Custom

You can engage a supplier to create a fully bespoke ecommerce solution from scratch that will meet all your requirements. This is not an inexpensive option, so there needs to be a good business case to customize an off-the-shelf product.

Traditional

This is a system that enables you to sell online without any advanced functionality, integrations or inventory and tracking visibility. It is a limited option and should probably be avoided unless your market is very specific-for example a B2B proposition with a limited customer base and a narrow transactional model.

Open Source

Shopify, BigCommerce and Magento are three of the most commonly used open-source ecommerce products. Open-source ecommerce platforms give your business the flexibility to customize in order to accommodate your immediate requirements, while still being able to adapt as your business grows. Note that not all open-source software has a cloud presence.

Cloud

This allows your business to operate fluidly from anywhere in the world, because your ecommerce solution is in the cloud with no physical hardware base. There are obviously big advantages to being able to access all your data and business systems from anywhere. However, with cloud-based ecommerce, security can be an issue, because you are hosting your company’s information on a remote network that can be accessed from unsecure locations.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

SaaS ecommerce software is the most advanced form of a cloud-based system. It offers unlimited data storage and has no restrictions when it comes to browsers or operating systems. As the name suggests, a large part of what you are buying here is the service element of the relationship with the provider, not just the software.

Licensing

Ecommerce websites all have license fees. Typically, the fee is paid annually and the amount depends on the provider and the type of ecommerce platform. Even fully customized options need to pay for their domains and it is a good idea to check and see if there are any other licensing costs that are specific to the type of industry you operate in or services you provide.

Modernization

Different from upgrades, modernization is about being able to embrace new technologies as they come out. For example, in the past few years, augmented reality and recommendation engines have come to ecommerce platforms to enhance the customer experience. Your business can still have an online retail experience without these additions, but your competitive advantage will be compromised.

Cost

As you investigate, you’ll naturally want to know about costs.Each vendor will need to provide you with exact costs, however, for benchmarking, we provide a guide to costs below.

For example, a bare-bones drop-shipping store can cost you about $40. Depending on how much inventory you buy, a bare-bones inventory store can be $140-$1,040. Next, with all the bells and whistles, you can spend $700-$3,000, depending on inventory, whether you hire a website designer, etc.

1. Omnichannel retailing

You should have a presence in as many retail channels as possible: your website, social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, third-party retailers like Amazon and eBay, affiliates and any other channels you are engaged with. Your website should be integrated with all these channels so that customers have the choice of accessing it directly or indirectly. Don’t forget bricks-and-mortar: omnichannel also includes having a physical retail space that ties in with your digital presence.

2. Customization options

No two businesses are the same, so your ecommerce software should be able to adapt to exactly what you need. A lot of businesses use an off-the-shelf product like Magento, Shopify or Sitecore commerce as the basis for their solution and then adapt this to fit their specific needs. Making sure your software solution is customizable and scalable in line with your business goals will give you long-term stability.

3. Order management and tracking

Order management is the key to keeping your stock at optimal levels so there is enough to meet demand, but not so much that it causes you cash-flow or storage problems. Your ecommerce software should let you easily track orders across all your retail channels and see your inventory list and seamlessly update it.

4. Multiple payment options

The more payment options you give your customers, the less barriers there are to making a sale. Credit cards, bank transfers, online payment portals such as PayPal, eWallets, and even physical money, should all be factored into the way consumers can transact with you. If your business is not going to accept all payment options, you need to define which ones are applicable and make sure your ecommerce solution can accommodate them with the necessary security in place.

5. Integration with marketplaces

If you are not taking advantage of the widely trusted and popular online marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay and Flipkart, then your business is missing out on a large percentage of the online shopping trade. You should be choosing an ecommerce solution that allows you to integrate these different marketplaces into your website so you are managing everything from one central location. This centralized approach allows you to stay on top of inventory and track orders-reducing risk and saving time.

6. Scalability

Most businesses want to grow. The ecommerce platform you choose should have the flexibility to suit your intended growth. 10,000 customers today could be 100,000 in three years’ time. The larger your business, the more disruptive changing your ecommerce software will be to online purchases, order tracking, inventory management, and all the other aspects of a great customer experience and smooth business operations. You need to make sure your platform can scale as you grow.

7. Support

Your budget may largely dictate what ecommerce system your business purchases, but the level of support you get from your supplier should be a big consideration. Maintenance and customer support (when you are the customer) are crucial to being able to keep your online retail presence operating around the clock.

8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)-friendliness

Your website has to have the ability to rank highly on Google and other search engines. It is no surprise that your SEO ranking will play a major part in your online visibility and consumer traffic. Some of the ecommerce products on the market with lower price-points tend not to be optimized for SEO. This creates more work or expense for you as you will have to handle this function separately or outsource it.

9. Omnichannel support

The support package your ecommerce supplier provides should take into account all the active channels you are using. If the support is just for your website, it could decrease your sales efficiency in the other channels your business is targeting, such as popular social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and, Twitter or third-party sites like Amazon and eBay.

10. Security

Customers will be giving your business personal information and you need to make sure this private data is used securely and properly protected. When this trust is breached, word spreads fast and this can not only cause irreparable damage to your brand, but may have legal implications as well.

11. Open-source integrations

Open-source platforms have the least technological restrictions, so they give you the most flexibility when it comes to creating a personalized shopping experience. The best types are 'headless'-meaning you can make changes to the front-end customer experience without having to change the back-end coding. This allows you to easily adjust the retail experience without incurring              constant costs.

12. Easy set-up

For your business and for your customers, your chosen ecommerce solution should be easy to implement and easy to use. The purchase process, from viewing items through to checking out, should have no pain-points or areas where the customer might get lost or decide not to purchase.

13. Ease of use

Once you are set up, your ecommerce system should be easy to use so you are not spending a large amount of time on its day-to-day running. While it is recommended that you have a support package, drawing on this continually will still create downtime or at least slow down your operations. Factoring in training during implementation is an important consideration prior to your site’s launch.