Our time since March 2020 has been one of the most challenging times for humanity, with the COVID-19 pandemic running rampant the world over. As a result, many people lost their livelihoods, many lost their lives, and many small businesses ran aground. However, amidst this chaos, a few things increased exponentially.
The first was the digitization of processes, organizations, and businesses. Next, social media and OTT grew to become the go-to means for entertainment and information. And the next arena was eCommerce that saw a 4% increase globally from 2020 to 2021. But, one of the platforms that saw the most significant growth was Shopify.
Shopify platform saw a whopping 95% growth in the same period and exponential growth in the Shopify eCommerce website development. There was also notable growth as well when it came to hire Shopify developers either on contract or freelance to start even the smallest of the small online store.
Custom Magento development services, however, weren’t far behind during this time. As a result, many web development companies became super busy to hire Magento developers from any corner of the world to get a piece of the eCommerce boom’s pie.
Factors to Consider When Selecting an eCommerce Platform
Owing to this growth in eCommerce, many businesses adopted to keep revenue flow steady in times of uncertainty. Despite Shopify and Magento being the top platforms, there are tons of other platforms to consider depending on what sector you cater to and what products/services you offer to your customers.
So, what should you consider if you plan to take the same eCommerce route and develop an online store through an eCommerce development company in India? Here are some essential factors to look at:
1. Pricing and Payment
For a small business, the biggest thing to keep in control is expenses. So, while choosing a platform, check the price and payment structure, i.e., daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annually.
Also, you should see what kind of payment gateways are supported for accepting payment against orders being placed. The one that offers the best value for money proposition should be the shortlisted option.
2. Integrations
The next thing to consider is the integrations that you can do. If you are building a custom eCommerce platform using Magento, then it depends on your own choice what features it should have. However, if you are looking at pre-existing platforms, then try to base it on Shopify’s eCommerce website background since that allows many integrations as the business grows.
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3. SEO Friendliness
While it is easy to consider SEO as a search engine parameter, it applies to e-commerce platforms in today’s world. Therefore, if you want your e-commerce business to be more visible to the right users, try to ensure internal platform SEO functionalities.
Additionally, you can benefit from having a blog, review, or FAQ section since these are value-adding sections and can help your platform or product rank higher.
4. Mobile Friendliness
In 2021, almost 54% of all e-commerce happens through mobile. This means that the dominance of mobile-friendliness cannot be overlooked. Hence, make sure that the platform you choose is mobile-friendly.
Or, you can hire a Shopify developer or a custom Magento developer to ensure that your e-commerce platform is mobile-friendly.
5. Customer Service
Like any business, customer service is imperative for e-commerce as well. So, you should consider the grievance redressal, customer feedback, and customer service process of a platform. This will allow you to stay more connected to your customers.
6. Security
While the adoption of e-commerce has been staggering, so is the increase in the number of shady websites that dupe people after stealing their credit card information. To instill trust in the customers, ensure that your platform comes with HTTPS/SSL security and is PCI compliant.
7. Scalability
Anyone who starts a business wants it to grow. And if the product is good enough, it most definitely will. So while finalizing an e-commerce platform, make sure that it can grow and expand along with your business without needing an excessive amount of money.
8. Available Themes
“We eat with our eyes first.” The same ideology applies when you use an e-commerce platform. If the UI is user-friendly, appealing, and uses graphics correctly, it will automatically drive more trust and credibility to the user. As long as your platform is unique and adds to the brand identity, the theme will be successful.
9. Technical Support
Server issues, backend issues, and plugin issues are common on platforms. All of these directly means that your business is experiencing downtime. For eCommerce, this is a strict no-no. So, make sure that technical support is available from the platform’s service provider to help you get through it.
10. Inventory and Order Support
Inventory support is something that every product-based business needs. Ensure that the platform can provide you with correct and live stats of your inventory so that you can plan.
Furthermore, there should be details about how many orders the platform can accept, process, and manage should also be available.
##Conclusion- Is eCommerce the future?
The e-commerce industry is pegged for a growth rate of 21% YoY till 2024. Almost every business has understood the importance of being online. Hence, it is easy to forecast that eCommerce is the future.
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