Chris Murphy, Digital Innovation Specialist at GC Business Growth Hub, has compiled a manual on the five predominant e-commerce platforms. It details their key capabilities and what you should recall when selecting a platform for your commercial enterprise.
The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly extended the pace of digital transformation. With restrictions imposed worldwide, customers and agencies had to quickly circulate to the online space to shop for, sell, and engage with each other.
For some businesses, this is intended to develop an internet save to serve present clients. For others who labored exclusively with trade clients, this became a possibility to transport into a new marketplace and promote immediately to the purchaser. Whichever the case, it has become obvious that during the last year, many groups have prioritized ecommerce, positioning it in the middle of their enterprise models, and rightly so. According to Gartner’s studies, virtual trade has become a boom accelerator for most firms, and people with digital commerce will see a better increase than those without.
Setting up an e-commerce website can be a critical investment for many businesses, although you ought to ensure that the proper digital technique is used. You don’t need to pay over the odds; however, less expensive isn’t usually higher, and a platform that supports the desires of your business today might not always assist your commercial enterprise of destiny.
Comparing one-of-a-kind structures, weighing up the potential benefits of one platform over some other, and organizing that is the first-class platform for your business may be difficult. Some essential elements to remember include charge, technical support, payment options, ease of use, capabilities, topics, scalability, functionality, search engine marketing optimization, cellular friendliness, and safety.
In addition, you’ll want to make sure you choose a platform that may aid future boom. This manual will explore several of the most famous ecommerce systems for SMEs that could swiftly transform your business. Five Ecommerce Platforms for SMEs
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is ideal for SMEs trying to grow. The platform is available in four distinct versions, each offering a variety of built-in functions.
Setup may be a bit trickier than some of the above, and the platform offers a limited variety of unfastened templates. Security is one of the most popular features, and they offer 24/7 support.
There are plenty of price options for customers and no transaction prices. The interface is easy to apply, is suitable for multi-channel selling, and performs nicely in search engine optimization. The platform makes scaling up easy. However, this will quickly come to be high-priced for larger shops. Pros: Security, Support, search engine optimization. Cons: Limited unfastened templates, Tricky setup
Shopify
Shopify is a scalable e-commerce platform that allows you to create your online store. It is ideal for groups seeking to grow swiftly and offers 24/7 help with smooth setup and navigation for novices.
The platform is available in several exceptional variations, from Lite to Advanced, and fees can affect growth. A month-to-month fee applies to using the platform’s offerings, and there are transaction fees if you don’t use Shopify payments.
Setup is straightforward, and the platform affords easy-to-recognize instructions on personalizing your website, uploading merchandise, and controlling business operations through a simple critical dashboard.
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) platform complies with over 2,500 apps. All websites have search engine optimization constructed in, and you can manage all your enterprise out of your telephone. Customers can also be admitted to your online store and make purchases through their mobiles. There are many price options for customers, from PayPal and Apple Pay to Amazon Pay and Cryptocurrency. Pros: Easy to use, first-rate support, more than one payment option, smart cellphone well-matched. Cons: Cost, transaction fees
Squarespace
Squarespace is a superb preference for SMEs that need a creative appearance and feel for their e-commerce platform. It offers expansion scalability and customization alternatives.
Setup is as easy as selecting a template and making the desired modifications to fit your commercial enterprise wishes, and free trials are presented to test usability. Templates are fully adaptive and flexible with an easy-reduce interface, making it user-friendly and enjoyable for the enterprise and the patron. They appear perfectly nicely on mobiles.
You can reveal your company’s overall performance with analytics, which gives a common view. There are constructed-in protection functions, and help is available 24/7.
Transaction costs are applied and charged at 3%, which is better than other platforms. Search engine optimization doesn’t perform in addition to WordPress, but plugins must be enhanced. Pros: Beautiful designs, free trial, easy to use. Cons: search engine marketing performance, high transaction charges
Wix
Wix is ideal for small-scale SMEs trying to launch an ecommerce internet site fast because it provides a platform wherein you can construct your shop and get it equipped to move the usage of the loose plan, with prices charged when you cross-stay.
It is simple to install and use, with drag-and-drop functionality. The value is low, together with a lifetime loose plan; however, there are only a limited number of templates, speed can now and then be an issue, and it doesn’t perform as well on search engine marketing as other platforms.
- Pros: Low cost, smooth to use, free installation
- Cons: Limited templates, SEO performance, pace
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an unfastened, open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress. It is designed for small to huge online traders using WordPress. It is a customizable and flexible platform; WooCommerce offers total control over your online store. Setup is easy, with some special topics to pick from and a wizard to take you via Thinathisr.
Customers will find the website smooth to navigate, and there are further functionalities to be available.
It is cell-friendly, which means that you can make adjustments and access your products and services from your telephone.
The platform collaborates with Google Analytics to offer up-to-date records and facts on all your business happenings through an easy-to-remember dashboard.
Although use is free and there aren’t any transaction expenses, tech help may be missing, and masses of plugins come at a fee that could upload up. And since it calls for website hosting, security is down to the business proprietor. Pros: Free, no transaction charges, excellent search engine optimization. Cons: Security is now not included, the value of plugins, tech help
In summary…
Choosing an ecommerce platform is dependent on the commercial enterprise and its wishes. To summarise your key issues while selecting a platform are:
• Budget
• Time
• Scalability of your business
• Number of merchandise you’ve got
• Integrations required
• Setup• Security
