You might be thinking about which eCommerce platform will work best for your business if you haven’t previously entered the world of eCommerce or if you’re dissatisfied with your current solution. There are numerous options for eCommerce platforms from which to select. But how do you know which one is best for you?

You have three basic stages to take to start up your eCommerce business, assuming you wish to have a separate eCommerce site and not just rely on social network selling or work from an existing online marketplace:.

Find an online store platform.
Locate a hosting company
Purchasing a domain

Along with step 1, certain eCommerce platforms also assist you with steps 2 and/or 3. However, if you choose the self-hosted option (more on this is below), you’ll probably have to complete steps 2 and 3 by hand.

What Do You Understand About an Ecommerce Platform?

Nowadays, anyone with little technological know-how can build a website. The time when having a thorough understanding of HTML, CSS, and other acronyms were required has passed. Yes, if you want to create a huge or sophisticated site or if you have better things to do with your time and are very busy, you might want to assemble a team of web developers and designers. But even individuals or small enterprises with modest budgets can create a website utilizing a WordPress site. And several of the eCommerce platforms we have looked at here offer drag-and-drop editors, which are even simpler to use.

However, even a WordPress site with a polished appearance is not preconfigured to function as an eCommerce site. eCommerce sites have unique requirements, such as the need to accept payments and incorporate a purchasing procedure, which is not covered by a typical WordPress installation.

Implementing an eCommerce platform is necessary if you want to use a website to sell products or services but don’t want to hire developers for a fully customized solution.

A specific kind of software that enables you to do online business is known as an eCommerce platform. The majority of eCommerce platforms let you create a storefront from scratch. Others function as a plugin for a content management system or website builder already in use, such as WordPress. And some are aware that you could choose to operate a store within an already-existing marketplace or even just sell through social media, rather than building a website at all.

Two Main Types of eCommerce Platforms

In the market, there are a surprisingly large number of eCommerce systems. Many of them specialize in some way, and they operate under several models. They fall into one of two categories, hosted or self-hosted, though, if they have a website.

1. Hosted

With hosted solutions, you delegate additional power to the providers of eCommerce platforms. They normally provide you with some type of website builder that has all the necessary features for eCommerce. But most significantly, they “host” your business for you, so you don’t have to bother about finding a server and keeping your website up to date.

You should be able to build your online store more rapidly on hosted eCommerce platforms than on ones that call for self-hosting because these platforms handle a lot of the “hard lifting” for you. They are typically simpler to use and easier to develop. Additionally, you won’t require as much technical expertise.

The biggest drawback to this simplicity is that having a hosted platform typically results in less flexibility than using a self-hosted one. They may place more regulations and standards on you, and you are unable to adjust and modify things as rapidly.

2. Self – Hosted

When choosing a self-hosted eCommerce option, you build your website and pay a web hosting company, such as Bluehost, Dreamhost, HostGator, or one of the hundreds of others, to host it for you. To build up and manage your eCommerce platform, you will need stronger technical abilities (or the willingness to pay someone who does).

You’ll be expected to be more independent by your eCommerce supplier, and you’ll have to handle more site upkeep on your own. On the other hand, if you self-host your website, you’ll feel more in charge of your eCommerce site and have more freedom.

You can choose between hosted and self-hosted alternatives on several eCommerce systems. For instance, using their hosted platform, you might set up a Shopify store. As an alternative, you might get a Shopify plug-in to use with your independently hosted website.

What to Look for in a Platform for eCommerce

You should do your homework to determine which eCommerce platforms are ideal for your needs because there are a surprisingly large number of them available. This partially depends on the features you are seeking in an eCommerce platform. Someone who is new to eCommerce and wants something that is quick and simple to put up has quite different needs than an experienced online retailer who has built numerous websites and wants to increase the functionality of one of them.

You require a platform that is compatible with your level of technical expertise. An advanced open-source platform, like Magento, will be overwhelming to a novice but perfect for a hacker who wants to experiment with every setting to increase a site’s functionality. However, a plug-and-play site builder like Wix will annoy an experienced user who wants to fiddle with technical aspects.

The differences between an eCommerce site and other sorts of websites must be understood. Customers must be able to see what you have to offer and must have a means of making purchases and paying for them. Almost all eCommerce solutions include the ability to accept and process orders, allow for sales tax, allow customers to make payments, and provide delivery options. Different systems provide more sophisticated and reliable solutions than others.

Even while we’re normally talking about your eCommerce website here, some platforms for eCommerce take into account the fact that you can sell in numerous methods and integrate your other markets, such as social selling, and the Amazon Marketplace. Many of them make dropshipping simple (either out-of-the-box or via an app or plug-in.) The bigger eCommerce platforms, like Shopify and BigCommerce, provide numerous marketplace connectors. They also have huge App Stores with a wide selection of add-ons for the main platforms.

When you start looking to compare eCommerce platforms, you have to look around different aspects on which they can be compared. There are numerous industries in the market like small, medium, and enterprise levels. And each has its competitors as per their industry level. But when you have to choose the best one in any particular sector then, you have to keep several things in mind so that you are easily able to understand who is providing what?

Although, there is a very thin line of changes from one company to another. But when you define each point accurately then you may be able to distinguish the difference between them. And this you can do with every level of industries, whether it is small, medium, or Enterprise level.

The various perspective should be considered while comparing which are –

Features
Categories
Offer product
Delivery time

Extra features
Extra services
Return Policies and much more