Choosing the right E-Commerce platform for your online shop is essential in ensuring a smooth and effective launch of your new retail business. With so many different options available, selecting the correct E-Commerce platform for your needs can be a challenging task. This blog post will walk you through some of the most important aspects to consider when choosing an E-Commerce platform and some examples of E-Commerce solutions suitable for different businesses.
If you’re planning on launching an online store to sell your products directly to customers, you’ll need to choose an E-Commerce platform that is well-suited to your business needs. Your choice of E-Commerce platform will have a direct impact on the success or failure of your venture. For that reason, it’s important to do your research and choose wisely.
Know Your Business Needs
Before you even think about the features of the E-Commerce platforms you’re considering, you need to know precisely what your business needs are. This will help you to focus your research on finding the right solution for your specific needs and avoid being swayed by features that another platform may offer but aren’t actually relevant to your business.
There are a number of elements that you’ll want to think about when identifying your business needs. For example, you’ll need to think about whether you’re planning to sell B2B or B2C, the products or services that you’re selling, the payment options you’ll accept, how your customers will be able to engage with you, etc.
Identify the Features You Want in an E-Commerce Platform
Once you’ve identified your business needs, you can start to identify the features that you want in an E-Commerce platform. As you do this, you can create a list of E-Commerce platforms that appear to be a good fit for your business needs. Then, you can start to narrow down your selection by researching the E-Commerce platforms that you’re considering.
For example, let’s say your business needs include accepting international payments, shipping products internationally, and having multilingual support. You’re thinking about starting an online store to sell t-shirts and other clothing items. You’ve narrowed down your selection of E-Commerce platforms to Shopify and Bigcommerce. You can then use your research to identify which of these platforms offers the features you’re looking for.
Check for Reputation and Company History
One of the most important things to look for when researching an E-Commerce platform is the company behind the product. Reputable companies that have been around for a while are far less likely to disappear or shut down, leaving you and your business high and dry. This will save you a lot of headaches and heartache in the long run.
You can start by looking for reviews online from other businesses that have used the E-Commerce platform that you’re considering. Check out reviews on sites like Trustpilot and G2Crowd. You can also check out review articles and discussions on E-Commerce blogs and forums. Doing this will give you a good idea of the pros and cons of the E-Commerce platforms that you’re considering.
Evaluate the Security of an E-Commerce Platform
When assessing the security of an E-Commerce platform, you’ll want to look at a number of different factors. For example, you’ll want to check to see if the E-Commerce platform has been audited and what the audit results were. You’ll also want to check to see if the E-Commerce platform uses encryption and two-factor authentication (2FA).
You may even want to consider hiring a security specialist to conduct a security audit of the E-Commerce platform. Doing all of this will help you to determine the overall security of the E-Commerce platform.
Assess Customer Experience and User Interface
Next, you’ll want to assess the customer experience and user interface of the E-Commerce platform that you’re considering. You can do this by reading reviews and conducting a few test orders with the E-Commerce platform. This will help you to get a feel for how easy the E-Commerce platform is to use and how it will impact your customers’ experience.
You may also want to consider hiring a UX/UI designer to conduct a usability test on the E-Commerce platform. This will help you to get an even better idea of how your customers will experience the E-Commerce platform. Doing this will enable you to identify any areas of concern and ways in which the E-Commerce platform can be improved.
Test E-Commerce Functionality
Finally, you’ll want to assess the E-Commerce functionality of the E-Commerce platform that you’re considering. You can do this by reading the E-Commerce solution’s comparison and feature list. You can also find a list of reviews and user questions on sites like Quora. This will help you to determine the E-Commerce solution’s functionality and find any areas of concern.
Consider an Integration Option
One of the other things to consider is whether or not you want an integration option. This is especially important if your E-Commerce platform doesn’t support multichannel drop shipping. This will enable you to sell products through multiple channels, including eBay and Amazon, without having to create a second website.
If your E-Commerce platform doesn’t offer this functionality, you’ll need to consider how much the hassle of integrating your E-Commerce solution might cost in terms of time and money. If integrating your E-Commerce solution is going to cost a lot of money and take you a long time, it might be worth switching over to another E-Commerce platform like BigCommerce, which allows eBay integration, Etsy integration.
Partner With E-Commerce Website Development Experts
Choosing the right E-Commerce solution for your business is an important decision. It will have a significant impact on your business’s success or failure. That’s why it’s important to do your research and choose wisely. You can use the information in this article as a guide to help you through the process of choosing a new E-Commerce platform. It’s important to remember that no two E-Commerce platforms are completely identical. You’ll need to carefully research a number of different E-Commerce platforms before you can find the one that’s best for your business. At KitelyTech, we can help you select the right platform or build a custom E-Commerce website for your company. Call us at (800) 274-2908 to learn more.
