Which Are the Best E-Commerce Platforms for your Business?

One of the greatest things about e-commerce is the fact that it offers even the smallest of enterprises the possibility for an unprecedented growth. However, in order to achieve this, you must first find your niche, identify your target demographic and create an offer that will present them with a value they simply cannot resist. All of this, daunting as it may seem, is much easier when you have the right e-commerce platform.

With this in mind and without further ado, here are several e-commerce platforms you might want to consider for your business.

1. Shopify

When it comes to the world of e-commerce, one of the greatest names in the game is definitely Shopify. According to one of the most recent surveys, there are currently over 100,000 e-stores on Shopify, which speaks volumes on its own. Needless to say, this massive popularity of the platform also encouraged app developers to get involved, which is why there are over 1,000 apps on the app store, which you can use in order to boost the efficiency of your store. With the use of plugins, you can effectively customize your store to fit the needs of your business.

One more advantage that going with Shopify brings is a simple scalability. Adding new items, categories and even tampering with a discount code engine is as easy as it gets. This means that once your business grows beyond its current scope, you won’t have to transition to another platform. This alone could potentially save you a small fortune.

2. WordPress

Even though WordPress (WP) is not strictly an e-commerce platform, with enough customization and industry-specific plugins it could become one. This might leave some people in wonder on why they should choose WP over Shopify? The most important advantage of WP over Shopify is that most people online already have a lot of experience working on this platform. After all, over 28 percent of all internet content is managed in this CMS. Moreover, those who already have a blog might find it incredibly easy to simply combine their e-store with it.

Same goes for websites and corporate pages. From the visual standpoint, the sheer number of themes that WP has to offer might be a reason enough to consider it. Furthermore, working in WP might also come in handy if you decide to invest in professional web design.

3. WooCommerce

The next platform relevant to anyone interested in e-commerce is definitely the industry giant WooCommerce. The greatest benefits of this platform are analytics, security and flexibility. Apart from this, WooCommerce is an open source software, which means that it is completely free.

Most importantly, WooCommerce is built so that it can integrate seamlessly with WP, which means that all of the above-listed perks apply to it as well. This alone is the reason why 31 percent of the entire market (according to 2017 statistics) use WooCommerce. In fact, the next two most popular platforms combined don’t have this number of users. The number of people on this platform is not just a vanity metric but also an indicator that you will have a large community support to rely on, should you need their assistance.

4. Magento

If the administration of websites is the aspect that worries you the most, then you should probably go with Magento. This also means that you will get all the necessary information in real-time and, thus, be able to respond accordingly. For instance, you can get a detailed report on which of the items you are peddling are in demand and which of them are soon to be out of stock. Apart from this, Magento also performs admirably when it comes to predictive analysis, which can help you devise a sound strategy for the following period.

5. OpenCart

Finally, one more e-commerce platform that people are using more and more is OpenCart. Those with any previous experience with MySQL (in other words anyone who has ever used WP), will find this platform incredibly easy for development. Apart from this, it is also easy to use and customize, which makes it into an incredibly beginner-friendly e-commerce management tool. On the other hand, there have been some reports of problems with templates, SEO URLs and security of this particular platform, which is why this particular tool is currently quite controversial.

In conclusion

To make the long story short, there is no such thing as the best or the worst e-commerce platform out there. In fact, you could go with the most widely praised platform and find it ill-suited for your e-store, while a minor platform that hasn’t even made this list might fulfill all your needs and more. Seeing as how the future of your e-commerce business is an important matter, the choice of a platform is not something that should be made lightly.

Read reviews, test and do some research on your own before you make any decision. Finally, try to look at the platform as a single cog in the machine that is your business and you will increase your odds of making the right choice.