There are between two to three million eCommerce websites in the world today (excluding China). Of this, around 1.3 million sites cater to just the two countries of United States and Canada. But not all of these sites are successful. Some estimates peg the number of sites making money to just over 245,000. More importantly, more than 90% of eCommerce sites fail within the first 120 days.
Cash flow issues are one of the most common reasons why online retail businesses shut shop. But there are other reasons too - the inability to build customer trust and establishing a stable site are others. Picking the right eCommerce platform can sometimes make or break your business. The decision to go with an eCommerce platform must be taken after you carefully consider the various factors that can influence the success and survival of your business.
Pricing
ECommerce websites can be set up for free with CMS applications like WordPress and Joomla while alternatives on Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce cost money. As a bootstrapped startup, it may be tempting to go with a free software. However, there are many critical limitations to using WordPress or Joomla for eCommerce. For one, free applications as these make use of third party plugins to offer eCommerce services. Relying on a third party plugin may not always be the wisest choice since the security and stability of these providers is not established.
Another issue with free applications is that updates to their software is not always tested on all the third party plugins. You may not want an update to bring down your site just as you get ready for your busiest month.
Perhaps the most important reason why one should opt for a paid tool is because it comes with ownership. Paid software tool developers have an incentive to support their customers. What this means is that any time your Shopify site stops working, you could immediately hop on a call or chat with a support executive to fix the issue. The same cannot be said for WordPress based sites where you have to rely on help provided by volunteers and fellow website owners.
Ecosystem
An eCommerce platform is seldom just the software application that runs your store. It also includes an ecosystem of theme designers, app developers and hobbyists. An established ecosystem can come with a lot of advantages. For instance, it is easy to find new themes to run your site on. Even if you plan to design a custom theme for your site, a platform with an established ecosystem is likely to have a larger pool of affordable designers to choose from.
This does not mean you have to go with the platform with the largest ecosystem. Sometimes your choice should also be based on your specific business model. For example, if you plan on outsourcing your product packaging and shipping to a third party supplier, you may want to use a platform like Shopify that has its own in-house brand for dropshipping called Oberlo. On the other hand, if you want to create an online marketplace, you may want to look for niche solutions like ShareTribe for this purpose.
User Experience
As an eCommerce store owner, you are responsible for handling the inventory backend, managing customer support, and tracking visitors and conversion rates. Not all eCommerce tools have features that you may desperately need. For instance, an online grocery store may see high turnover each day. A platform that does not permit bulk uploading of inventory may not be ideal for your business needs. Similarly, if your platform does not permit sub-accounts, you may be required to share your admin account with your staff handling logistics, customer support or marketing. This can be highly risky.
It is a good idea to sign up for a free trial at each of the platforms you are interested in, and only finalize an application after you have thoroughly evaluated its features. You may also check for user reviews on platforms like Capterra, GCrowd and TrustRadius to get an idea of what your peers have got to say before picking a tool that is ideal for your business.
Anand Srinivasan is the founder of Hubbion, a suite of free business apps and resources.
