What’s the Best eCommerce Platform for my business?

There’s such a vast variety of ecommerce platforms that businesses are flush with choice. The downside of all this diversity is that it can be hard to make the right choice, when signing up for a service. For certain types of goods, Shopify might be a great fit, particularly for small businesses. But for larger firms and the enterprise segment, there are many other great options. So here’s a quick guide on how to pick the perfect ecommerce solution for your business, no matter its size.

Checklist for choosing an ecommerce platform

Building and hosting an ecommerce site can be as cheap (US$ 10) or as expensive (US$ 10,000) as you want. But bear in mind that paying less doesn’t automatically ensure a competitive package, while going high-end might not necessarily be cost-efficient.

First, decide on your target audience. No matter what you’re selling, this is sure to include social media users, as Facebook alone has more than 2.7 billion active members each month. The good news is that some platforms (like BigCommerce) let you sell directly to potential buyers through built-in integration with Instagram and Facebook.

Thinking ahead to the future

Depending on the size of your catalog, you might need to plan for many product pages. This means you should avoid platforms with low stock keeping unit (SKU) limits that could hobble the presentation of your products and services, plus options and variants.

Multi-channel customer service is a must, with easy access through chat rooms, emails or telephone calls. Although chatbots can handle routine contacts (product information, booking appointments, special promotions etc.) very effectively, there are times when fast access to a real, live person can close a sale or soothe an irate customer.

Make sure you leave plenty of room for growth, particularly if your business is just moving into the ecommerce field. At the start, high-traffic capability might seem unimportant – but your ecommerce sales might balloon, so it’s important to pick a highly scalable hosting infrastructure that won’t crash your site when traffic surges.

Drawing up an eCommerce platform budget

Having decided what you need from an ecommerce platform, it’s now time to think about how much you can actually afford. So when drawing up your ecommerce budget, decide how much you can spend on start-up outlays, like web design and functionality. Then think about your regular monthly fees for hosting, licensing, maintenance, and security, as well as once-off costs for creating custom apps.

Before signing up for a particularly affordable plan that meets your needs right now, take a few minutes to look ahead to the future. Although you can switch hosts whenever you want, migrating your entire website can be a massive job for your staff, and a huge hassle for your customers (which could undermine sales and tarnish your brand).

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Drawing up a shortlist

Each ecommerce platform has its own specific upsides and downsides – and only you know what’s vital for your business today, and what leads towards your dreams for tomorrow. So here’s a quick overview of seventeen solutions, just to get you started on your ecommerce journey:

So what’s the best ecommerce platform?

That depends. If you do business overseas, you need foreign currency support, or if you have a bricks-and-mortar store, then a mobile credit card processing system for point-of-sale use is desirable.

There are so many features to choose from in all these ecommerce platform packages, that it’s never been easier to tailor an online store to your exact requirements. Better still, a wide range of ecommerce models keeps website design costs low.

It’s a tricky decision, right? So if you’d like a little advice in reaching a prudent but far-sighted decision, we’d be happy to offer some expert guidance. Because there’s really only one person who can decide on the best ecommerce platform for your business  –  and that’s you!