08/12/2018
Tip of the Week 1 – Choosing the platform
The first step for any business when starting their operations online is to pick the tools to carry them to success. Choosing the eCommerce platform is the most important part of it, as it will define everything that comes after that.
If you opt for the wrong tool the entire operation can hit the dead end at some point, and this tends to happen sooner than later, all the time. The consequences of this mistake are costly, as re-platforming really draws up a lot of funds. Just to develop everything again is something that will cost money. Of course, there is a moment that puts additional pressure on your business – it takes time. The time lost trying to break out in the highly competitive market using the wrong approach can’t be saved, and that is the time that your competitors will use to their advantage!
The simple tip would be this:
Choose your eCommerce platform wisely!
In order to do this, you need to evaluate the scope of your operations in the future. You need to plan at least a few years ahead, and your eCommerce platform needs to be potent enough to allow you to make the moves and occupy the channels you wish to use in your pursuit for the online customers.
Also, you need to scale up the resources you will require in order to make the push.
This will lead you to the first and the most obvious choice – whether to go with a native development or with an out-of-the-box solution. To make things easier and clearer from the beginning – the ready-made solutions are the best tools you will get in 99% of the cases! Unless your aim is to do something really specific and different than anyone else – these solutions will have all the features you need. Native development is not cheap and that would hinder your efforts from the get-go. If there is a solution that would do the trick – simply take it and use it as a starting point.
Another important dilemma is whether to go with a SaaS option or with a stand-alone platform. This is a tad more difficult to answer, but the bottom line is quite simple – weigh your goals and compare them to the options at your disposal.
If you are expecting a strong online presence with a lot of sales, and if you expect to require a lot of custom development, you definitely need an open source standalone solution such as Magento. It will allow you to carry out all the changes you need and it will be quite a painless process.
In case you expect moderate sales and you don’t intend to implement custom developments, then SaaS platforms such as Big Commerce, Kooomo, or Shopify are far better solutions.
Naturally, if you don’t have enough experience to make this decision on your own, we at Studioworx will be more than happy to help you out and give you all the advice you need!
Simply CONTACT US and we will be there to answer your questions!