There was a time when it didn’t seem possible without a physical store to sell goods and services. If customers were interested in buying your products, they had to travel to your location to find what they wanted. In stores with just a few keystrokes these days, you can find everything you need online, like movies, and even food. Ecommerce platforms make it a lot simpler for consumers, and they also make it easier for new businesses to get started. And if you want to create an online store in 2020, there are plenty of options to choose from.
What To Look For In An Ecommerce Platform
You’re probably already familiar with sites like eBay and Amazon if you weigh your choices as to which ecommerce platform to use. But there may be other outlets that are a better fit for your company, depending on the type of store you want to open.
Cost:The cost can be anything from free to thousands of dollars, depending on the size of the business. However, without entering your credit card details, most sites will let you check them out for free.
SEO:If people do not find your shop in the first place, you’re not going to have any customers. So the ecommerce platform you select should have built-in SEO tools. Having the option to customize your URL with your name and your items would help improve the optimization of your search engine, making it easier to find your shop.
Scalability:
Just because your online store starts small doesn’t mean it is going to stay small. It needs an ecommerce platform that will grow with your business. And you will need more than just a simple ecommerce solution even in the beginning. Find a forum that will not keep you trapped in a strategy that is not right for your business.
Mobile-friendliness:According to OuterBox, the ecommerce designer, over 125 million U.S. consumers own smartphones. And phone transactions have been made by over 60% by smartphone users.
Site Speed:If you sell physical items, then you will probably have plenty of pictures and even videos on your storefront. That means you’ll need a fast and stable ecommerce platform. You’re going to miss out on sales if consumers have to wait for photos and videos to load.
User Experience:You want to choose an ecommerce site for you and your customers, you should be able to customize your online storefront. And it should be easy for consumers to navigate and search for items once the store is alive.
Software Integration:Your online store needs to be able to integrate with other third-party applications. And even if you don’t know how to code, you should be able to add these tools and applications. Luckily, this is made simple by many sites, enabling you to drop “buy buttons” into social media networks like Pinterest, or some of them have plug-ins that function on your current WordPress account.
Marketing Tools: Can your ecommerce website attract new customers and retain your current ones? SEO software and email marketing systems can help you with some tools. Your bottom line can be improved by anything from content management to marketing tools.