Online eCommerce For Growing Businesses
Growing your business means growing your marketing and one great way to do that is by reaching more customers online. But, if you’re not careful, your website can quickly go from being a marketing asset to the biggest threat to your business.
Every business should have some web presence, but you shouldn’t need to pay thousands of dollars each month if you do not yet support the traffic you need. If you’re looking for a reliable web host that can get your site up and running, fast, then check out our list of the best hosting services below.
If you’re just starting out, or if your business has grown to the point where it’s time for a new website, there are lots of ecommerce solutions out there. We’ve compiled a list of affordable online eCommerce solutions for small businesses you can use to get started selling online.
Considerations For Your Online eCommerce Solutions
Contracting a development team is a great solution when you are ready to invest in your business, but establishing an online presence early will help grow your business’s credibility and audience reach. It is difficult to predict the traffic you will initially receive, so it is important to start small and scale as you grow.
eCommerce solutions should be easy to setup and have little headaches involved to maintain. Unfortunately, an out of box online eCommerce solution may end up costing more for features that should be standard. There are several things to consider for your business eCommerce solutions such as:
Monthly Costs
If you’re a small business, keeping monthly costs low will help in the long run for your business’ overall health. You don’t want to spend money on something that might not work out, but at the same time, you want to make sure you have enough money to pay for something if it does work out.
Software Flexibility
You want a platform that can grow alongside your business as it grows over time, so look for one that offers tools for adding products and managing staff as well as customizable options for marketing campaigns and customer service needs.
The downside of a website builder application is the limited support for custom solutions. This is great for business owners that do not have much technical experience or dedicated staff to set up a website. However, this becomes a limiting factor when you want to expand your website to have more function.
Website builders will include many popular features at a premium. If you are hosting your eCommerce through a Content-Management System (CMS) like WordPress, there will be a lot more flexibility for customized online eCommerce solutions.
Hosting Fees
Depending on your eCommerce platform, you may need to pay additional costs for hosting your website as well. For example, Shopify offers a basic website with the eCommerce platform, whereas WooCommerce needs a WordPress installation -which requires a hosting plan.
4 Affordable Online Solutions for Growing Businesses
Squarespace
Squarespace is perhaps the most well-known ecommerce platform on our list. It offers a simple interface and tons of features at an affordable price. The basic plan starts at $16/month. The platform has a design tool that’s easy to use, and you can create an online store in just minutes. The drag-and-drop editor lets you easily add products to your store and customize them with text, images, videos and more. One of the best features is its SEO tools that help improve your website’s visibility on search engines like Google.
One of the pitfalls with website builders is not having access to features at their base pricing. You will need to upgrade to their $27/month plan for zero transaction fees. Squarespace offers a free trial, so you can test out the platform and see if it’s right for you.
Etsy
Etsy is another popular option for small businesses looking for an easy way to sell their products online. While it doesn’t offer much in the way of customization or functionality like the other platforms listed, what it does offer is an easy-to-use interface, built-in payment processing, and customer support through the Etsy community.
To get started, you’ll need to add a payment method and ship your items to an approved Etsy warehouse. Then, from there, Etsy will take 6.5% of each sale in fees as well as a $0.20 listing fee per item listed on the platform.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms because it offers so much functionality right out of the box — including inventory management and shipping integration — without requiring any coding knowledge on the part of the user. Shopify is also very flexible and customizable, with over 100 themes available for free or purchase. It is one of the most expensive options on this list, however, with a range from $29/month to $179/month depending on which features you need.
The basic Shopify plan includes everything you need to get started, including a customizable storefront and blog, email marketing integration, social media sharing buttons and more. The Advanced Shopify plan adds more advanced features like analytics and product reviews.
There have been mixed reviews about the ease of use with Shopify, and it can be difficult to find a theme that suits your needs. Additionally, some of the clients we’ve worked with have not had great experiences with this software. It is also not ideal if you are looking to sell products on multiple platforms, as the Shopify platform is proprietary. You will be at the mercy of developers offering integrations between Shopify and your other online platforms.
Woocommerce
WordPress users will love Woocommerce because it’s built right into the popular content management system (CMS). This means that if you already use WordPress for your website, you can easily add an ecommerce platform to your website without having to learn a whole new system. Woocommerce is also very flexible and customizable, with over 100 themes available for free or purchase.
WordPress users will love Woocommerce because it’s built right into the popular content management system (CMS). This means that if you already use WordPress for your website, you can easily add an ecommerce platform to your website without having to learn a whole new system. Woocommerce is also very flexible and customizable, with over 100 themes available for free or purchase.
If you do not have a WordPress website already hosted, you will need to consider hosting costs for your website to use WooCommerce. HostGator offers plans at $10/month (non-introductory prices) to host a WordPress blog that will support WooCommerce.
Which Online eCommerce Platform is Right For You?
There are many online eCommerce solutions to choose from, but finding a platform that fits your needs and budget will factor this decision. While it may be easier to start on a website builder such as SquareSpace, investing more time into WordPress will give you more flexibility later down the road.
SquareSpace
Easy to setup, Website Included, Need to pay more for features
Etsy
Easy setup, great for craft items, transaction fees
Shopify
Powerful solution, expensive monthly costs
Woo + WordPress
Longer setup, lower monthly costs
If you ever outgrow your online eCommerce store, you can always migrate to another provider. It will take some time if you ever want to switch online eCommerce platforms, however, you can contract a web development company to do this.
If you are just starting your business or are looking to take your business online for the first time, spend some time learning about websites and eCommerce first. It is worth while to understand how this will work for your business and what you will need to be successful.
If you have sufficient funding, contracting a website developer to set up your online eCommerce and business website will allow you to focus on your business while knowing your website is in good hands. It can be difficult to gain traction at first, but consistency is king!
Founder and CEO of R U Coding Me LLC. Jacob obtained his Bachelor’s of Computer Science at the University of Central Florida. He likes to go to the gym and teach people about technology.
