Choosing the Best E-Commerce Platform for Your Business
With all of the e-commerce platforms out there for you and other businesses to choose from, it can be hard to figure out which one is best for you. There are so many features to consider and compare and contrast. The levels of the platform you want to use depends on your budget, what you’re selling, and who you’re selling to. It is better to know what your marketing/selling strategy is before you start to try to decide which one to use for your business. It is also important to consider what your strengths and weaknesses are and where you would like to improve your strategy. Here at Lyv Marketing, we have used a few of these different platforms, so we want to guide you through your choice. Read more on this topic to help you decide which e-commerce platform to use.
WooCommerce
As a direct plug-in for WordPress, WooCommerce is a very popular choice for people running an e-commerce business. WooCommerce has been around for a long time and is very well understood by a lot of marketers. Because of this combined with the fact that a lot of brands already have their website built on WordPress, it may be a good one to choose for a first-time e-commerce plug-in. There are costs related to the service depending on the level/tier you want to have. If you already know WordPress well and have a general understanding of coding, WooCommerce is the right choice for you. However, it does not have as many social media marketing capabilities as some of the other platforms.
Shopify
The second platform we are going to be taking a look at is Shopify. This one is very popular in the marketing and online selling community. Most digital marketers have some kind of experience with shopify as both a website builder and selling platform. It is the best choice for those who use social media as a main channel to sell their products. It is easy to use and works great for businesses of all sizes. It works well with the building blocks provided and doesn’t require a lot of coding knowledge. Shopify provides a great user experience for your customers. However, like WooCommerce, as you continue to grow as a business, you may require a higher tier of the platform that will cost you more monthly or annually.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a hugely popular website builder, and now, e-commerce platform. The interface is very easy to use and has a large host of building blocks to use so you don’t have to code much by yourself. It is a simple using experience on both sides of the website and, again, most marketers have experience with the platform. Because of its low price point, small businesses use squarespace often, and upgrade to different platforms later on. Squarespace has been labeled a sort of “starter” option for a lot of people. Also, it doesn’t handle large-scale businesses as well as some of the other platforms do, another reason it may be labelled as a “starter” platform.
How Do I Choose Which One is Right for Me?
When choosing which e-commerce platform is the best fit for you and your business, it is important to do a lot of research, comparing and contrasting, and analyzing. The first thing to consider is what your budget is. If you can afford a more expensive platform you can add more features into your “wants” list. Next, list all of the features that each platform provides and decide which ones you can’t operate without. Then, if one of the platforms is lacking one of these essential features, it isn’t the one for you. Once you find a platform that is inside your budget and has all of (or the most of) the features you’re looking for, you have your answer.
Takeaway: Choosing an E-Commerce Platform Takes Consideration
At the end of the day, the best e-commerce platform for you and your business will be the one that matches the best with all of your goals and the current qualities of your business. Whether that be the size of your business or your budget, the right platform will stand out to you once you start doing your analyzing. It should allow you to accomplish both your sales and marketing goals. Here at Lyv Marketing, we have helped many of our clients choose the e-commerce platform that is right for them and help them to develop it and get it up and running. We would love to help you next! Contact us today by filling out the contact form on our website.
