5 Factors to Consider While Choosing an E-commerce Platform Table of Content 1.Vendor experience and expertise 2.Support 3.Build your own platforms 4.Mobile-first platform 5.Time to Market 6.Multiple factors are important 7.Conclusion There has been a dramatic change in the style of “selling and purchasing” business. All this happens as an effect of the technological advancement that the world is experiencing today. E-commerce is one of the trends in business and what makes this so amazing is that it offers the best kind of solutions for all your needs. Businesses can make deals for sales and purchases in just a few clicks. Online presence has become indispensable for any e-commerce business and to stay competitive, it should come up with out-of-box solutions and cover customer demands. However, to attain success in the e-commerce business, several critical factors need to be considered. Let’s take a look at each of these in detail. Vendor experience and expertise “Examine whether the seller has the necessary experience and technical expertise to match the needs and complexities of your requirements. Also, evaluate if they have both the expertise and experience needed to work in your sector. Take the time to look through case studies, customer evaluations, and discussion boards to discover if the provider can do more than simply develop.” - Robert Johansson, CEO & Tech Expert at imgkits Support “Will the seller give you the essential support to help you handle the problem or issue if something goes wrong because believe us, things can go wrong? Always search for providers who offer emergency help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and can be reached by email, webchat, or phone.” - Darsh Ray, CEO & Founder ofJob Alert Build your own platforms “While this is more of a process than an eCommerce platform, it still necessitates hiring someone to develop it, either internally or externally. As previously stated, this is becoming less typical anymore. This may be your only option if your firm is really narrow and has a unique set of needs and criteria that none of the commercial eCommerce platforms can meet.” - Daniel Foley, SEO Specialist at CloudTech24 Read More: 5 Trends Shaping The Future Of Ecommerce Mobile-first platform “RESPONSE: The number one thing to look for in an e-commerce solution provider is a mobile-first platform. Mobile traffic is responsible for more than half of all e-commerce sales and an even larger share of non-purchasing shoppers making it crucial that any e-commerce solution delivers a flawless experience on mobile and desktop devices. Standard e-commerce solutions are designed to be mobile-responsive meaning they optimize for the users on a large desktop screen then shrink the design to fit a mobile screen. This can lead to an overwhelming user experience with too many options and text. In contrast, a mobile-first platform designs the most important elements to be the most prominent on a small screen creating a frictionless experience that scales well to any device size. Outside of user experience benefits, a mobile-first e-commerce solution is designed for the present and future of SEO. Google’s move to mobile-first indexing in 2021 means that Googlebot, the technology responsible for scanning and collecting the information of every webpage on the internet, is now referencing the mobile website user experience instead of the desktop, making a mobile-first website critical to any e-commerce business.” - Lyamen Savy, CEO/Co-Founder of321 Ignition Time to Market “How Quickly Can the Vendors Get Your Web Store Live? Time is money as well! Make sure you choose a supplier who can deliver your online shop on schedule. The sooner your web store is up, the sooner you may start generating money online. It depends on the method and solution you decide how quickly your e-commerce supplier can provide an online shop. For example, if you choose an out-of-the-box solution supplied by an excellent e-commerce supplier you will go online considerably faster than if you choose a highly customised platform that a less experienced vendor must create from scratch.” - Shiv Gupta, CEO ofIncrementors SEO Services Multiple factors are important “Duties and taxes calculation – Flow simplifies the complexity of selling cross-border through tax and duty calculations - backed by machine learning technology and offers flexibility around how and where these fees appear in the shopping experience. Complete pricing control and cCurrency conversion and rate guarantee – Flow offers real-time currency conversion in over 100 currencies and guarantees the rates quoted at the time of sale, enabling merchants to deliver a better shopping experience without additional risk. Higher-converting cross-border experiences - Flow helps improve conversion rates in cross-border markets through a growing collection of 100+ payment integrations and local acquiring entities to improve authorization rates. Reduced risk and legal complexity - Flow reduces the risk of global expansion by taking on legal responsibility for all cross-border transactions as Merchant-of-Record, supported by in-house legal experts who constantly monitor the global regulatory landscape to ensure compliance for Shopify brands.” - Rob Keve, CEO & Founder ofFlow E-Commerce “Cloud platforms: The world of cloud platforms is a little hazy. Cloud platforms are traditional and open-source platforms that have been slapped onto a hosting system. Magento Enterprise Cloud, Demandware, Salesforce Commerce, and Volusion are other examples. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms: Most SaaS-based eCommerce platforms are built on a single codebase. For a fixed monthly charge that includes server use, maintenance, security, and upgrades, everyone who uses an eCommerce SaaS platform gets the same technology.” - Daniel Foley, SEO Specialist at CloudTech24 Searching for Custom eCommerce Solutions ? CONTACT US “Pricing Model & Support It is good to understand the provider's pricing model and the features they offer. Some platforms may need you to pay a base price for a few features, then add a subscription amount for additional features. The figures may add up and become unbearable. You need to understand the features you need then measure them against the price. Always shop around because you may find someone with a cheaper offer. Security Security is critical for any eCommerce company. You want to be sure that the provider guarantees you the security of your information. There need to be data backups, fraud prevention, SSL, and PCI compliance. Your eCommerce website needs protection from data theft and hackers.” - Harriet Chan, Co-Founder of CocoFinder “Building a successful e-commerce business is not as easy as you may think. There are a lot of things that you must consider and take care of. Using the right e-commerce platform for your business is one of the keys to e-commerce success. To help you choose the best e-commerce solution provider for your business, here are some factors to consider: SEO features and benefits - SEO is crucial to making your site more visible and getting high search engine rankings. That is why it is a must to look for an e-commerce platform that is SEO-friendly. Technical Support - Choosing a platform that offers good technical support is vital, especially when you are new to e-commerce. It is best to choose a platform that has 24/7 support and that you can easily reach through different channels. Range of payment options - You can lose customers with a limited selection of payment options. So, make sure to choose a solution provider that will allow you to accommodate a wide range of payment options.” - Martin Luenendonk, CEO of FounderJar “One of the key factors to consider when selecting the best eCommerce solution provider is meeting your business needs. Understand your business goals, and from there, list product requirements you need and go for the software vendor that offers most of your must-haves. Some e-commerce software requirements include B2C or B2B market requirements, third-party integrations, IT and hosting capabilities, security certificates, customer service capabilities, and eCommerce platform management, to name a few. Another thing to consider is the payment option. An eCommerce store must accommodate a range of payment options to make it easier for your customers to pay for your products. You may lose customers just because your eCommerce store doesn't have a convenient payment option for them. Some payment options to consider aside from credit cards are Paypal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Also, it would be best if you choose a provider that uses SSL encryption to ensure that your site is safe.” - Sarah Walters, Marketing Manager ofThe Whit Group Conclusion Online shopping has become a trend in today’s digital world and in the effect of this growing trend, there has been a major shift in consumer behavior. To cover their growing demands, it is imperative for businesses to look for outstanding solutions and stay competitive in the crowd. In this blog, we have learned what are the most crucial factors to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform.