When you're building an online empire, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your online store has the ability to grow with you. Ideally, you want to get set up and then grow!
You won't have time for technical issues, order mismanagement, or integration development, so get started the right way from day one.
We took on an internal eCommerce solutions comparison to develop a list of solutions that work for specific styles of businesses. Not one of the solutions on this list sucks, we promise.
For Small Businesses - Shopify
Shopify is one of the easy-to-use eCommerce software solutions available. Anyone can use it and customize their store with little technical knowledge. At $29 per month, it's also a very affordable web service for small businesses that need an online store that will allow them to grow. What will you get with Shopify? A ton of great templates to choose between, a back-end POS system that integrates shipping, an easy-to-understand analytics report, and thousands of plugins that help supercharge your eCommerce service.
For Enterprise Level Businesses - Magento
Many Enterprise-level businesses require a website that functions in a very specific way, and that looks a very specific way; Magento allows you to do just that. This open-source eCommerce solution enables your eCommerce to developers to create multiple online stores (like international versions) that function precisely how you need and can grow with you, All activity is then managed through the thorough Magento dashboard. Other benefits include integration capabilities, customer service, and hosting a Magento site on your own server.
For WordPress users - WooCommerce
Already have a great WordPress website for your business and want a solution that will help you take it to the next level? WooCommerce is the tool you need to add an online store to your WordPress site. This free platform makes it super easy to sell and allows your eCommerce developers the freedom to update and use open-source technology to customize your store. WooCommerce provides a shopping cart, payment processing, store management tools, and many integrations.
Another Great Solution - Volusion
Volusion is another great choice for small businesses. Marketing as an all-in-one eCommerce solution, Volusion strives to make things easy. Their design library includes hundreds of professionally built templates that can be easily transformed into your own online store. As a business, you'll appreciate that a Volusion site is fully hosted, secure, and includes an easy-to-use order management tool. We like that Volusion includes Live Chat software; this technology is growing in popularity and allows you to chat with your customers in real-time.
Once you have chosen a platform for your online store, we suggest contacting a team of eCommerce web developers or a company offering eCommerce integration services to ensure your online hub is set up correctly. Yes, some of the above solutions are easy to use, but navigating the ins and outs and installing all the necessary integrations can be overwhelming despite the software solutions' promises of "no technical expertise required".
