How To Choose the Best Ecommerce Platform

With the growth of ecommerce and online shopping, there seem to be more and more website platforms popping up every year! 

Each one, slightly different than the last, you’re sure to find the perfect fit for your specific needs.

Today, we are going to take a closer look at the three ecommerce options we find to be some of the best for small businesses: WordPress, Shopify, and ShowIt.

All three of these are great options to consider, but they each have their own advantages (and disadvantages). If you’re trying to figure out which one is right for your unique business, keep reading as we dive in! 

Showit

ShowIt is one of our favorite platforms for building a website, especially for hands-on business owners who want the ability to easily edit and rearrange their site design as they grow.

Showit has many advantages but the one we like to highlight is ease-of-use and manageability. Check out this article to learn more about the awesome benefits of Showit and why we love recommending this platform.

Showit offers users a comprehensive backend that allows for easy editing. Within the Showit platform, they do not offer a built-in ecommerce software, however, there are still a few great third-party options available to add a shop to your Showit website. 

Pros:

• Lots of design flexibility and easy back end (no need to hire a developer to make design updates)
• Several ecommerce software options like Shopify Lite, WooCommerce, and Podia
• Can be a more affordable option for a small business
• Has good support
• No need to pay for hosting externally

Cons:

• May present issues with scaling to a more robust online shopping experience
• Makes some edits more tedious as you can’t edit a shop and product page “template” globally across the site. It will require you to make the edit in each individual page.
• Not recommended for shops that will have over 20 products for sale at a time

Check out this article for a full list of Showit’s pro’s and cons. 

Shopify

Shopify is a dedicated ecommerce platform that was built with small business owners in mind. Similarly to Showit, Shopify hosts your website. But unlike its competition, Shopify gives you all the tools you need to run your online store, no third-party apps are needed. Shopify is more of an all-in-one platform that offers a lot of insight into your ecommerce business.

Pros:

• Super convenient option that keeps track of analytics, budget, website design and products all in one place
• Provides options for a more robust online shopping experience
• Easy to operate the back end and add or edit new products
• Integrates with WordPress for ability to use premium ecommerce plugins
• Has good support
• No need to pay for hosting externally

Cons:

• Can be costly to make updates to the design which may require a developer
• Higher initial development costs to build a custom website
• If you choose to change your theme, you will have to reformat your content
• It is still not as simple to use as a drag and drop platform like Showit

WordPress

One of the most popular reasons that WordPress is so widely used is due to its ability to offer a completely customizable website. Anything is possible on WordPress. WordPress is an open-source platform that offers the ability to maintain a blog, website, and ecommerce shop by installing a plugin like WooCommerce. Where Shopify is a one-stop-shop, WordPress does not come set up for ecommerce. 

Pros:

• The most powerful and flexible platform
• Completely customizable design and functionality
• Allows for more flexibility when it comes to ecommerce integrations
• Tons of room to grow
• Lots of resources are available online

Cons:

• Requires a decent level of technical knowledge to use the platform
• Can get very expensive, quickly 
• No support or security
• Needs a third-party hosting provider

Overall, when deciding which ecommerce platform to use, it is important to consider your needs. If you’re planning on running a large online store, going with WordPress or Shopify might meet more of your needs. While if you’re keeping your store on the smaller side, Showit may be for you! 

If you have specific questions about ecommerce or if you are curious about what we can do to help your business, contact us today to discuss your ideas and options. We look forward to learning more about your business and how we can help you to achieve your goals!