms have become the backbone of online retail enterprises. This is because of how eCommerce platforms earn money. Besides, they make it possible for the back-end and front-end to work efficiently. They support B2B and B2C interaction. Also, they are growth enablers and allow organizations to expand and reach customers wherever they are.
This article looks at how you can choose the right eCommerce platform for your venture.
Define Your Steps
Before you embark on the journey of selecting the right eCommerce platform, you must be clear about what you want the platform to do for you. This is because not all platforms will be ideal for your type of business. It is also critical to look at your business in terms of where it will be 3-5 years from now. Thus, the platform you choose should be scalable and capable of offering the right solution for your business type, whether it is a product or an eCommerce platform for services.
Features
Although you need not get blinded by the eCommerce platform features, it is nevertheless important when choosing an e-commerce platform. The best platform should come with features that make it match your needs and your customer’s aspirations. Thus, eCommerce platforms with a mobile app are the best. But a feature-rich platform may not be right for you if you do not have enough resources. You will have to incur costs to implement most of the features. So do some research and compare priorities.
Look At Your Business Goals
Look at the business objectives. What are the most important ones? Will the new platform meet business requirements? Look at your objectives and select a platform that can fulfill your business’s needs and aspirations. For instance, if the platform is selling video games, what are the goals to be met? How do video games’ customers want to be treated? This and many other questions should offer some insight into the type of platform you choose.
Find The Budget Required
Many of you will argue that the budget is the most critical factor that you need to look at before embarking on the process of building an eCommerce platform for your business. Other than the cost of building the platform, you need money for integration and support. Look at aspects such as license fees, the cost of technology you will use, and the costs of launching the platform.
If you are looking to build an eCommerce store on a budget, Magento or Big Cartel may be a good option to consider. Magento offers a free open-source platform, Magento Community Edition, which has basic functionalities for small businesses. For businesses with more advanced requirements, Magento also offers paid plans with additional features and support. The cost of using Magento will vary based on the specific requirements of your project and how you outsource Magento development, but it can be a cost-effective solution compared to other platforms.
If you are looking to build an eCommerce store on a budget, Magento may be a good option to consider. Magento offers a free open-source platform, Magento Community Edition, which has basic functionalities for small businesses. For businesses with more advanced requirements, Magento also offers paid plans with additional features and support. The cost of using Magento will vary based on the specific requirements of your project and how you outsource Magento development, but it can be a cost-effective solution compared to other platforms.
What Are The Timescales
Building an eCommerce Platform is tedious and could take a good amount of time. There are plenty of eCommerce platform options that require that you craft an effective tendering process to select an experienced builder. Also, if you will be migrating from your current platforms, it may take some time to do all these things. So the timelines within which the platform should be up and running is vital. So if you have an in-house developer, look at their experience and the level of support they need.
Present Challenges The Customers Face
A good eCommerce platform is intended to serve your customers. So it must put the customers’ needs ahead of anything else. In this regard, you will need to match the customers’ needs to the capabilities of the platform. The customers’ expectations should also be a key consideration when choosing the eCommerce platform for your business.
Look at aspects that make your customers stick to you. Also, consider the challenges they are experiencing on your current website. If there are barriers that increase the bounces and those that lead to cart abandonment, the new eCommerce Platform should solve that.
Also, look at the current limitations that don’t allow your platform to deliver and give your customers an exciting experience. Use website monitoring tools like Full Story and Hot Jar to analyze your business and give you a picture of the reasons why your current website is not working for you.
Compatibility And Integration With Another System
To help you with this, you will need to list the functionality that the business may require and its features. Pick on features that will allow your platform to fit the latest trends and pre-existing functionality. Think of the areas that will contribute immensely to the growth of your business. The new website must be able to provide this without failing. If the new website requires that you partner with third parties, you will need to invite them so that they can help to evaluate the new platform with this in mind.
Must-Have Room For Scalability
The traffic that the platform can handle at any given period is essential. Look at the current demand and forecast where the business will be, say five years from now. Also, look at the future growth prospects of the business. So the eCommerce platform you choose must have room for scalability. Besides, look at how it will perform in case of scalability given the current hosted software. Magento 2 eCommerce platform is best since it is built with flexibility and scalability issues in mind. Shopify and Shopware are open source platforms that feature modular architecture that increases their scalability and flexibility.
Platform And eCommerce Agencies Support
Some platforms will offer support either through live chat, phone, or email. The rule of thumb is to choose one that offers more than two methods of accessing customer support. However, the product you plan to vend through the platform should help you decide the customer support required. Also, look at the level of support that the agency can offer. This is critical if you are looking for an eCommerce platform for selling software.
Conclusion
Thus, there are various processes and considerations that you need to look at before you select an eCommerce platform business model and eCommerce platform design. But scalability, support, and your budget are the main considerations. Also, the present challenges and customer support should be considered.
Besides, it would help if you did not ignore compatibility and integration since it will determine whether your eCommerce Platform will incorporate emerging trends or not. Of course, many other items need to be added.
Which tips have you tried before? Feel free to list them and ask questions that could enrich this content. We always want more tips on how to choose the right eCommerce platform.
Author’s Bio:
Alex Norwood is an experienced traveler and an online entrepreneur. He is very interested in technology and tries to implement it in his life. He runs a successful eCommerce business and is always on the lookout for new lucrative ways to make money online.
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