9 Tips For Choosing The Best Ecommerce Platform For Your Online Store

Posted 7 months ago by Max Komonov

You can sell anything online through ecommerce, from gourmet dog treats to yoga classes. And that’s why so many small business owners have an online store.

Global online sales will surpass $8,1 trillion by 2026. Whatever you’re selling, starting an ecommerce business is a fast and easy way to earn a dollar. Based on that number, it’s a great time to jump on the selling online train to promote your products and services.

Source: Ecwid Insights

The right ecommerce business platform will fit your website needs and your budget.

Before we dive in, look at your online store goals. What you need now to be successful online is different from what you’ll need later for your website. That’s normal. Think about how much you want your online business sales to grow before signing up for the cheapest offer.

Let’s get to the good stuff.

1. Pricing Plans and Payment Options

Choose the best plan for your ecommerce store platform.

Running a business successfully starts with a good budget. Most sites will try to distract you with fancy features and custom services. Nail down exactly what you need for your online store to avoid shiny object syndrome.

Pricing plans can be too good and still be true. But it’s a good idea to compare every price tier with your future online business goals. Then you won’t get stuck with crazy fees website down the road.

Are there specific marketing add-ons you need?
What features or services can wait until later?
Which features cost money on one tier but not another?
Will you need a website designer or market research tools?
Do you need specific shopping cart features?

Choose the best customer shopping and payment experience

Now let’s look at the other side of the coin.

Payment is the last step for your customers. You want their transactions to be simple. Compare the shopping cart experience on each platform to see which one is the most user-friendly.

Losing a sale from a glitchy shopping cart is a bummer, but it’s easily avoidable.

Do they allow all the transactions you need?
Do you want a payment gateway?
Do they offer payment through social media?
Do they have fees to process payments?
Do they offer the right shipping services?

2. Get Along With Other Online Platforms

Customers will come back to your online store if it’s user-friendly. That’s basically the whole point of how ecommerce works.

Wherever you have a business presence online is where you want your products or services to be. Stick to where your target audience hangs out. Choose an ecommerce platform that gets along well with everything you use. That included social media and brick-and-mortar websites.

If you love being behind the scenes on your site to create the perfect custom page, make sure the platform gives you the freedom you need for that process.

If dealing with software gives you nightmares, make sure you love the templates the ecommerce website offers. It should also be a snap to connect all of your social media, marketplaces, and retail sales sites.

Let’s not forget about the A-word: analytics. Even if you’re not sure how it works, it never hurts to have the information about your customer. See if the store includes analytics features to keep you in the know.

3. Show Up In Google Searches (SEO)

93% of online activity begins with a search. It’s all about the keywords, my friend. You want customers to find you instantly. Built-in SEO tools are great to get you in the search spotlight.

It’s totally fine if the term SEO makes your brain hurt—you’re not alone. A lot of platforms have easy-to-use tools that walk you through everything step by step.

There are a few areas you need to ace on your site to show up in the search engine. And if you have the right website tools, conquering a Google search is easy.

One example of boosting your customers and sales is adding a blog to your site.

4. Mobile Friendly

The odds that you’re reading this on your phone are high. The odds that your customers are shopping on their phones are even higher.

It might seem like a no-brainer tip, but the mobile view gets overlooked a lot during the page design. You want an ecommerce system that makes your store look gorgeous on every size screen. But mobile screens are where most of your online sales come from.

Consider what mobile features you need based on your products or services. Buying and selling from your phone are here to stay, so make sure your site attracts customers on the small screen.

5. Five-Star Customer Support

It’s easy to get tunnel vision during the grand opening of your online ecommerce store. Providing your customers with high-quality service is key, but don’t forget about you.

A glitch in the system can hurt your sales, even if it’s not your fault. You want a store platform with 24/7 support in case of emergencies.

6. Transaction Safety and Security

You don’t want to look sketchy, and that starts by picking a safe ecommerce platform. It should follow all the rules to make your customers feel safe about handing over their credit card numbers.

Don’t forget the obvious. Keep yourself protected against software attacks. Businesses in the ecommerce industry also shouldn’t do things like sell your information or steal your identity. You know, basic nice human things.

7. Go For Ecommerce Business Success

Your ecommerce business future is bright, and you’ll want plenty of options to grow your store. Look for stress-free upgrades to make your sales future easier. Keep a few things in mind for when you’re crazy successful and need to expand your store:

Does it have weird limits on how many products and services you can have?
Are the data and software storage prices reasonable?
Are there questionable fees to upgrade your site?
Does it include email marketing tools?
Is it extra to connect your business to other websites and social media?

8. Scalability

Your ecommerce store should be scalable, especially if you aim to grow your business in the future. Even if your store is initially small, ensure the ecommerce platform you choose can expand with your business.

This means selecting a platform capable of handling increased traffic, a larger inventory, and additional features as you grow. Planning for scalability from the start can help you avoid headaches and limitations later, ensuring smooth operations as you reach your growth milestones.

9. Omnichannel features

Omnichannel selling is the most effective strategy to reach customers and boost sales, as modern consumers already expect an integrated and seamless experience. This approach involves engaging with customers across multiple channels, such as online stores, social media, physical retail locations, and more.

By doing so, businesses can create a cohesive brand presence that resonates with today’s tech-savvy customers. Ensure the platform you choose allows you to utilize various channels effectively, providing tools to enhance customer engagement, retention, conversion rates, and overall revenue.

Additionally, integrating customer data across these channels can offer valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences, further refining your marketing and sales strategies.

Bonus: We’ve Got Your Back In The Ecommerce Industry

Whatever ecommerce website platform you choose, make sure you feel confident about selling your goods and services on it.

Since you’re here, we put together a list of services we offer to make your online store set up a piece of cake. If you sell actual cake, we’d love a slice.

Cool stuff you get with Ecwid:

A Forever Free plan
Simple sync up with all the platforms, social media, and business websites you love
Easy to use marketing tools like Google, Mailchimp, and Facebook
Manage everything from your phone
Live customer support all the time

No matter what you choose, we wish you an insane amount of ecommerce success!

About The Author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.