When it comes to making money online or starting a successful business, there are plenty of options for you to choose from. As great as affiliate marketing is, there are some associated costs and competition hurdles that usually get in the way. For this reason, ecommerce is quickly becoming the go-to solution for starting an online business.
However, just like affiliate marketing and blogging, you are going to need to right tools and resources to make sure your site and online business is running at full speeds and capabilities at all times.
Today we are going to highlight some of the most important things to look for when deciding on the best ecommerce platform for your business, CRM, and/or platform for your business.
What is an eCommerce platform and why do I need it?
First thing first, we need to understand what ecommerce is and how it works — specifically in the aspect of why you need to choose a platform to run your site.
As you likely already know, the concept of an ecommerce business is to sell products online. More often than not, affiliates are finding great success with dropshipping, as they don’t need to hold any inventory.
An ecommerce platform is required in order to make sure your site customers, products, purchases, and management all connect and talk to each other so you can run a successful business.
There are many platforms and solutions out there to choose from, but like affiliate marketing, blogging, or web design — everyone’s needs will be different.
In short, there are two different ways to set up ecommerce for your site:
1 – Build one from scratch
Unless you are a coder that is looking for headaches, this is probably the worst solution to after. Why build something from scratch when there are already so many other options already on the market?
2 – Using a WordPress plugin
WordPress is awesome for building sites, but it still has a lot of work to do if you want to create an ‘easy to use’ ecommerce solution on the platform. There are plugins out there if you want to invest some time in researching what they offer. However, these may also require some programming, design, or customization skills.
3 – Going with an ecommerce solution
With so many platforms now catering to an ecommerce-focused audience, there is a great need for drag and drop solutions that are easy to use. This is usually the most sought after ecommerce CRM or platform choice for anyone just starting out or looking to grow and scale their business over time.
Which ecommerce solution is best for your business?
It’s easy to lay out each of the software solutions on the internet into three categories, but ultimately, this will come down to the needs and budget of your business.
The best CRM is often one that combines the best parts of each.
For example, if you were to look at what the majority of ecommerce sites are looking for reference to running their sites, they want to have one in place that offers a hosted solution, but also one that offers full customization and the option for being open-sourced.
With all of this in mind, there is always the thought of changing ecommerce solutions as well. Companies are always looking for the bigger, better deal… so it’s best to choose the right CRM the first time around.
Another advantage to going with a solution that is already built and ready to go after purchase, is that it will greatly diminish the amount of time it takes for your business or site to go live. With all other considerations in mind, it can also drastically lower your startup costs as well.
A 3-Point Plan for Picking the Best eCommerce Solution
As with anything in life, when you are given too many options, it’s hard to make a final decision. This is likely what you will face when it comes to choosing the best ecommerce platform for your business during these initial launch phases.
However, think back to when you first signed up for your website or blog hosting account and installed WordPress on your server. It was tough in the beginning, but then it became extremely simple and fast!
Here are three simple steps to help with the decision process.
- Lay out your budget and launch to complete dates
- Pick a few different solutions and compare their features and costs
- Compare each and choose the solution that fits your budget and goals
It’s a simple method, and it works.
Also take the time to read up on customer reviews and site ratings for the different ecommerce solutions out there. It’s always best to pay a little more and go with a reliable name that you know and can trust.