If you aspire to acquire direct sales from your website, there are multiple platforms to look for. Launching an online store is one of the best options that entrepreneurs have in mind before opening any startup. Selecting the right eCommerce platform has become crucial. The advancement in technology and rising competition amongst online stores have increased the expectations that people have around selecting the right eCommerce platform. It is not only about offering simple setup, some customization or inclusion of standard features but there are some other advanced features that have become necessity of an online store. These features include ultimate user experience, social media integration, mobile friendliness, search engine optimization and other modules required for taking your online business to greater heights.
Based on the understanding of what is required to open a successful online store, we have shortlisted some top picks of the eCommerce platform. These platforms have their own strengths and weaknesses that will help you decide which one is the best suited based on individual business goals, budget and technical knowhow.
Shopify
With 3,25,000 active online shops, Shopify emerges to meet the growing demand of online merchants by helping in the development of store easily. Quick loading speed and safe payment gateways are enticing features of the CMS. This CMS provides you with hundred of templates that can be customized according to the web page and offer it the desired look.
As far as SEO is concerned, Shopify enables custom title tags, meta descriptions, canonical tags, etc to prevent duplicacy. It automatically generates an XML sitemap for the store. So, even those who do not have much technical knowledge can design their store search engine friendly with Shopify.
The CMS offers great customer support with an extensive FAQ database that assists both store owners and developers. One downside that comes with Shopify is that it does not have a customizable checkout. However, if you are planning to switch to self hosting in the future, Shopify can be your best choice. Its pricing starts with $29/month for the basic edition.
WooCommerce
It is an open source eCommerce platform that allows merchants to revamp their WordPress website into a shopping portal. One of the most commonly used eCommerce platforms, WooCommerce has multitude of options for customization. It also allows unlimited uploads. This popular CMS tool facilitates blogging and SEO. Being one of the leading eCommerce platforms on the web, the CMS offers WordPress plugins that makes management of website easier and efficient.
You can easily manage orders, coupons, reports, inventory, product linking, product settings, tags, categories and other functionality at ease.
When it comes to security, WooCommerce is not as secure as Shopify since it is an open source CMS. However, there are few functionality that can only be handled with the knowledge of expert.
Drupal
Drupal has been quite around for sometime. It is known for being versatile. The platform combines eCommerce with CMS and community to create engaging web experiences for driving more traffic to retailers.
The Drupal commerce can easily be integrated into Drupal and has all the functionality that Drupal has to offer. This helps both the user and customer to have a seamless user experience while using an eCommerce website that is created with Drupal. The reporting and analytics tool also add to the usability of CMS.
The downside associated with Drupal is that it is not particularly user-friendly and also asks for advance knowledge for installation and modification.
Magento
Magento is a flexible eCommerce platform that is created keeping the designers and developers in view. It is helpful in meeting up the requirements of both small and large scale businesses. Owing to its open source nature, it allows for higher level of customization options.
A free Magento community version is also made available with limited support. However, if you require some advanced and convenient features, Magento Enterprise version is the right choice.
It comes with a wide variety of plugins and themes that can be used to enhance the functionality of your store. There are other countless benefits associated with the CMS like effective performance, quick plugin installation, additional layouts and so on. Featuring over 50 payment gateways, this CMS emerges to be the right solution for small to large-scale businesses and websites.
Owing to its huge dedicated servers, Magento can be an expensive CMS to opt for. Since the CMS operates with PHP that means only trusted professionals can deal with the functionality of the platform.
Ending notes!
Well, there is no “one-size-fits-all” eCommerce solution. Each of the CMS is developed to entertain business needs and goals. It means that not all of these platforms are best for every sized business need. However, if you are realistic with specific storefront needs, you can easily choose from the given above. All you need to do is outline the vision for the kind of online store you need for your business.