Convenience has been a rule of thumb for successful businesses. You must entertain maximum convenience for your businesses. Since the dawn of e-commerce, it has shifted the entire canvas of how we grab and engage customers. 

As a result, the number of buyers and sellers has grown to adopt e-commerce as their way of business. 

According to the statistics shared by eMarketers, global e-commerce sales in 2012 surpassed 5 trillion for the first time. They account for more than a fifth of overall retail sales. Despite the slow growth, it will exceed 7 trillion by 2025. 

Why so much craze about e-commerce? 

E-commerce has been shifting the way we shop online by speeding up the buying processes and saving lots of time for customers. 

You can order anything without even stepping out of your door. The pandemic has already made an exploding trend of selling online even more important. That’s the beauty of e-commerce!

With the rapid growth, the number of online sellers is also growing. 

Such vast competition demands your online presence to stand out in the crowded market. 

Here, a robust and reliable e-commerce store comes into play. 

According to the statistics shared by BuiltWith, more than 167,000 active eCommerce stores by Magento 1 & 100,000 by Magento 2 in October 2022. It makes up around 0.9% of all stores registered online.

Besides, we’ll explore the different types of e-commerce platforms available, including hosted, self-hosted, and open-source platforms. Plus, we’ll also discuss hosted, self-hosted, and open-source platforms.

I will share valuable insights to help you make an informed decision.

Stay with me & let’s compare different platforms based on their features & benefits to help you choose the best e-commerce platform for your new or existing business.

Keep scrolling, and let’s dig deeper!

Key considerations when choosing an e-commerce platform!

When looking for a suitable platform for your online business, it’s essential to keep a few things in mind to help you decide effectively.  

Start with your goals to check for the needs of your business. It will never let you exceed or subceed your business requirements. It’s the most effective start.

When you are looking for the needs, start with the number of products you want to sell. It’s an essential factor to consider because if you sell the least number of products, I suggest using square space or Wix.

However, if you plan to sell many products, use Magento or Shopify. Both platforms quickly evolve with your product line growth.

Another key factor is considering your targeted audience. It’s important to know who will buy your product, where they are hanging out & what are their specific needs.

Knowing your targeted audience helps you understand your audience’s expectations from the stores they choose. Therefore, as an e-commerce store owner, you must look for and fulfill those needs accordingly. And for those needs, which platform provides the better solution?

Let’s say you want to target a global audience and ship your products beyond borders. Now language barrier is the most probable situation falls here.

Now to handle this situation, it’s important to consider the platform that provides the best solution in this scenario.

Let’s take another scenario. Suppose you are about to launch your new product online and are sure about your product demand and uniqueness.

You will experience massive traffic from Google or other popular search engines after your marketing efforts. Here, it’s essential to consider which platform is reliable enough to stay strong from being crashed or slowed down if it receives such many online visitors. You need a reliable platform with scalable infrastructure, fast load times, and a reliable hosting provider.

Another important factor to consider is the technical requirement of your business.

Let’s say customization options!

It ensures that your website reflects your brand and offers a user-friendly shopping experience whether they come from mobile, tablet, or desktop.

Other technical requirements include hosting, security, and integrations with tools and platforms like email marketing software and social media.

The last key factor to consider is the budget and pricing to choose the right platform.

Upfront costs vary among e-commerce platforms. Some platforms offer free plans. However, others require significant investment. Ongoing fees and transaction costs can also add up.

Therefore, it’s important to evaluate all the popular e-commerce platforms & make sure that your desired platform provides a sustainable and affordable e-commerce solution.

Let me make it simpler. You need thorough research before you decide on a platform. There are many other factors to consider. However, the most important are product types and quantities, target audience and market, sales volume and revenue goals, technical requirements, and budget.

This way, you will find a platform that isn’t only robust but also helps you grow in the long run.