You can earn more money in 2023 by choosing the right e-commerce platform for your small business. Launching a small business can become easier with an e-commerce platform. People can run their small businesses by building an online portal that can be accessed at any time. A website built on an e-commerce platform can be used to manage your inventory and ship products directly to your customers.
What is an E-commerce Platform?
An e-commerce platform can be used to setup your small business to accept orders online. The various tools that are provided by an e-commerce platform give business owners plenty of reasons to start delivering items from their websites.
You can promote your products, increase sales, and streamline business operations from one destination by using an e-commerce platform. It also makes it easier to scale your business within a few months at a margin of the cost.
The right e-commerce platform can create a reliable experience for your customers. Your small business can maintain a regular income and draw traffic from online users to drive sales. Online stores generate a ton of money by fulfilling orders in seconds. A website that thrives on the latest technological solutions and an e-commerce platform offers robust features for business owners to invest for growth.
How can an E-commerce Platform Help Small Businesses?
Small businesses can branch out their online presence by digitizing their stores with an e-commerce platform. Marketing campaigns that are run on an e-commerce platform can increase sales by shipping hundreds of products every week.
There are a wide range of e-commerce platforms available online to fit your needs. From leading e-commerce platforms like Shopify to Ecwid, you can consider the different benefits of each software to find the right match for your small business.
E-commerce platforms let you sell your products to customers anywhere in the world. Business owners with a low budget can move their physical stores online using an e-commerce platform to build their brand.
Can You Build a Website on an E-commerce Platform?
Yes, small businesses can build their website in less than a few hours on an e-commerce platform. Your website can be customized to suit your business and display products to your customers for purchase.
A website is key to running your business uninterrupted throughout the year. E-commerce platforms can secure the information of your customers with advanced encryption to prevent data leaks and downtime. You can showcase thousands of products from your inventory on your website and help customers pick and choose the items that they want.
Things to Consider Before Choosing an E-commerce Platform
You’ll need an e-commerce platform that works smoothly for your small business. Retail shops and small business owners can attract a multitude of people into their online stores by hosting their websites through an e-commerce platform.
Here are a few things you should consider before starting an online store.
Website Hosting
E-commerce platforms can deploy a stunning website for your small business. These tools provide extensive options for website hosting to build a unique brand. You won’t have to learn how to code to launch a website by using an e-commerce platform. People can choose beautifully designed templates and recreate their own experiences for their customers.
You can pick free templates to preview your website before its launch. Premium templates may cost you more for a spectacular layout. Business owners can purchase a domain name and get free space to upload their content and inventory.
Open-source solutions like WordPress give you more control over your website for a higher price. E-commerce platforms grant people an intuitive interface to customize various functions on your website for a much lesser cost.
Ease of Use
Digital tools within an e-commerce platform are a breeze to use for new business owners. You can setup a high-performance website that delivers quality products to customers and effectively collects their data for business insights.
E-commerce platforms like WooCommerce can reduce the time it takes to maintain a website. You can add products to their existing inventory with a few simple clicks. Customers prefer websites that are easy to navigate to order products from small businesses. You can create lists with different categories for your inventory to update your online store faster.
Cost
The cost of running a small business can be drastically decreased on an e-commerce platform. Starter plans for small businesses are priced below $40 per month and offer tons of features to build and scale your brand.
Brick-and-mortar stores can sell more products at a better price through e-commerce platforms. Apart from the price of your plan, you might have to spend a bit more money on marketing tools and app integrations to succeed as a small business.
Security
Security measures on e-commerce platforms enable small businesses to become reliable to their customers. You can protect the sensitive data of your customers and prevent data breaches before they can occur to retain their trust.
Business owners can rely on e-commerce platforms to avoid getting attacked by frauds, phishing scams, DDoS attacks, and account thefts. Credit card information and identity details of your customers can be safely stored online.
Scalability
Small businesses can scale their growth at a rapid rate through e-commerce platforms. You can automate tasks on e-commerce platforms to increase productivity at your workplace. Depending on your needs, you must be able to purchase higher plans on e-commerce platforms to unlock features and extend your inventory.
Mobility
Customers frequently use their smartphones to buy products online. E-commerce platforms offer mobility to websites that make them responsive on most digital devices. Mobile experiences are made to feel seamless, allowing customers to pay online through different methods to complete their orders.
Top E-commerce Platforms for Small Businesses
Shopify
Ecwid
WooCommerce
Shopify
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that generates billions of dollars every year. You can create your online store on Shopify to acquire new customers and engage with them for a fulfilling journey.
You can choose templates from Shopify’s Theme Store to sell your products with ease. Themes can be used to recommend products to customers, offer lucrative discounts, and capture customer data. Free themes like Publisher and Spotlight can be just right for small businesses to turn their online stores into profitable ventures.
Cost of Using Shopify
The Basic plan is ideal for small businesses, starting at $39 per month. You can add unlimited products to your website using the Basic plan with 2 staff accounts. It includes marketing automation and abandoned cart recovery.
