Post Updated On: 5th May, 2021
eCommerce platforms have become a reliable source of finding and purchasing new products. They provide people the luxury of ordering their favorite items from the comfort of their four walls and have emerged as a lucrative business option.
Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs are unaware of the direction to launch an eCommerce store. Unlike the era of the 2000s, today programming knowledge is not necessary to start an eCommerce website. Several readymade solutions simplify the job for you. Pick one that best suits your budget and requirements and get started.
In this article, we have discussed the most prominent types of eCommerce solutions in detail. After reading till the end, you will be able to decide which one is the best eCommerce solution for your needs.
Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, OpenCart, Yo!Kart and Growcer are some renowned eCommerce solutions. However, all of them fall under different software categories. To be precise, you can divide them under the following:
Open-source software is a community approach to website development. All solutions that fall under this category are free and available at a public domain. Consumers can download them easily and get a lifetime usage license. Some popular examples of open-source software that you may recognize are LinuxOS and FireFox.
Open source software revolutionized the eCommerce industry in the early 2000s by providing small business owners the web mileage to sell their products and services online. Scroll below to see the list of most renowned open source eCommerce solutions.
SaaS (Software as a service) eCommerce solutions gained popularity after open-source solutions and become one of the most prominent and affordable types of eCommerce software. As the name suggests, under SaaS, the software provider sells its software as a routine service, which implies the recurrent costs. Major SaaS solution services provide various packages for their solutions that are available at varying prices and auto-renewable.
Moving on from SaaS solutions, readymade eCommerce software is the new trend in the eCommerce development industry. Readymade software is developed keeping various use cases in mind and often does not require any customization to meet your online business requirements. In brief, it has all essential features required to start a feasible eCommerce business. You can purchase a readymade eCommerce solution to start a cab booking business, food delivery service, marketplaces like Amazon, etc.
Yo!Kart, developed by FATbit Technologies is a fully-customizable digital marketplace solution that comes with 1-year of free technical support and the option of selecting any hosting service provider.
Parameters | Open Source eCommerce Solutions | SaaS eCommerce Solutions | Readymade eCommerce Solutions |
---|---|---|---|
Setup Cost | No setup cost for self-setup. Otherwise, the cost can vary from one IT company to another. | Low setup cost. | Low setup cost. |
Technical Knowledge | Technical knowledge to some extent is required for managing open source solutions. | Technical knowledge is not required. | Technical knowledge is not required. |
Hosting | Open source solutions are self-hosted. Thus, the business owner gets the choice of hosting provider. | SaaS solutions are hosted by the solution provider. The choice of hosting is not available. | Both hosted and self-hosted readymade solutions are available in the market. Giving maximum flexibility to the business owner. |
Features | Limited number of features. | Various free and paid features. | All features for a particular use case are pre-integrated. |
Support | No support included – The owner must hire a professional support team separately. | Technical support is available 24/7. | Free technical support is available for a limited time period mentioned in the contract. |
Upgrades | Any customizations and software updates have to be done manually. | Auto-software updates are available but the owner might need to contact the solution provider in case of any customizations in the code. | The owner needs to contact the solution provider in case of software updates and code customizations both. |
Third-Party Integrations | Any TPI can be added on an open-source solutions | Only support selected TPIs. | Only support selected TPIs. |
If you are still confused which eCommerce solution is the best for your business, the following questions will assist you in making the final decision:
Once you have figured out your exact requirements, you can start searching for a reliable eCommerce solution that satisfies your business needs. In case, if you are still unable to figure out a solution, the following key factors that aren’t directly related to the software solutions will assist you further.
With so many eCommerce solutions, it is obvious for an aspiring owner to have mixed thoughts and second opinions. However, if you can put down a list of required features with your budget and expectations, that will simplify the task. No matter which eCommerce solution you choose, don’t forget to add a unique touch to your website to make it look premium and distinguishable.
All innovation starts with an idea to solve real-world problems. At FATbit Technologies we are passionate about driving digital transformation to prepare businesses for a digital-first tomorrow. Let’s discuss your BIG idea NOW.
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Comments (3)
Molly Horan
Ryder
FATbit Chef Post author
I have been using BigCommerce from quite some time now but have decided to switch because I’m tired of the recurring monthly hosting and transaction charges. As rightly pointed out, the store was nowhere easy to setup or customize. Once it was setup, everything worked smoothly. The issue is, now after 2 years, I feel I want more customized options which are easily supported by an open source system. Have decided to get my new store built on OpenCart. Thanks for reassuring me about my choice.
Hello! I realize this is kind off off-topic hhowever I had to ask.
Does operating a well-established website such as yours require a lot
off work? I am brand new to blogging but I do write in my journal daily.
I’d likke to start a bllog so I can eeasily share my own experience and thoughts online.Please let mee know if you hafe
any suggestions or tkps for new aspiring blog
owners. Thankyou!
Hi Ryder,
You can setup your own blog on WordPress which is a free web software to create blog/websites. Free WordPress blogs require no technical know-how but if you want to implement some customization in design and functionality, only experts can help you.
You can discuss your requirements with our experts for free advice. Contact us