Criteria for Selecting the Best E-Commerce Solutions for Your Business

In a highly-competitive e-commerce landscape, choosing the right platform to power your storefront is paramount to success. It helps you create a great website, the reliable mainstay of your operations, and put the best face of your brand forward. The good news is that there is no shortage of quality products out there.

Alas, therein lies the problem as well.

The scope of choice is wide and there are multifarious key factors to take into account. These include the type of product you are offering, the budget, business needs, and desired set of features. So, the decision-making process can get a bit confusing and frustrating. To navigate the labyrinth and make an educated decision, you need to look not only at native software capabilities but also much further beyond.

Exploring all the Avenues

To get the ball rolling, assess what your basic options are. Note the distinction between the e-commerce software and shopping cart software. The former is a full-featured, all in one platform that includes everything from web hosting and store setup, to merchant and marketing tools. It is used to build a business from scratch or integrate the store with the website/blog.

The latter, shopping cart software is a more narrowed-down and specialized solution for listing products and processing payments. It comes in the form of plugins and extensions that can be easily integrated with other business solutions you run (point-of-sales, CRM, email marketing, etc.).

Your decision depends on whether you are designing, redesigning, upgrading, or conducting site maintenance.  It also hinges on your ambitions and goals: Do you wish to be in full control (having your own brand name and domain) or make do with listing your products on hosted hubs like Amazon and eBay? Is keeping all the profits a priority and monthly fees something you want to avoid?

I would always say that although pricey, enterprise-level platforms are more than worth it in the long run. They rarely put any serious limitations such as the maximum number of payments or sales per month. They also provide a more extensive arsenal of features.

The Consumer Axis

Before taking a plunge, take a moment to ponder user experience. This aspect must be the focal point of your website, the driving force behind successfully converting visitors. So, first of all, the platform of choice needs to be user-friendly and enable you to flesh out a distinct visual identity. It draws people in with beautiful design, but it also fosters smooth navigation and overall usability.

Along similar lines, you need to put together an optimized sales funnel for conversion. You can use a combination of logical incentives and emotional hooks to personalize the buyer journey. What’s more, you need to strategically deploy various digital assets such as striking landing pages, email opt-in pop-ups, social proof, and calls-to-action.

The specifics can vary wildly according to what the starting point and subsequent layers in the funnel are. For example, if you want to feature high-quality blog content as a vital element, you have to think about content management tools.  In any event, make the right call after diving into data, segmenting customers, and solve their real problems.

Features, Tools, and Functionalities

At this point, it would be a good idea to consider specific features you want the software to have.

In general, online stores require a robust merchant toolset and customization options. You need to be able to edit inventory, track orders, process payments, handle shipping, create product descriptions, add images, and manage pricing. It is worth checking out third-party integrations as well because they enable you to connect e-commerce software with other apps and tools you use.

Furthermore, it is a good idea to stick to easy-to-use solutions that do not require programming and coding skills to get going. There are a plethora of such options in the market, and they usually involve handy website templates, DIY building tools, and drag and drop functions. Then again, those who possess developing know-how can take advantage of more robust open-source platforms and have fun altering and modifying the code.

Do not overlook marketing tools either. Failing to get the word out could spell doom for your customer acquisition and retention efforts. It hampers the effectiveness of tactics such as discounts, special promotions, and loyalty programs. Therefore, seek software that allows you to seamlessly integrate social media marketing and sharing options. And if you still encounter difficulties, find e-commerce agencies that can help you put marketing campaigns into motion. Outsource tasks to alleviate the stress and pressure.

Finally, bear in mind that you have to accommodate the growing volume of mobile shoppers. Namely, in this day and age, people expect e-commerce brands to have mobile-friendly versions of the websites that provide a smooth buying experience. Google is also giving more weight to mobile with new algorithm updates, awarding and penalizing sites according to their responsiveness. That is to say that you must keep a close eye on how well your content and layout scale down on smaller screens.

On Top of the Game

As you can see, there is a lot of ground to cover before reaching a final decision. After all, every e-commerce brand has its own list of requirements and priorities, as well as specific users’ wants and needs. It is necessary to pick an all-in-one platform or just shopping cart software that fits your business like a glove and streamlines your operations.

In other words, select a tool that automates the workflow and lets you turn attention to sales, marketing, and customer service. Get down to basics and core features before getting caught up in bells and whistles. Pay special attention to ease of use, maintenance requirements, customization capabilities, as well as marketing and merchant tools.

Just be careful not to make a shortsighted decision. Evaluate not only your present but also future needs. Get ready to meet increased volume of traffic and purchases down the road. Following these surefire steps, you should be able to get up and running in no time and tap into a steady stream of revenue.

Daniel Bishop is a junior editor for Design Rush, a B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies.