Nothing comes as close to being a direct revenue source as eCommerce. But it’s not that simple. There are things you need to consider and decisions that you need to make very seriously. One such decision is choosing a platform that best fits your business can be a daunting task. You need to be sure whether the platform will help you meet the business objectives and supports your project’s long-term growth strategy. Therefore, choosing a platform wisely is very important as it can lead to significant increases in revenue and cost savings. We have put together a list of key factors that will help evaluate better and decide upon the best eCommerce platform for your eCommerce website.
#1. Features
Do a quick research on all the eCommerce platforms and find out the one which has all the features you need to have in your eCommerce portal. Look for features like themes, scope for customization, support for selling subscriptions / digital products, etc. These are the basic features most of the eCommerce businesses look for. But if your product is a bit different and need a custom feature then you might want add some functionality on your own, which your chosen platform must support.
#2. Self-hosted or Hosted
You have the option of having a self hosted or a hosted eCommerce website and both have their benefits. A self-hosted website gives more freedom but is expensive to set up. Whereas on the other hand, a hosted website is quick and inexpensive but lacks in features. You need to make a decision depending upon what your requirements are, the business objective you need to achieve and the budget you have to make it all possible with.
#3. Cost
An eCommerce website is not a type of website that you can set up and then forget about. You need to take into account both, Initial costs and On-going costs. Initial cost depends greatly upon the type of website you are looking for in terms of features. If you go for a self-hosted website you can easily add up features to the free software as long as you are not looking for some highly evolved features. If you are looking for such features then go for a hosted website.
Another thing to worry here are the on-going costs which can be either in the form of paying a developer / applying updates when the need arises (in case of self-hosted) or a monthly fee / per sale fee (in case of hosted).
#4. Security
Security is the utmost concern with an online store. There is a reason why some eCommerce platforms are the most trusted. And that reason is the excellent security they offer. It is important to choose a platform that is secure, but what is even more important is to make sure that you are following the necessary steps to secure it properly.
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