Choosing the Best E-commerce Development Platform for Your Online Store

In ecommerce, the competition is very high. Many companies have evolved to crowd the digital marketplace. You need to have a robust online business presence to survive here. Thriving or staying above the competition can only come by integrating unique elements within your website. The more relevant your website elements, the better value it offers. So, the success of your online store depends on the quality of your ecommerce web development.

How do you ensure this? By selecting the right ecommerce development platform. Because the right platform will ensure the seamless performance of your website and provide a great customer experience. But with many companies promising to offer the best in ecommerce development, making this choice may seem overwhelming.

In this blog, we have attempted to make this choice easy. So go through it and use it as a guide to choose wisely. 

Understanding Different E-Commerce Development Platforms

They are basically software solutions that help businesses create and manage their online stores. Ecommerce platforms play a key role in the success of your ecommerce website. They empower your website by integrating essential features like:

• Product features and listing 
• Shopping carts
• Order processing
• Payment gateways
• Inventory management, etc.

Different types of ecommerce platforms help cater to the varying needs of ecommerce businesses. These platforms offer different functionalities that serve the varying needs of ecommerce websites. 

Primarily, there are three main types of ecommerce platforms. They include:

• Hosted platforms or SaaS
• Self-hosted platforms or Open Source Solutions
• Headless E-Commerce Platforms

Hosted platforms or SaaS ecommerce platforms provide a complete solution. Here, the hosting, security, and maintenance are managed by the hosting provider. Such platforms are ideal for businesses looking for a seamless set-up using minimal technical expertise. Examples include Shopify and BigCommerce.

In open-source platforms, businesses handle their own requirements regarding website hosting, security, and updates. While these platforms offer greater flexibility and customization, they require technical knowledge and expertise. Examples include WooCommerce and Magento.

Finally, headless ecommerce platforms opt for a modern approach to ecommerce development. They decouple the front-end which includes the website design from the backend or the functionalities and the database. Thus, businesses can create highly customized shopping experiences using APIs. Hence, this requires advanced technical knowledge available with renowned e commerce web development firms. Examples include headless options available from BigCommerce and Shopify(Shopify Plus).

A keen understanding of these platforms will help you narrow down your search. After selecting your ecommerce platform, you must concentrate on the following factors and allow them to guide your final decision. 

How to  Choose an E-commerce Development Platform

Since you already understand the different types of platforms available, you would have already shortlisted different platforms based on that. Factoring in the following parameters when choosing the best ecommerce platform will help you make the right choice. 

Ease of Use

If your technical skills are limited to browsing the internet, you need an intuitive and user-friendly platform with drag-and-drop builders, pre-designed themes, and simple dashboards. That will make setting up the online store easy and hassle-free. Hence, you should opt for ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Wiz.

But suppose you have an in-house technical team working on your website or plan to outsource its development and maintenance to a third party. In that case, you can opt for platforms that offer greater flexibility but require advanced coding skills. Examples of such platforms include WooCommerce and Magento.

Customization & Design Flexibility

Your website design will be your storefront. You must make it as visually compelling and functionally brilliant as possible. Only then can you offer a great customer experience, improve your branding, and increase your conversion rates. 

While many ecommerce development platforms offer templates, the flexibility to customize differs. While some platforms allow advanced customizations using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, others limit design modification flexibility. So, if you need a unique design for your ecommerce website, you must choose a platform that supports extensive customization. WooCommerce and Magento offer advanced customizations, while Shopify and Wiz offer limited customization options. 

Scalability & Performance

Your business might be a small startup, an SME, or a big organization, but irrespective of your business size, you need to grow to survive. This means you have to plan for increased traffic, higher transaction volumes, and more product catalogs. You must choose a scalable platform that can absorb these spikes without having performance issues. 

Usage statistics gathered over a period of time suggest that SaaS ecommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce scale automatically. Choosing them will ensure your website operates seamlessly, even during peak shopping seasons. Alternatively, self-hosted platforms like Magento and WooCommerce require manual optimizations to increase their scalability. 

Payment Gateway Options

Transactions form an important aspect of every ecommerce website. The integrated payment gateway must support different payment options, both local and international. Some ecommerce platforms have in-house options, but most require integration with third-party websites. These integrations might incur additional fees. So, choose wisely to ensure your platform supports all your preferred payment processes but does not incur excessive fees. The best options would be to select from WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopify.

SEO & Marketing Features

Ecommerce site optimization helps rank the website on the SERP page. You benefit from this by attracting organic traffic, thus reducing the need to invest in expensive paid ads. Hence, choosing an ecommerce platform conducive to SEO optimizations is important. Make sure that the platform you choose offers the required SEO tools like customizable URLs, meta tags, alt text for images, and blogging capabilities.

You must also ensure you can run marketing campaigns from your ecommerce website. Some tools that your ecommerce platform must have include email automation, social media integration, discount coupons, and abandoned cart recovery. 

The presence of SEO and marketing tools in your ecommerce platform will enhance the visibility of your online store and improve conversions and revenue generation. The best ecommerce development platforms for SEO optimization and running marketing activities include WooCommerce, Shopify, and Magento.

Security & Compliance

Data analytics play a vital role in the personalization of your ecommerce website. But collection and use of data are governed by specific rules and regulations. Also, you might have to ensure that your website complies with certain industry-specific compliances and governances. 

Further, all ecommerce websites are transactional by default. Hence, substantial financial transactions are involved. These must be secured because your customers’ trust and confidence depend on them. Additionally, any data breach or security lapse will result in reputational loss, something you cannot afford at any point. Hence, choose a platform that prioritizes security.

The best ecommerce platforms offer the following security measures by default:

• SSL certifications to encrypt transactions
• PCI compliance for secure payment processing
• Regular security updates to enhance prevention against new attacks
• Fraud detection and website monitoring tools

Hosted solutions like Shopify and BigCommerce are self-sufficient in terms of e-commerce website security. But with self-hosted platforms, you need to integrate additional security measures during your ecommerce web development process.

Mobile Responsiveness

Today, mobile shoppers outnumber people shopping from devices like desktops and laptops. Hence, opting for a mobile-optimized and responsive ecommerce design makes business sense. While Shopify, BigCommerce, and Wix offer the best mobile experience, others require additional optimizations. 

Pricing & Long-Term Costs

E-commerce platforms also come with varying pricing models. While some charge monthly subscription fees, others might require one-time licensing or development costs. Apart from this, you might have to shell down transaction fees, hosting costs, domain registration, third-party integrations, and security add-ons. 1368

Hence, before finalizing the ecommerce platform, consider these additional costs and choose one that gives you the maximum operational and financial benefits. 

Conclusion

Choosing the best ecommerce platform need not be a hassle. Rather, it depends on your business goals, future scalability needs, budget, and technical expertise. Also, individually, all ecommerce platforms have their strengths and weaknesses. The best way to choose your ecommerce platform is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses vis-a-vis your needs. Then, select the one that supports your plans for growth while delivering a seamless user experience.