There are a wide array of eCommerce platforms available on the market today and choosing the best eCommerce platform can be tough. Options range from designing a custom shopping experience entirely from scratch at one end, through to using simple off the shelf WordPress plugins at the other.
Ultimately finding the best eCommerce platform for you will depend on a number of factors including:
- Budget – If you only have a small budget, or you’re new to eCommerce and want to gauge how successful the venture will be before investing significantly, there are options available to you. In contrast, if you have a larger budget or more aggressive plans, there are platforms that will cater to these needs.
- Complexity – If you plan for a high degree of customisation, or want your eCommerce platform to integrate with other systems like inventory or accounting, you will be steered towards the more premium platforms with a high degree of functionality and flexibility.
- Scale – If you already have established business and expect high volumes of traffic and large numbers of sales from the get go, or you are a high growth business, you will need to find a platform that is capable of handling that demand without outages, and scaling with you.
Best eCommerce Platform – What are the options?
At AsOne, we tend to recommend one of three platforms:
- Magento – For highly complex businesses that need a large number of integrations to other systems, Magento is usually the de facto choice. Not only does it offer complex functionality, but there is also full enterprise support available should anything go wrong. It is also able to scale to cope with significant loads and handle spikes in demand.
- WooCommerce – For smaller businesses with less complex requirements, WooCommerce makes for an excellent option. It comes at a much lower price point, and integrates seamlessly with existing WordPress websites. It is therefore also a good choice for small or medium sized businesses that are looking to monetize some of their existing web traffic.
- OpenCart – If you’re looking for a highly scalable, extendable, customisable platform that is easy to use, then OpenCart is a great choice. The open source software can be integrated with a wide range of external systems and payment providers and is therefore a good option for many projects.
eCommerce the AsOne Way
At AsOne, we’ve been building eCommerce functionality for over a decade, helping businesses to get online and create new revenue streams. We understand that eCommerce is about more than marketing and requires a holistic digital business development strategy.
We work in tandem with our clients to shape their strategy and set them up for long-term business success. Needless to say, part of that strategy will involve finding the best eCommerce platform for their specific requirements, and we guide them through that selection process to help them make an informed decision. Contact us today if you have any questions about Magento, WooCommerce, OpenCart, or eCommerce more generally.
This year we will be attending The Business Show at the Excel London on November the 14th and 15th. At the show our team of experts will be addressing all things eCommerce on stand 1514. We also have an exclusive show offer for you – if you meet us at the show and agree to commission a WordPress eCommerce solution before 2019 we will give you 1 years’ free hosting and warranty worth £1000! On top of the teams attendance our very own Digital Director Joel Rush will be talking show attendees through ‘The Right eCommerce Solution & How To Choose It’ on Wednesday in Seminar Hall 4 at 16:15. To find out more about the show and how to book your FREE tickets visit their website. See you at the show!
