In the year 2022, the whole world went under lockdown. Just after that, online businesses start booming. Later, when the pandemic ended, people paid more attention to buying online than going out and online businesses started to flourish. Ecommerce stores let you expand your business, providing you with more customers as the days pass. Furthermore, you can broaden your services/ products by using these platforms.
We are providing you with a complete guide for your online business journey. From the importance of an e-commerce website to the platforms, you should use. These platforms include Shopify for large businesses, WordPress website design services, Wix for small online stores, Big commerce for online businesses only, Big Cartel for independent artists and Zyro to run hobby stores. Read below to find out all about these platforms.
Why is an Ecommerce Website Important to Your Business?
Public Demand
The most important thing for a company is its customers. Lately, people have been widely turning towards digital media to meet their goals. According to a survey, 78% of interviewed people have said that they have started to shop online, more after the pandemic.
It seems like people often find it convenient to buy online. Another survey has shown that people believe online platforms provide them with a wide range of products. Furthermore, people also consider that it is a seamless journey from purchase to fulfilment. However, the only thing they expect in return is trust and loyalty.
To Compete with Your Competitors
The world is more about technology these days. With high customer demand for online shopping, more and more retailers are planning to invest in online businesses daily. However, customers are more attracted to the brands if they provide quality services and products via digital platforms as well. In both cases, you need to link your company with digital business platforms to succeed in your field.
You Will Get Data to Improve Your Service
The Foundation of a successful eCommerce strategy is data. An eCommerce platform allows you to take surveys from time to time. You might not be able to do this at your factory outlets. Surveys also prove that people give more honest opinions online than in person.
However, you can then know what queries your customers have with you. It will be easier to fix the problems if you know them. Moreover, your customers will also tell you what they like about your firm the most. You can keep up with the good work and make your firm more engaging this way.
Platforms to Build an Ecommerce Website
Now that you know the importance of online businesses. It’s time for you to explore the most trustable and engaging platforms you can work with. Find them below.
1. Shopify
Shopify has ranked as the best online platform for large businesses. It bears approximately 600,000 online businesses and is used by almost 1 million people worldwide. Shopify users are highly satisfied with the high-quality service tools that are provided to uplift several businesses.
Despite all this, Shopify is unfortunately not the easiest platform to use. Users find its front and backend interfaces problematic to navigate. However, it did not affect Shopify’s fame. It still is the best platform to use. Here comes the important part, Shopify is not the cheapest platform to use.
Few users think of it, as a drawback that Shopify provides only a 14-day free trial. In our opinion, you get what you pay for. By paying to use Shopify you get all the facilities that other businesses don’t get. Moreover, Shopify doesn’t leave its users, instead, it uplifts their businesses and helps them flourish.
2. WordPress
If you want to build a website for your business, we suggest you use WordPress. It has proved to be the most user-friendly website-building platform. All you need is a web hosting account and a domain. However, many users want to upgrade their sites and want specialized functions as required.
WordPress plugin provides hundreds of plugins. It also allows its users to purchase customized plugins from third-party developers. Furthermore, the plugins can be deactivated and activated as per the requirements of the websites. Moreover, WordPress sites are ranked highest for their keywords and tools used for optimizing content for SEO (search engine optimization).
3. Wix
Wix is another software that is highly popular as an eCommerce platform and for website building. According to a recent survey, over 110 million people worldwide use Wix. However, every online store wants success. Wix makes it easy for them by providing the tools they need to run online businesses.
Regardless of all this, we would suggest you use Wix for small businesses only. Its tools and features are highly remarkable, but they aren’t good enough for large commodities. However, Wix provides high-quality tech abilities and great ease of use. Thus, it provides a good and user-friendly experience to its users.
4. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is one of the most well-known and reputable eCommerce platforms. Online stores that have used BigCommerce as their business platform have been recorded as growing at a higher rate than others. It offers a vast variety of tools including multi-channelling selling options.
It also lets you explore in-house features such as marketing through email and customer reviews. If you are looking for a platform to help your online business grow into a successfully running business, BigCommerce is the right choice. The major drawback of this platform is that it does not provide ease of use.
It turns out, Big Commerce uses complicated terminologies in descriptions which is not understandable by everyone. However, if you have experience and are good with technologies, there is no better choice than Big Commerce. You can start selling your products and services directly.
5. BigCartel
It is an online eCommerce platform that is used by independent artists mostly. BigCartel is not as scalable as Shopify or BigCommerce. However, it is the best option if you want to sell only a few products online. The good part is that BigCartel allows you to sell 5 products for free.
It is also a great choice for passionate beginners. It is user-friendly and provides lots of prompts that help you set your business up. However, the drawback of BigCartel is that it lacks a website feature. It does not allow you to sell your product in more than one language, nor can you set up customer accounts or passwords on your website. However, for beginners, these things don’t matter. Regardless of the drawback, it provides a user-friendly environment and allows you to sell a few products for free. This quality makes it more attractive to people.
6. Zyro
Zyro is one of the newest eCommerce platforms. It provides its users with the strongest design functionality in the area. It also offers a variety of templates to customize a store page. However, it might not be the easiest to use, but you can always chat with their staff who help you through your problem.
Their staff is very responsive but, few people complain about not getting the exact information required. At this point, Zyro also fails to provide specialized tools. Not that Zyro is a bad eCommerce platform, but it is new and is currently working.
It is said to be one of the best eCommerce platforms in the next few years. However, if you are a hobbyist or want to test eCommerce, this platform is for you. Those who power fully established eCommerce businesses will not feel comfortable around Zyro’s limitations and beginner-sale functions.
Conclusion
E-commerce has been booming for a couple of years now. You can find many platforms to set up your business online. But you need to work with the best eCommerce platforms to make your business grow. As you know, people work with brands that provide their service online too.
It is essential for you to find a trustworthy eCommerce platform that also suits your business well. You have all the brief information that will be required to choose an online platform for your business.