There’s a whole structure behind an ecommerce website, usually provided by the software that completely supports and works towards your keeping your business afloat and working every day.
Since ecommerce is based on the premise of selling and buying either things or service through a completely online source, it’s only natural that these types of websites need a specific type of platform that is able to turn fully support everything this kind of webpage needs.
Ecommerce websites need a platform that makes it possible to carry through the complete process that an online store or ecommerce requires to function.
Different types of ecommerce
As you will start to realize as you being to read deeper into this article, there are different types of softwares for different types of ecommerce businesses. Meaning the one you choose, will depend on what type of ecommerce you’re planning to implement.
B2B Ecommerce
B2B or Business to Business is the most popular kind of ecommerce (with 80% of the total electronic market being represented by this category) and it’s based on the electronic commerce between companies or businesses.
B2C Ecommerce
B2C or Business to Customer comes right after B2B as the most popular ecommerce type and it’s based on the direct commerce between the business (or companies) and the costumer.
B2E Ecommerce
B2E or Business to Employee focuses more on the relationship between the company and its workforce and it’s based on the idea of automatizing corporate affairs related to the employees
C2C Ecommerce
C2C or Customer to Customer is simply based around the commerce than happens between customers or consumers.
Investing on an Ecommerce solution
As any webpage, investing in a good software is paramount to assure your business will succeed in an online world, specially when talking about Ecommerce web pages.
Investing on an Ecommerce solution means getting a software that covers not only the basics necessities but the more in depth factors your business will require to function properly.
If you are wondering why you should implement this online selling method, just look at the numbers: Around 15% of brands and business experience a growth in their sales after incusrionating in this field.
Keep in mind the software you choose to invest on should be easy to use both for you and for your future customers, meaning it should showcase the whole purchasing process over an user-friendly interface.
Pros and Cons of an Ecommerce solution
Pros:
- The selling/buying process is considerably faster than the regular one.
- Customers can access the website and make their purchase any day of the year, all day long.
- No geographical limitation, meaning you can reach out to wau more clients than just those who are near you.
- Very low operational costs.
- Easy to implement and maintain.
Cons:
- Customers can’t fully appreciate the product being showcased.
- Not every potential client has direct access to an internet connection.
- The percentage of people who still don’t trust online shopping is quite big.
Types of ecommerce softwares
There are four main types of ecommerce softwares, each of them with their unique set of benefits to offer you. Whichever you choose will depend on your software skills and your type of business.
SaaS
The SaaS softwares are hosted solutions that don’t require you to have any software knowledge or be completely involved in the technical part of your software since this platform already takes care of that for you.
These types of platforms get your site ready to go in just minutes, have automatic upgrades, have technical support and of course, have a secure system to protect you from the cyber attacks.
However it is worth to mention these platforms usually charge you per every transaction you made, not only that but most of the support and backend of this particular software is in english, meaning you don’t have any backup in spanish or other languages.
Template
These are probably the easiest to use types of softwares since it doesn’t requires you to spend hours creating an intricating design. On the contrary, they offer you pre-made templates for you to use and slightly customized.
Through these templates you can create a website with much less editing time and spending much less money, however we have to mention the disadvantages which comes with a low space to customize your webpage and you have to be constantly updating the software as well.
It is worth to mention a template kind of software is the perfect option when you are looking to create a quick functioning e-commerce website that’s mostly generic looking but works just fine.
Implementations oriented to solutions
This is also another type of software for Ecommerce websites, overall is a great option since it offers more space for you to defy the security of your site, allows you to reuse some functions and it has a constant monitoring over all the parts of your website.
However a big disadvantage this type of software does have is that it requires the implementation of standards to establish communication through the different channels, otherwise it’s almost impossible.
Tailor made softwares
This is probably the most popular option and perhaps the best one for most ecommerce sites. Tailor made softwares offer you a solution that adapts to your business’ necessities and gives you access to create an unique template that no one else has.
Basically this is a solution that truly allows you to manage every single part of your ecommerce website and molde it to what you want it to be. However, it has a couple of disadvantages as well, one of them being the fact you’ll require to contact the software developer providers when a major change or update is required, and two, every extra module you might want to add will have to be created from scratch.
Best softwares to invest for your business
Shopify
Think about this software as the Amazon of online stores. It’s known worldwide, it supports thousands of ecommerce websites all around the world, it’s relatively cheap and easy to manage.
Shopify is a SaaS type of software and you can use it to get your webpage up and running in a matter of minutes by following their simple instructions and customizing one of their pre-done templates.
Volusion
If you are a small or medium size company looking to submerge in the ecommerce world then volusion is most likely your best shot. This is a ecommerce platform with years of happy clients backing them up, an easy to navigate system and multiple tools that will allow you to further customize your web page.
Volusion offers companies all the resources they might need to get their website ready to work. From templates, to to custom design services to management tools, this platform has it all.
Drupal
Drupal is a very well known software platform for most websites, but it is also a viable option for ecommerce sites since it offers all the benefits and characteristics any ecommerce solution would offer you.
Working with drupal to create your ecommerce website is a safe choice. They’re a SEO friendly platform, they have all the necessary tools and it’s a really easy to handle platform.
Bigcommerce
Another big name in the ecommerce software, big commerce could be considered as a SaaS solution as well since it’s extremely easy to customize, it offers several different product management tools and themes.
Perhaps the best thing about Bigcommerce is that it gives you the option to use one of their pre-made templates or ask their design team to create one specifically for your store.
Building an ecommerce website used to be a huge task that consumed a lot of time and resources to get ready, however, thanks to technology there are multiple softwares like the ones above that will make this job extremely easier for you.
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