Introduction
Vendors offer a variety of features, and scalability, serving businesses of all sizes. Here are some of the aspects we recommend you pay attention to.
Determine business needs and goals
First, you need to study in detail your potential target audience and understand what it needs. Then it will become clear how to make your business needs and goals as attractive as possible.
Asses technical requirements
Explore native and third-party analytics, marketing, and customer support platform features to optimize business operations and drive customer retention. When it comes to your customers, it’s critical to provide them with simple, diverse, and secure payment options to keep their personal and financial data safe. Therefore, look for a platform that offers multiple payment methods that are safe and convenient for your target customers. E-commerce software must support popular forms of payment: cash on delivery, credit and debit cards, e-wallets, internet banking, and even blockchain currencies. Before choosing an e-commerce solution, you need to do a quick geolocation survey to find out what online payment methods are available in the countries where your customers are located.
Identify budget constraints
Your success begins long before your website is up and running. This starts when you create a plan for building your website, which includes a list of expenses and a budget.
There are two main categories of expenses:
- E-commerce website design and functionality: This is what people see when they visit your site, interact with your content, and make a purchase. For example, the layout of your site will affect how long people stay on your site and your conversion rate.
- Infrastructure: These are many necessary expenses to build and maintain your eCommerce store, but things that your audience doesn’t necessarily notice. This includes buying a domain, setting up hosting, and Search Engine Optimization.
Research and compare platforms
The thing is, you can’t easily decide which platform is the best choice for your business. You can research and then test different platforms before you are ready to decide to turn your site into an online store. You can compare the features, pricing, usability, and functionality of each platform accordingly. If none of the platforms meet your criteria, you can always create your own platform if you have the resources to do so.
Assess the level of customization and scalability
With a custom website created from scratch, you can use almost any programming language and framework. Customization is very often the most expensive both in terms of time and resources, but it has a lot of advantages over ready-made solutions. It is worth programming the E-commerce platform on your own if you want to create a product with unique features or complex integration with other systems and services. In addition, be sure, your business will grow with you. If you do not have such ambitions, you hardly need a platform. Your online store will need to support additional products and handle additional traffic generated by an expanded consumer base. If the platform can scale with your store, chances are you will choose the right solution for your eCommerce business.
Evaluate security features and compliance regulations
Every time, when making a purchase, the client is faced with the need to provide some of his data. The issue of data security has become one of the key issues in the field of e-commerce. Unfortunately, not all sellers can guarantee reliable protection of customers’ personal data. Fraudsters often gain access to information and use it to deceive people. That is why evaluating security features and compliance regulations are crucial.
Analyze user-friendliness and ease of use
The mobile shopper audience is growing exponentially. You need to take care of mobile optimization yourself, or just choose a modern, mobile-ready theme. Such a template will provide comfortable and ultra-fast shopping on portable devices, which will lead to an increase in the number of loyal customers and sales. Mobile commerce has become a vital channel for e-commerce stores. Did you know that global mobile shopping revenue exceeded $3 billion in 2021? Your customers hold their smartphones in their hands most of the time, and it is easier and more convenient for them to shop online using their phones than from laptops or desktops. Make sure the eCommerce platform you choose is compatible with multiple operating systems and works across all screens and devices.
Consider customer support and resources
The customer contact center should be professional, with several levels of service, depending on the issue or problem being addressed. It is also important not to restrict access – technical support should be available 24/7.
Make the final decision
At this point, all that’s left to do is pick one of the most popular e-commerce platforms available today and start experimenting/working with it. ess.