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Ready to Sell Online? Choose Your Ecommerce Platform!

I think we can all agree that there’s never been a better time to sell your products online. Shopify and BigCommerce have made it very easy to open a shop, customize it to fit your vision, put your products out there and have people buy them directly. No intermediaries, no consignment, no agencies or galleries. That’s not to say all these other venues and means of sale don’t work. I’m just saying that being your own boss rules!

However, we’ve found that many of the markers, artists or young entrepreneurs who’ve reached out to us wanting to start their own business selling products online have a thing in common. They’re confused about which ecommerce platform to choose. “Which is better?” they ask.

This blog post attempts to answer that question. Spoiler alert: there is no “better” platform. There is just the ecommerce platform that’s best for your business and your products.

 

Choose the Right Ecommerce Platform for Your Products!

We’re assuming that, as you’re reading this, you at least know what you’re selling. You’ve got to figure out what your business is before you dive into building an amazing website. Some of the choices you’re going to have to make during this stage are directly connected to what you’re selling.

For example, a small website which sells handmade dolls will look and behave differently than a megastore website which sells everything from electronics and clothes to books and home décor. The principles may be the same, but the actual ecommerce platforms and tools you’ll be using will differ.

Let’s take a look at 4 ecommerce platforms that can accommodate your website and why you might choose them.

Shopify

If you’re looking for an easy way to get your ecommerce website up and running, without knowing much about technology, Shopify is for you. They offer beautiful, mobile-responsive themes and a whole list of plugins for marketing, payment and shipping.

Shopify is a good tool for ecommerce businesses of any size that are less focused on customization and more focused on ease of use. Plus, the initial investment is much smaller than on other platforms.

BigCommerce

Are you willing to sacrifice flexibility for more control and comfort? Then BigCommerce is for you. They offer a drag-and-drop website building feature, which means that you can have a functional website in just a few clicks. But that also means that you won’t get many customization options.

If you choose this ecommerce platform, you’ll get most of the marketing, delivery and payment features that you’d expect (including cart abandonment, ratings, reviews and product personalization). And, if you’re looking to open more stores within the same account, you can definitely do that on BigCommerce.

WooCommerce

If you already have a WordPress website, then WooCommerce might be the obvious choice. It’s a free-to-use WordPress plugin with loads of customization options and loads of possibilities for SEO optimization.

In addition to being free, the main advantage of choosing WooCommerce is that you can turn your current business website or blog into an online store, so you can use your current reader/customer base to promote your store feature. The downside? You have to be technically-inclined in order to set it up and fully customize it, or get yourself some help.

Magento

A Magento-built ecommerce website is robust, fully customizable and can be scaled as fast and as much as you want. Just like WooCommerce, Magento is free, but unlike WooCommerce, which is a plugin, Magento is a platform, so the customization and scalability options are truly endless.

Magento is a great choice if you’re truly serious about your ecommerce business and what to build a website that’s durable and scalable, even if the initial costs are higher. You probably won’t be able to build the website yourself, though, so find a developer or team of developers who know what they’re doing.

How much will a Magento website cost? It depends on the type of website. Get a free quote for your project here.

 

Have You Decided on the Platform for Your Online Store?

Great! Contact us if you need any help building or customizing your dream shop.

And if you feel ready to dive deeper into the tools and “accessories” that make a good ecommerce website, we invite you to read this blog post.

Finally, don’t forget to drop your questions below, or chat with us on social media. We’d love to hear from you.

Written by

Writer and online content strategist. Loves stories, technology and entrepreneurship. Wants to help you leverage online tools and best practices to grow your business. Ask her questions! She’ll get you answers.

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