There’s a lot that goes in to choosing the right ecommerce platform for your store. While many platforms suggest it’s as easy as creating an account and uploading your products, it’s never this easy.
Here’s a few things to consider when choosing an eCommerce platform for your business.
Setting up a brand new store. Or taking an existing store online.
Perhaps the biggest consideration stems from whether you are setting up an online store for an existing business or an ecommerce website for a brand new business.
Online only or physical and online store.
Of course, many online stores are just that – online stores. So there’s no need for the kind point of sale integration outlined below. If you’re considering going physical store in the future however, it’s good practice to plan ahead. So it’s worth finding out if the ecommerce platforms your looking at will integrate with the most widely used POS systems.
Virtual Products. Or Physical Products. Or Both.
Selling digital content like courses and subscriptions? With virtual products you can significantly streamline the ecommerce experience. Some platforms are setup just for this. And if your using WordPress as your CMS, there are well supported plugins such as Easy Digital Downloads.
Point of Sale Integration
If you’re running an existing business, it’s likely you’ve already put time and resources into making sure your POS and accounting software work seamlessly. For example
Payment Gateways.
Shipping Requirements.
Selling In Australia Only. Or Domestic plus International.
Where you’re selling to impacts both your shipping requirements and pricing / currency requirements. Let’s say your selling a range pf physical size products to a range of overseas locations. In this instance, your ecommerce platform will need to have the capability to calculate complex shipping requirements.
The Types Of Products You Sell Matter
This is an important consideration that’s often overlooked. What your product inventory looks like can impact the type of platform you require. This effect shipping requirements specifically. Let’s say you have an online story selling gift cards. In this case, you know that shipping costs are predictable. You might even decide to account for shipping costs in your product pricing – and offer free shipping. Alternatively, you might offer a fixed shipping fee based on the number of cards ordered. Either way, your shipping cost calculations will be relatively straight-forward. Feel free to speak with us if your unsure.
On the other hand, if you’re selling a range homewares, your shipping costs will be more complex to calculate. You’ll need a platform that lets you provide freight data for each product (things like weight and dimensions, fragile etc), and integration with freight service data to calculate final shipping costs.
