George K.
With the rise of online shopping, businesses of all sizes are resorting to building e-commerce sites that allow their customers to shop from the comfort of their homes. An e-commerce platform allows users to conduct a commercial transaction over a website.
Simply put, it is a platform that allows you to buy and pay for products online. Since there are several e-commerce platforms to choose from, picking one can be a daunting task. Follow these tips to choose the right platform for your business and boost your online sales.
1. Understand Infrastructure Options
Your e-commerce site should be easy to use, seamless to maintain, and extremely reliable, which collectively devise its infrastructure. It includes both back end and front end development. You can choose between an open-source platform or a hosted website. While the former gives you complete ownership and freedom to customize your site based on your needs, the latter limits personalization. However, with a hosted website, you don’t have to worry about fixing bugs or unexpected crashes as the host is solely responsible to keep the website up and running.
2. Check the Level of Security and Privacy Provided
Needless to say, security and privacy are crucial for every brand and its online users. Compared to open-source platforms, hosted platforms are much more secure as hackers are less vulnerable to access whole files. Along with this, you have to choose between traditional or headless CMS platform types.
3. Consider the User Experience
The UX design of your e-commerce platform can make or break your brand image. Since the user has to go through multiple steps before making a purchase (searching for the product, scrolling through search results, finding the right fit and color, looking for product information, filling shipping and credit card information, and checking out), every step should be simple and smooth. As suggested by the marketing specialists at EnvisageDigital.co.uk, you must compare the user experience of different e-commerce platforms before choosing a website. The UX design of an e-commerce platform has become so important that it is considered one of the top qualities that customers assess before choosing a shopping site. While the UI or user interface design is important too, usability, desirability, accessibility, and utility should be at the top of your list.
4. Check Payment Options and Budget
Since building and maintaining an e-commerce platform can be expensive, creating a budget and checking the payment options is of utmost importance. Since most brands are often engrossed in spending money behind developing their product or service, they ignore the payment methods related to promotions, marketing, and e-commerce. Web hosting can take a significant part of your budget, which is why it must be prioritized. The e-commerce platform of your interest will charge a flat fee or a fixed amount per feature, which includes server storage, plug-ins, bandwidth, apps, and transactions. At the same time, you should also consider the payment options that will be provided to your users. Every e-commerce platform will provide a range of payment gateways.
5. Compare Sites with SEO-Friendly Options
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a strategy used by businesses to increase their search engine visibility and page ranking. It uses a set of keywords and phrases to optimize websites as it complies with the algorithm of popular search engines. If you want your e-commerce site to appear in the top search results, look for a platform that provides SEO-friendly options. It not only attracts organic traffic to your website but also builds your brand’s credibility.
Before you pick a platform, you need a basic understanding and information related to SEO. Next, you must assess your understanding of web development, site building, and SEO needs. Since it involves several aspects such as keyword optimization, link building, SEO-optimized title tags and product pages, and keyword research, it is necessary to educate yourself about SEO integration with e-commerce platforms to make an informed decision.
6. Check Integration Capabilities
The type of add-ons and integration provided by the platform of your choice will determine the level of customization that is allowed to enhance the experience. The integration capabilities should also comply with your short and long-term goals. Every brand portrays different values and has a varied vision or objective, which can help you narrow down options based on the features of your choice and the ones provided by the e-commerce platform.
If you are planning to launch an e-commerce business, consider these tips to pick the best platform and give your customers a seamless experience. This will compel your customers and visitors to return to your site, which will help you boost sales and improve your profit margins. To make the right choice, learn more about the technicalities, and compare different platforms accordingly.