Benefits of Using Shopify
Shopify allows its users to promote their products on the e-commerce platform. Admins can create new orders manually and capture payment details to process purchases. You can offer gift cards and discounts to acquire new customers.
Hosting a Website on Shopify
Shopify has more than 100 templates in its Theme Store that can be used with zero coding knowledge. The Basic plan offers free SSL certificates to improve security online. You can easily list your products on other online marketplaces from your website on the e-commerce platform. Customers from different regions of the world can access your website in multiple languages based on their location.
Pros
- Shopify payments require zero transaction fees
- Advanced plan offers up to 15 free staff accounts
- Calculates shipping rates during checkout
- Easy to group customers
- Automatically notifies customers with abandoned carts
- Supports multiple payment methods
- App Store has over 1,200 apps and plugins
Cons
- Reports might lack clarity for Basic plans
- Free themes have limited customizations
- Does not support email hosting
User Reviews
“The best thing about Shopify is its ease of use. They make setting up an online shop and connecting it to vendors and suppliers super easy. It should be the first place you go to when setting up a small business.”
– Jed D, Small Business Owner
Ecwid
What is Ecwid?
Ecwid is a free e-commerce platform that lets you sell your products from anywhere. Over 1.6 million small businesses have opened their online stores through Ecwid. The dashboard in Ecwid can be used to sell products through Amazon, eBay, Instagram, and Facebook.
It is one of the most secure e-commerce platforms for small businesses. You can manage large inventories with a bulk editor to prevent running out of stock. Ecwid allows pre-orders on products to get advance payments on upcoming inventory. You can also specify rules for shipping for your products on Ecwid.
Cost of Using Ecwid
You can basically operate small businesses for no additional cost on Ecwid. The Free plan offers an online store with shopping carts that are responsive on mobile devices. The number of products that can be sold is limited to 5 with the Free plan. Venture plan costs $19 per month and lets you sell 100 products online. Ecwid can also be added to existing websites for free to start selling products.
Benefits of Using Ecwid
Ecwid allows people to sell a variety of products such as goods, digital products, and subscription services on its e-commerce platform. It has an easy set of tools to upload product descriptions, images, and shipping options. Low stock alerts within Ecwid prevent small businesses from overselling their inventory.
You can receive fresh insights from Google Analytics and Meta Pixel to target the right audience on Ecwid. Mobile users can download apps to shop for products that are being sold through the e-commerce platform. Ecwid accepts more than 70 payment options including Stripe and PayPal.
Hosting a Website on Ecwid
Every business owner with an Ecwid account can build a free instant site. Web hosting does not cost extra, and it is quite fast to load on smartphones with widescreen. You can upgrade to a New-Gen website to gain control of an enhanced website builder interface.
Pros
- Can setup low-stock alerts
- Supports Google and Apple Pay
- Charge taxes based on product or location
- Responsive mobile app for online store
Cons
- Limited customer service options
- Expensive to use multiple accounts
- Free plan does not include inventory management
User Reviews
“I’ve been using Ecwid for 10 years now and the experience has been amazing. Watching them grow and enhance their services over the years has been great. It’s not only great to see a company grow and succeed but as they grow, we as small independent businesses grow along with them. Ecwid is always expanding and improving its services, the app store they have built-in is such a great tool. The customer service is top-notch.”
Mike L, Small Business Owner
WooCommerce
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is an outstanding open-source e-commerce platform. It provides tech solutions that can raise the standards of business in the long run. Woo Express is a comprehensive tool that lets small businesses launch their online store in simple steps to convert more customers.
Cost of Using WooCommerce
The Essential plan of Woo Express costs $1 for the first three months and increases to $39 per month for the rest of the year. You can build your website and backup your data to keep track of all changes made to your small business with the Essential plan.
Benefits of Using WooCommerce
WooCommerce allows multiple staff members to operate the website at once for no additional cost. Themes on WooCommerce are vibrant and can make websites visually satisfying for customers to place their orders. People can track their orders after purchasing products on WooCommerce to receive constant updates.
Hosting a Website on WooCommerce
WooCommerce stores are primarily built on WordPress. Small business owners have several themes to choose from on WordPress that provide a solid grasp of your website. You can easily edit content and URLs on WordPress to draw organic traffic to your online portal.
Pros
- Provides 50 GB worth of storage
- Woo mobile app makes it easier to manage inventory
- Enthusiastic online community
- Numerous themes and plugins
- Amazing SEO capabilities
Cons
- Plugins may increase costs
- Has a steep learning curve
User Reviews
“From small independent ventures to large enterprises, the platform adapts seamlessly to the growth of your business. With its flexible architecture and compatibility with numerous themes and plugins, WooCommerce allows you to expand your store’s capabilities as your customer base increases and your requirements evolve.”
– Dennis H, CEO, Small Business
Drive Traffic to Your Online Store
An online store built on an e-commerce platform needs marketing tools to acquire new customers. You can learn to use automation tools and content marketing strategies to bring unique visitors to your website. Business owners can add tremendous value to their small businesses by evaluating the data captured by e-commerce platforms to improve the online presence of their brands.
Comments